patriotism and humility
January 5th 2012 21:21
Any discussion regarding the idea of patriotism should be imbued with a touch of humility.
A patriotism devoid of humility is bound to be rooted in absolutism. And all forms of absolutism lead to injustice because its believers assume the ends -- no matter how cruel -- always justify the means.
No country is immune from this worldview. History has proven that it isn't difficult to convince human beings that their country is superior to all other countries.
According to the late Reinhold Niebuhr, author and moral theologian, the culture in the United States has long championed the idea that our country possesses a divinely ordained virtuousness that elevates us above all other nations in history. To give weight to his assertion, Niebuhr cites a sermon given by President Stiles of Yale in 1975 where he defined our nation as "God's American Israel."
"We find it almost as difficult as the communists to believe that anyone could think ill of us, since we are as persuaded as they that our society is so essentially virtuous that only malice could prompt criticism of any our actions," Niebuhr said.
His astute observation must never be discarded to the memory hole. While the United States deserves -- but doesn't always get -- credit for its accomplishments over the years, this doesn't mean it should fall prey to fanciful illusions of American innocency. There have been times where the U.S. has betrayed a virtue to defend an even greater virtue, but there have been other times when America has wreaked havoc on other nations because it was too blinded by nationalism to recognize its internal contradictions.
Americans should love their country, but they shouldn't love it blindly. Like a loving parent, citizens should praise their country when it acts virtuously, and scold it when it strays from the correct path.
A patriotism devoid of humility is bound to be rooted in absolutism. And all forms of absolutism lead to injustice because its believers assume the ends -- no matter how cruel -- always justify the means.
No country is immune from this worldview. History has proven that it isn't difficult to convince human beings that their country is superior to all other countries.
According to the late Reinhold Niebuhr, author and moral theologian, the culture in the United States has long championed the idea that our country possesses a divinely ordained virtuousness that elevates us above all other nations in history. To give weight to his assertion, Niebuhr cites a sermon given by President Stiles of Yale in 1975 where he defined our nation as "God's American Israel."
"We find it almost as difficult as the communists to believe that anyone could think ill of us, since we are as persuaded as they that our society is so essentially virtuous that only malice could prompt criticism of any our actions," Niebuhr said.
His astute observation must never be discarded to the memory hole. While the United States deserves -- but doesn't always get -- credit for its accomplishments over the years, this doesn't mean it should fall prey to fanciful illusions of American innocency. There have been times where the U.S. has betrayed a virtue to defend an even greater virtue, but there have been other times when America has wreaked havoc on other nations because it was too blinded by nationalism to recognize its internal contradictions.
Americans should love their country, but they shouldn't love it blindly. Like a loving parent, citizens should praise their country when it acts virtuously, and scold it when it strays from the correct path.
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