Posted by
Patriotic Liberal on Saturday, April 11, 2009 12:50:34 PM
One insult I hear all the time at this site is that
“Patriotic Liberal” is an oxymoron. In
truth, it is difficult to be a patriot in America without being liberal.
To begin with, there is a distinction between “patriotism”
and “nationalism.” Nationalism is kind
of civic egoism, two-bit emotions found in any old country, however
barbaric .
Patriotism, in contrast, is a virtue. And as a virtue, it is its own reason. We do X or we believe Y because we love our
country. We do not love our country
because of X or because of Y.
But what kind of love is patriotism? How is this love a virtue? I would compare patriotism to the love of a long
marriage. One knows his wife. One is aware of her shortcomings and her
flaws. But one chooses to love her
anyhow. One chooses to love her because
there is deep truth in abiding love, a truth that is more powerful than passion
or emotion or whatever else may flare up in the neurology of men. The love that sustains a long marriage is a
practice and a discipline. It is a virtue.
So, too, with
patriotism.
America
is honorable for the better part of her moral and civic heritage. This moral and civic heritage is our virtue. It is sacred and profound, and rooted in our nation itself. We were Christian colonies, but it took the
Enlightenment to make us a Republic. We
are the first country—the only country—that was founded, not in race nor
religion nor language, but upon a set of precepts.
What were those ideals? The natural rights of men. It was an idea that self-governing men can
manage their own affairs and choose their own leadership. It was an idea that government comes from
the people, not from the divine right of the guys already in power.
But that is not all.
In addition to government with the consent of the governed (which is why
we have elections, by the way, and why it is vitally important that elections are fair and
true), the founders put forward the notion that there is an objective moral universe, that this moral universe can be rationally understood, and that humanity is at the center of it. And while the civic rituals of religion may
buttress the public order—which is a good thing—the fundamental truth of our
country is a kind of liberality that confers dignity to men while
imparting an abundance of benefits.
From that time to ours, we have been the world’s stewards of
the liberal way. And it is a way that has yielded value to us,
economically and in terms of moral authority.
In the end, our capacity to lead is derived from our ability to draw from
“the better angels of our nature.” And
not surprisingly, American history is very much the tension between the
idealism that gave rise to our Republic in the first place and the willingness
of leaders to pander to the baser instincts of the broad population. Patriotism is on the side of the former;
nationalism is merely the latter.
And that is why it is virtually impossible to be a true patriot in America without being liberal. And it is why illiberal souls, barbaric and flat, may strut around, parading and blatting their "patriotism," but in the end, they are indistinguishable from grubby people across the face of the earth. In the end, the sweet sentiment that is patriotic feeling belongs to those men who are faithful in upholding and improving the moral character of their nation.