The Impact Of Patriotism Today
Thesis: Patriotism is known to be a necessity to support one's country but many contradicting factors disagree with that actuality in today’s America. Patriotism is not inherently a good or bad thing but moderation is key for it just like anything else in life. Both concepts, negative or positive, incorporate powerful statements regarding the moral priority of the community. The support of patriotism has pushed America through some of the toughest war times in history. Although, the excessiveness of patriotism can blindside those by ignoring atrocities and violations of human rights made by the government.
There is no doubt that America is very patriotic, the national pride score shows that fact very clearly with “Americans were #1 in claiming to be #1” (insert footnote 8). The American government strongly supports this as well. That raises the question, why would the government support patriotism? Well, extreme patriots are more likely to agree with what the government has to say, even if it disregards basic human rights and beliefs. Governments encourage patriotism for an increase in support in whatever decision the government wants to make, to gain more control over the people, and to also get more money from their followers due to increases in taxes where patriots are more likely to go along with whichever route the government is trying to take. These aspects are why patriots are deemed as biased towards their own country.
America has been known to be in many major wars like the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, and the ongoing War in Afghanistan today. These wars have cost Americans billions of dollars each (insert footnote 3), with thousands of casualties that many could have easily been prevented. Many of these soldiers that fought in these wars had pure intentions in claiming themselves as patriots. They fought for their country and reserved their right to be considered a true patriot. A true patriot may be anyone like a war veteran, a current soldier, family members of soldiers, or someone who just truly loves their country because they simply live there. The definition of a patriot is “one who loves and supports his or her country” (insert footnote 1). In a perfect world, one should definitely be proud to live where they are and support all the choices that country makes, knowing those choices are what is right for the greater good. The very act of being a patriot should lie inside every being for their country. But unfortunately, that is not the case around the world today, and America is a good example of that. There is what is called a true patriot as stated before, and then there is an excessive patriot, also known as a nationalist.
The symbol of being a patriot nowadays is perceived differently by different groups of people. There are those who identify themselves as true patriots and see nothing wrong with the fact. And there are those who view American patriots as racist, extremist, and violent.
The definition of nationalist is “a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups” (insert footnote 4). These “patriots” are typically referred to as nationalists. The Americans that nationalists are aggressive towards are the same ones who have been personally deceived and abandoned by this country. The same Americans who have been brutally murdered in the streets in broad daylight by their own police force with no justice served after the fact. The same Americans who were only recently allowed in “white” public schools just for the last 55 years (insert footnote 2).
Another group negatively affected by nationalism are immigrants. Regardless of their legal status, nationalists show bias towards any person outside of their “group”. American nationalists are typically portrayed as white, christian conservatives. The consistent upgrades in technology has really shed light on how divided America is today. There is footage of police officers on duty shooting and killing unarmed black men. There is footage of nationalists yelling racist epithets to someone of a different race who is speaking their native tongue, telling them to “go back to your own country”. There are those who are openly violent and throwing out threats towards other groups or political parties on social media.
There are many who believe this time in America is to be called the “Trump Era”. Named after the 45th president of the United States, who is also known to be a racist, christian conservative himself. Many believe he is the one bringing out these once hidden feelings inside these nationalists and causing these nationalists to believe he would support them in their indignations. I don’t believe he is to blame for every single thing, even though I may disagree with almost all of his policies. There have been separations from America’s racial animus and I think it is just coming back to the surface again.
I believe Trump just embodies the hatreds and fears that have been apart of America since day one. The very founder of America, known as Christopher Columbus, who considered the indigenous people they encountered as obstacles. Him and other european explorers enslaved many native inhabitants along the way of their voyage, writing in his own personal journal claiming they would be “good servants” (insert footnote 6). Columbus is descretely known for the genocide he brought forth in the New America, enslaving those natives he came across, and also bringing forth new diseases from Europe that the natives didn’t stand a chance towards. America has an entire day celebrating this man but with the new upcoming controversies of this holiday, many towns and cities have renamed this day as “indigenous peoples day” in remembrance of the native people who suffered (insert footnote 5).
Nationalists see themselves as top tier compared to other groups of Americans, who in reality are at the exact same level, and that’s what scares the nationalists the most. With America’s convoluted past, it is hard to determine whether someone is a true patriot or a nationalist, but we truly don’t need patriotism to defend common values. People will do that themselves without any sort of label. Even one of the smartest men in the world stated, “This plague-spot of civilization ought to be abolished with all possible speed. Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how passionately I hate them” (insert footnote 7).
Conclusion
It is a very sad reality how divided America is in 2019, but it is the unfortunate truth. There is not one specific event that has led America to this point. I think it is the abundance of many events that has caused this division since day one. By the true definition, being a patriot is not considered a bad thing. It is when the patriotism is advanced into nationalism where the patriot exalts themselves over all other groups. There has always been a fine line between the two, but in today’s America, the line is even thinner, and the hostility is more intense. Racial resentment seems to be driving those to economic anxiety which has ideally led to the creation of nationalism. There is a definite distinction in the symbolism one carries as a patriot and one carries as a nationalist in today’s America.
