A friend of mine is currently back in the U.S., which can be kind of a weird experience for those of us who live abroad. Reverse culture shock. Anyway, she recently had a problem with one of her more politically conservative relatives who accused her of being unpatriotic.
Honestly, I can’t understand why patriotism is considered by so many people to be a virtue. Kindness is a virtue. Courage is a virtue. A sense of decency, justice and fair play is a virtue. Diplomacy is a virtue. It’s not my virtue, but I admire people who have it. Cleanliness is a virtue. I know some people who would argue with that, and most of us are somewhere in the middle, like those people who hang a plaque in their kitchen that says “Clean enough to be healthy, dirty enough to be happy” but most people agree that it’s better to be clean than dirty and I class it among the virtues both because it is a choice and because it’s part of being a good person, a net asset to your
family, your community and the human race. Humility is a virtue. Generosity is a virtue. That’s a really important one.
Good looks, a high I.Q., athletic ability or a nice singing voice are not virtues. They are positive characteristics, but you’re either born with them or you’re not. No choice. Also, I have known plenty of people who were extremely bright but really nasty, unfriendly individuals. It’s not the hand your dealt that defines you as a good person. It’s what you do with it.
I don’t see any way that being patriotic makes someone a better person, benefits the people around them or makes the world a better place. It doesn’t make your kids smile, it doesn’t feed the poor, it doesn’t clean up the environment. We could totally live without it and the world would be a better place. My brother, who is a musician, often points out that people love John Lennon’s song “Imagine,” but they don’t really listen to the words.
Many Israelis and Syrians are patriotic. This leads to problems. However, an Israeli and a Syrian can get along just fine, as long as neither one of them is patriotic. Another friend of mine is an Iranian-American. He says it is his patriotic obligation to kill himself. (He’s kidding.)
In conclusion, I think patriotism is stupid. The human race would be better off without it.
www.gurukalehuru.com 
Great points! And people are getting offended when I say good things about other countries that are not the U.S. I guess that is un-patriotic to appreciate any other culture.
And… America is multi-cultural.
I think some deny this and then call themselves patriotic.
damn i,m funny, i said that? did u see my post about the republiCONs and demoCRYTEs? as u know i am in wisconisin a state where they dont brew tea anymore, just the little sachet with a string attached. no need to have the better things in life. and i just heard the guy dont got no kawlij digree cuz bewks are stoopid. im thinking beer brings the community smarts average way down? havent been paying mush attention to whats happening here, mostly ive noticed the ones who care fuel their world vision with megadoses of stand-up comedy. optimistically i see a change in the making which would lead to the opening of a chain of “lie-down tragedy” clubs.
what pisses me off the most is a minor thing. only one person (and this includes a bunch of bookstore people, even in berkeley) in this land of margerine eaters knew about and was eagerly awaiting marc twains autobiography-not to be published until 100 years after his death-which came out in berkekely on november 1st.
nuff sed,
boobs
I love what your Iranian-American friend said.
I don’t think it’s bad to be patriotic if it means that you care about your country and you care about how your country behaves in the world. Patriotism should not be the magic marker with which we censor all of our misdeeds. My issue with the word “patriotism” or “patriotic” is that like the US Flag it has been redefined and misused by a subset of Americans. In this misuse live the rumblings of xenophobia, squawks of idiocy, and the silent armed night watch of supremacy. This same subset will in turn slander and libel the elected president of the country to which they claim superior adoration. Dissent and libel are not one in the same. Dissent is patriotic especially if you are an American.
I don’t feel that Patriotism has to be discarded or that it necessarily should be. I simply feel that it must be defined by virtuous qualities, and it must be taken back from those who frankly defile what it means to be patriotic and what it means to be American. Take back the flag, dammit!
I’m totally with you on that, Connie. There’s nothing wrong with anybody being proud of their country, it’s history, their culture and so on.
Mindlessly waving the flag and cheering for war as if it were a football game is wrong, and dangerous.
Bubu, damn, I didn’t know about the Twain book, either. That might have some amazing stuff in it. He lived through critical times.
Speaking of Patriotism and being called a ‘traitor’ for opposing narrow-minded, ignorant, greedy, nationalist views…..why in the world does all major political activity in the US start in the state of Iowa ? I was raised in Iowa….it is not exactly an accurate representation of the diversity in America, to say the least. On my last visit to my old, poor neighborhood I was surprised to see the State Headquarters for the Republican Party only 1 block from my old home site. This resembles a lid clamped down on a pressure cooker to me….the suppression and cruelty experienced, but not understood, as a child in a poor environment. Is this the State we really want to lead in selecting our future leaders? Not me….I am proud to be FROM Iowa.
Well, Iowa is not terribly diverse, but there are plenty of states which would be worse choices for where to start the political process. Also, it’s pretty much right in the middle as far as the red/blue divide goes.
(note to everybody – Jean grew up on the same street as me. I am also proud to be FROM Iowa)