I came to this country at the age of 4, and other than a short stint at St. Anne’s — a Catholic parochial school in Porterville, California — I attended public schools from kindergarten on. During the nearly five years spent overseas for my father’s work, I attended a Department of Defense high school in Wurzburg, Germany. I stayed on after graduation, and spent a couple of years working and traveling around Europe before returning to the States to attend college in Florida.
I feel I was pretty well-educated by the standards of the day, and like all the other public school children of my generation, that education came with its fair share of government-sponsored propaganda. We were already deep into the Cold War with Russia by the time I started first grade, so along with the “duck and cover” drills came lessons about democracy; how it was the best system of government because it was “for the people, by the people.” Authoritarian communism on the other hand was deemed to be not such a good system, because the government was more concerned with controlling the citizenry and restricting their freedoms — freedoms we in this country enjoyed, and which were guaranteed to us by the Bill of Rights in our Constitution.
We kids were all now a part of this great “American experiment,” and we were encouraged to dream the “American dream.” We pledged our allegiance to the flag every morning, and we were expected to be “good citizens.” When we were a little older, we wore our scout uniforms with pride, and marched with our troops in the Fourth of July parades. I just soaked it up — we all did. We were little sponges, and not yet wise to the ways of the world or cynical. That would come later.
And come it did, with a vengeance. Our generation’s war finally ended, and those of us remaining looked to the future — to what lay ahead for us as a country already splintered by that war and the opposition to it. Revelations of government scandals and an administration’s illegal activities, a post-war recession and a mid-decade oil embargo were especially challenging for those of us just at the beginning of our adult lives. Truth be told, almost 50 years on it’s still challenging for many people in this country.
Through all this, one thing has remained constant: my deep and abiding love for this country. But as one does in a relationship, I’ve often had to separate behaviors I don’t agree with from the object of my affections. I understand nothing is perfect, and sometimes poor choices are made. But what we do when that happens is admit them, say sorry and offer a hug. We promise not to make those mistakes again, and then we continue on with our lives, working together toward common goals. As citizens, as a nation, we do the same. We continue to work, to pursue the elusive American dream; each of us just another variable in that so-called American experiment, but working together to make the dream come true for all. That’s patriotism.
By definition there’s a fine line — but a mighty great divide — between patriotism and nationalism. Just look at the synonyms for nationalism provided by the Oxford dictionary: chauvinism, jingoism, flag-waving, ethnocentrism, sectarianism, isolationism, separatism and secessionism. But what, you may ask, about patriotism? I won’t even bother to paraphrase:
“Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to a country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one’s homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, political, or historical aspects. Patriotism is founded on the principle that the country upholds values such as freedom, justice, nonviolence, and equality. The patriot believes that their country’s government, ideology, and people are essentially good and that they should work together to improve their plight.”
You know, that sounds pretty darn good to me.
Apparently, there are even different levels of patriotism! Who knew? I’m sure there’re lots of lists with all kinds of descriptors out there, but I thought the following might suffice:
- Robust patriotism stresses the importance of thoughtful reflection and deliberation regarding your patriotic sentiments and actions.
- Moderate patriotism combines a concern with your own country with concern for other peoples’ countries as well.
And get this. There’s even something called “impartial patriotism,” which posits that the true value of patriotism lies in inspiring individuals to overcome selfishness and promoting the greater happiness of all fellow citizens. Overcome selfishness? Promote the greater happiness of all citizens? Sounds like a plan to me. Where do I sign up?
I don’t know about you, but I still believe in that beautiful “dream,” and I’m not ready to label the great “experiment” as having failed just yet. So if my choice is between love, devotion, freedom, justice, nonviolence and equality, or all those dark synonyms, I think I’ll just stand over here with the patriots.
W. R. van Elburg is a James City County resident. He can be reached at w.r.vanelburg@gmail.com.
