Progressive World Review

In a recent column, Jonah Goldberg lectures Barack Obama on his “patriotism problem.”  As he sees it Obama’s “problem” goes far deeper than lapel pins,

He sees an America in which the cup is half-empty. Is his America the same one most Americans think of as they wave flags and celebrate the Fourth of July?

But is that what patriotism really is, an unflagging, cup half full, optimism?  I have nothing against optimism but what does that have to do with patriotism?  To some, patriotism means the desire to make your country the best it can be but to Goldberg, beyond minor policy changes we needn’t concern ourselves with that,

Definitions of patriotism proliferate, but in the American context patriotism must involve not only devotion to American texts (something that distinguishes our patriotism from European nationalism) but also an abiding belief in the inherent and enduring goodness of the American nation. We might need to change this or that policy or law, fix this or that problem, but at the end of the day the patriotic American believes that America is fundamentally good as it is. (emphasis added)

No doubt this sounds reasonable to many but what this really describes is group think or herd mentality.  To Goldberg, patriotism means believing his country is superior to all others for no other reason than he was born in it.  He doesn’t explicitly state America’s superiority in his article but is there any doubt to his opinion?  If asked “are there any other countries in the world today that are better than America?” would you expect his answer to be “yes,” regardless of whatever the truth might be?

What if your country isn’t “fundamentally good” or what if your country has lost its way and no longer abides by the principles it once did?  The definition Goldberg offers could be applied by the citizens of any country and no doubt is but what if it isn’t true?  This is clearly the case with many nations around the world.  How many women for example would like to live in Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan where women are second class citizens?  Apparently Goldberg doesn’t realize that there are “patriots” just like him living in those countries who feel the same about their country as he does about his.

The problem with the Jonah Goldberg notion of patriotism is not only does he consider issues such as slavery, civil rights or women’s suffrage to be essentially minor issues that don’t actually reflect on the “inherent and enduring goodness of the American nation,” his kind only sees these as problems after the fact, if ever, but never while the nation is actually going through them.  Years from now it’ll be common knowledge that we’re experiencing an extreme low point in this country, the Iraq war, suspension of habeas corpus, torture, warrantless spying on Americans, all of these, with the possible exception of the first, go completely counter to the ideals this country was founded on.  There is simply no way the Founding Fathers would agree with any of it regardless of the justification because these were overarching principles that are just too important to ignore.  But it’s “patriots” like Goldberg who do just that because their “abiding belief in the inherent and enduring goodness of the American nation” blinds them to the reality virtually every time.

Rather than “hating America” as many are so often accused, only those who are willing to face reality and demand that their country live up to its promise can consider themselves American patriots while the Goldbergs are merely members of the American herd.

–Paul Wilden

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