What is patriotism?
How do you define it?
Is patriotism defined by which politician wears a flag pin on his lapel more consistently, or is patriotism defined as a blind obedience to one’s country and its leaders, no matter the circumstances?
A recent article by Peter Beinart in TIME Magazine prompted me to start thinking about how I define patriotism, and I can’t think of a more fitting day than today – our nation’s Independence Day – to both share my thoughts and have a discussion about what constitutes patriotism.
In his article, Beinart discusses two types of patriotism: a patriotism of affirmation, which he says appeals more to conservatives, and a patriotism of dissent, which is particularly cherished by liberals. Of course, I consider myself a patriot precisely because I choose to dissent when I believe my leaders are wrong, just as our nation’s founding fathers chose to dissent – and ultimately revolt – when they believed their British rulers to be wrong. I believe dissent and debate are patriotic because they’re precisely what our founding fathers had in mind when they created our democracy, and so I believe dissent and debate to be at the very heart of patriotism.
What’s more, I believe the love and defense of the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence that constitutes the true meaning of patriotism:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
These are the ideals upon which our nation was founded – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – and I believe anyone who loves and defends those ideals, regardless of party affiliation or political ideology, is a true patriot.
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