A Look at Patriotism 2018

By Ruth A. Sheets

Patriotism clearly means different things to different people.  Traditionally, it meant love of one's country.  That sounds simple, but how does that manifest itself in the real world?

How can you tell if someone is patriotic?  That varies depending on the group or groups to which one has loyalty.  For some, one can only demonstrate love of country through military service, while for others, vocally supporting the nation’s military/wars is sufficient.  Some require patriots to display a flag on the lawn and wear a flag pin in public.  Some expect patriots to know and sing all the “patriotic” songs and stand with their hand over their heart when singing the “National Anthem” (don't take a knee!)  Some demand the saying of the “Pledge of Allegiance” at every possible occasion, (even though it is pledging to a flag, not a country).

The element missing from all but the first description of patriotism above is depth.  Mouthing support for a war, waving or wearing a flag, saying the “Pledge,” singing  “America the Beautiful” demand little or nothing of the practitioner.  These acts  are visible, but say little except that one has a handle on the trappings of patriotism.  Where is the substance?
 
The problem is that just having the trappings of patriotism allows practitioners to designate those who don’t participate in the superficiality as unpatriotic, therefore not as good, not a "real" American.

The most commonly cited factor of patriotism involves military service of some kind.  Serving in the military generally involves sacrifice of time, health, opportunities, even one's life, all of which are valuable to our nation.  People who make this choice deserve kudos, but we need to expand our understanding of sacrifice.  

Communities throughout the United States have people making patriotic sacrifices every day:  fire-fighters, people who work against violence, folks who care for frail seniors and the vulnerable youngsters among us.  Consider Scout leaders, youth directors, people who staff soup kitchens and community pantries, and non-profit workers, often volunteers.  These are all patriots as are local elected officials, mediators, school safeties, teachers, mental health workers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, farmers, environmentalists, innovators, police officers, and so many others, all patriots.

What all patriots have in common is that they care not just for the country, but for the people who live here too.  No matter what their political leanings, they see a need and try to meet it using the resources available to them.  These folks understand that America is a diverse place and that there is room for everyone here, no matter where they were born.  They believe in and understand that our nation was founded on the rule of law and justice for all, and that we are stronger together than separate.

Just in case that is too vague, I'll be more clear.  A patriot does not force his/her opinions and behaviors on others.  A patriot does not work to deny healthcare for people who can't afford it.  A patriot does not help to stack courts who will favor one group over the rights of other groups.  A patriot does not use their religious beliefs to justify their own prejudices.  A patriot does not try to restrict voting in a society that depends on voting for its success.  A patriot does not approve of cruelty done in America's name to defenseless children and adults, for any reason.  In short, Patriots care about more than their own comfort and the enforcement of their own beliefs.

So, celebrate this July 4th, but do it with your neighbors and friends.  Display a flag, but remember that it is the symbol of a people more than of a place.  We are a flawed people, but we are trying to get better. 

Show Us Your Patriotism and We’ll Show You Ours

By Ruth A. Sheets

Patriotism is one of those words that clearly means something different to people in each of the various groups in America.  I think that “patriotism” means love of one’s country. 

That sounds so simple.  If one loves one’s nation, one is “patriotic,” right?  Well, maybe not so simple.  Love is one of those words which can be defined so broadly that no two groups will understand it the same way.

For some, one can only demonstrate love of country through service in the military, while for others, vocally supporting the nation’s wars is sufficient.  Some require patriots to display a flag on the lawn and/or wear a flag pin in public.  Some expect patriots to know and sing all the “patriotic” songs and stand with their hand on their heart when singing the “National Anthem,” (even though standing at attention is actually correct).  Some only demand the saying of the “Pledge of Allegience” at every possible occasion (even though it is pledging to a flag, not to a country).

The element that is missing from all but the first understanding of patriotism is depth.  Mouthing support for a war, waving or wearing a flag, saying the “Pledge,” singing  “America the Beautiful” demand nothing of the practitioner.  These acts  are very visible and seem patriotic.  It is easy, then,  to designate those who don’t participate in the superficiality as unpatriotic.

Serving in the military is valuable and should be recognized, but it is not the only “deep” patriotism.  Every community in the United States has people acting patriotically every day:  volunteer fire-fighters, people who try to stop violence, folks who care for the frail seniors among us as well as the very youngest, and the most vulnerable.  Scout leaders, youth directors, people who staff soup kitchens, community pantries, and other services.  These are all patriots as are local elected officials, mediators, school safeties, teachers, environmentalists, innovators, and so many more.

What all of these people have in common is that they care not just about the country, but the people who live here too.  No matter what their political leanings, they see a need and try to meet it using the resources available to them.  These folks understand that America is a diverse place and that there is room for everyone here.  We are stronger together than separate.

So, celebrate this July 4^th, but do it with your neighbors and friends.  Display a flag, but remember that it is the symbol of a people more than of a place.  We are a flawed people, but we are trying to get better, and for the most part, we are.

WHAT DO WE HOLD SACRED?

by Ruth A. Sheets

On Thursday, March 29th’s NPR program “Here and Now,” a discussion was held regarding morality and what the two political parties/political positions hold as “sacred.”  The guest said that one of our greatest problems currently is that “liberals” and “conservatives” don’t interact with each other.  They don’t exchange ideas on a personal level.  Members of Congress work in Washington for only a short period each week, then rush home to their districts.  They don’t have to really work with anyone on the other side of the aisle.

When people can’t be together on a personal level, they can’t begin to understand the position of the others.  Without such understanding, each side can become entrenched in their own beliefs and attitudes. 

The guest explained that each side antagonizes the other by stepping on, defacing, or denigrating the things the other holds as sacred.  If people can only understand what the other holds as sacred, the anger and fear may dissipate, at least somewhat.

The Republicans/Conservatives hold such icons as the flag, the Bible, and the cross/crucifix as their most revered objects/concepts.  The Democrats/Liberals tend to hold the concepts of fairness and equal opportunity for all as inviolable. 

When a flag is burned or desecrated, the actual desecration seems more important than the reason for it.  There is no room for any of their top three symbols to be treated with anything they might see as disrespect, no matter why.

When conservatives propose actions that do not seem to allow for fair treatment of all groups or which do not accommodate equal opportunity, Liberals often see them as being heartless, often to the point of evil. 

The thing I noticed is that the conservatives cling to objects which no one is allowed do disrespect, but people in general are less important.  Liberals seem to lean more toward people and value symbols and objects less.  It seems to me that there is a qualitative difference here.  

Objects and symbols are easy to deal with.  They don’t need anything. They make no real demands, except loyalty.  Admittedly, that is a pretty strong master.

People are messy, unpredictable, often needy.  The struggle for fairness and equality of opportunity is a lot harder than defending the flag, Bible, or cross, especially when the latter involves only speech in 3-word slogans or even letters (“U-S-A, Drill baby drill.”).

It is easy to think of those who revere symbols as patriotic because those symbols can be easily displayed in nearly any type of setting. 

Improvement of conditions for people, fairness, justice for all are very hard to display.  These generally require stories which take time to experience, time which our current short attention spans don’t accommodate.  But are these less “patriotic?”

It would be helpful if people on the “left” were a bit more sensitive to the “right’s” need that their symbols not be desecrated in art, protest, and other areas of life.  However, the sad part is that I don’t feel the “right” will reciprocate, at least not in this period of our history.  

I believe it is not that the people on the “left” don’t value the things the “right” holds as sacred.  It is that we do not place them above people.