Not Patriotic

One of the articles of faith that we all have as Americans is that to be a good American and a decent human being, you must be patriotic. That means we must all say publically that we love America, that America is the best country in the world, and that it moves us to tears to hear the Star Spangled Banner.

I may be the only native born American who is—I admit it—not patriotic. The only time I have ever heard any American come close to my feeling was when Michelle Obama said, “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country”. Of course she recanted that later so that leaves me the only citizen I know of who does not feel patriotic. If there are others, they are keeping it secret. (Maybe they know something I don’t—maybe it is a crime to not be patriotic. I’d better make this piece anonymous.)

Oh, it is not that I hate America. Sure there are some things in America I hate, but I don’t hate the country. I don’t think it is the best country in the world for the same reason I don’t think my dad was the best person in the world: because I don’t know how to compare people and decide one person is better than another. And I don’t know how to compare countries and decide one is better than another. I live here not because I decided the US was the best country, but because I’m used to it and I’m lazy. It also helps that I speak the language. If I decided that France was the best country and I had to live there I’d have a hell of a time with the language. Does “best country” mean it has the highest average income? That’s not America; it is some small country in the Middle East. Does it mean the one with the lowest crime rate? That’s not America; several European countries do better there. America is not the country with the best educated population, with the least violence or pornography. America is not the most religious country even though it is very religious. (But personally I don’t consider that a plus.)

Saying America is the best country in the world is, to me, a meaningless statement. I think people say it out of a sense of duty or sentiment, not because America had the highest score on some objective measure of what makes a good country.

I am also not patriotic because I am not the kind of person much moved by sentiment. I am not moved by feelings of reverence. I know that horrifies patriotic religious people, particularly right wingers like Glen Beck who tears up at anything that evokes those feelings in others. But I think they are phonies. The most common reason people display those feelings is to manipulate others. That is why Samuel Johnson said that “patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel”. All too often they try to bolster their arguments by implying that if you loved your country you’d agree with them. More important for some is that by declaring their patriotism they feel they are on the side of goodness, purity and rightness. For them goodness and patriotism are two sides of the same coin. For them those who are not patriotic are empty, hollow people without a soul.


But is love of country really a confused concept? After all, if you love your country what exactly is it that you love? The geography? The land mass? Or is it the people, as though you couldn’t love people from another country. The culture? The politics? Perhaps people who say they love their country know better than I what they mean, but I am not sure. Do they think that an American is somehow better than other people? Picture a young person from another country, graduating from school and starting a life with the hope of changing the world for the better. Is that person somehow not as good or as valuable as an American in the same position? Many people would seem to think so. But I don’t.

I know that part of my feelings come from the fact that I was young and impressionable when the anti-Vietnam war protests were going on. People in Southeast Asia were being carpet bombed, killed by the thousands and some people were criticizing the government and the military and trying to stop the war. Many of us were affected in a lasting way seeing that our country could do evil things and offer patriotism and body counts as a defense. That left me believing that sometimes the best contributors to a civilized world are the critics and not the patriots.

So I plead guilty to being a non-reverential person, one who is a critic and a skeptic. And yes, one who does not love his country. Oh, I think some things here in America are pretty nifty. But I don’t think we have the best form of government in the world. I don’t think that our people are better than other people. And I think some aspects of our culture are pretty terrible. The love of guns, and world leadership in the money spent on our military and in the number of convicts per capita are a few examples.

I was struck the other day seeing an interview of Jimmy Carter. When he commented on the political polarization in the country he was asked if he felt hopeful about the country. He immediately shot back, “No”. I agreed with the answer, but I was struck by the speed with which he answered. I didn’t feel so alone after all.