MM#241--Patriotism, Virtue or Vice?

Welcome to the Theory to Action podcast, where we examine the timeless treasures of wisdom from the great books in less time, to help you take action immediately and ultimately to create and lead a flourishing life. Now here's your host, david Kaiser Hello.

I am David and welcome back to another Oh Joe minute. As is our new custom, we're going to kick it off right away with the opening quote. Patriotic people recognize what their country has given and is giving them. They pay it due honor and service by supporting and defending the values it stands for. They also make their own. They make their own the noble aspirations of every country in the world. Now, before discussing how to teach this virtue, i should like to say something about the description I have just given of it. Once country gives a person the indispensable conditions he or she needs for his or her intellectual, moral, social and economic life, therefore he needs to recognize what his country has given him and is still giving him if he is to act justly towards it. Only patriotism has to do with the personal relationship between each individual and his country. Only later does this mean defending and protecting the values which it represents against harmful external influences. It is interesting to note that St Thomas Aquinas includes this duty towards one's country within the virtue of piety, which also regulates a person's relations with his or her parents And with his or her entire family. He, thomas, says, on the basis of birth and upbringing, parents and country are the closest sources of all our existence and development. As a consequence, everyone is indebted, first of all under God, to his parents and then to the Fatherland. So that is the opening paragraph in Chapter 24 of a book titled Character Building by David Isaacs. And before we move any further, let's just debunk the whole Fatherland reference there by St Thomas Aquinas. He's not talking about Germany 1933 to 1945. St Thomas Aquinas lived from 1218 to 1275, i think somewhere around there Only 50 years in the 13th century. So when he was referring to Fatherland, he is not incorporating Hitler's version of Fatherland, which we will talk about later. But this notion of what is the difference between patriotism and nationalism got me to thinking. Is one a virtue and is other a vice? And to break this down, i did a little research. So patriotism and nationalism are two popular terms, but they are often used interchangeably in our world today. However, they have very different implications and most people don't know those implications. Patriotism is a love for one's country. It is a sense of loyalty and devotion to a nation's principles and ideals. On the other hand, nationalism is an extreme form of patriotism, where one considers their country superior to others Now I will say people who speak of American exceptionalism usually get this wrong by saying those of us that believe in American exceptionalism and count me as one believe we are more superior to others. That is not the case. That is not American exceptionalism. We believe that our country, the United States, is distinctive. We believe it's unique compared to the other nations. Why? Because of its founding documents and its political system. And that belief was echoed by the French political science scientist Alexis de Togfill during his travels around the country in the 1830s. And in fact here's the quote from his wonderful book Democracy in America, written in 1840, quote the position of the Americans is therefore quite exceptional. It may be believed that no other democratic people will be placed in a similar one. That comes to us on page 36 of part two. For all you naysayers out there, look it up Now. Most Americans understand that extreme nationalism often leads to negative consequences like war, genocide and other forms of violence. They know the perfect example of this nationalism is Germany from 1933 to 1945. But let's go back to the book to highlight the significant differences and other differences between patriotism and nationalism and why one is a virtue that we should pursue and the other is a vice that we should avoid. On the one hand, patriotism also means recognizing what one's country has given one and still gives one. On the other, it means rendering it the honor and service it deserves, supporting and defending the values it stands for. One of the vices which undermines patriotism is cosmopolitanism, or internationalism as it's more commonly called nowadays, which implies indifference, at a tunely or concrete, toward things that have to do with one's country. This can lead a person to be unconcerned about the common good and just look for the personal satisfaction at the expense of his or her fellow countrymen. So that's a very important distinction And based on that paragraph, we can tell that patriotism and nationalism, on the one hand, and cosmopolitanism, on the other hand, differ in scope and in nature. Patriotism, like we talked about, is a positive attribute, a virtue. It promotes unity, brotherly brotherhood and love for one's nation. It encompasses the idea of a love for people and not just for the nation's land and borders. On the other hand, nationalism fosters a us versus them mentality. It can be divisive and hateful. It often leads to viewing other nations as inferior. It promotes racism and xenophobia, while cosmopolitanism, or internationalism, as we've said it is now called, has this idea that we are all citizens of the world, which is, in a sense, we belong to a brotherhood of mankind, which is true, but we still believe in promoting the common good and common society. Citizens of the world don't abide by that. Reference any Marxist or communist textbook. To understand that, in fact, let's grab a couple quotes from the new great Thomas scholar, edward Fesser, from his new book All in One in Christ, fantastic Book. And this comes to us from Edward Fesser. In his book All in One in Christ, he's referencing John Paul, saint John Paul, the second book, memory and Identity, from 2005,. Where he says, on page 33. Pope Saint John Paul II noted the disappearance of the nation would be contrary to the natural order of things as understood by the church. Where he says yet it still seems that nation and native land, like the family, are permanent realities. In this regard, catholic social doctrine speaks of natural societies, indicating that both the family and the nation have a particular bond with human nature, which has a social dimension. Every society's formation takes place in and through the family. Of this there can be no doubt. Yet something similar could also be said about the nation. How interesting It goes on. In particular, the Pope says the Pope, the nation and the cultural heritage that defines it cannot be replaced by mere political institutions or legal ties between people. You would almost think that he's talking about the European Union, but he doesn't say that. Let's go back to this quote. The term nation designates a community based in a given territory and distinguished from other nations by its culture. Catholic social social doctrine holds that the family and the nation are both natural societies, not the product of mere convention. Therefore, in human history they cannot be replaced by anything else. For example, the nation cannot be replaced by the state, even though the nation tends naturally to establish itself as a state. Still less it is possible to identify the nation with a so-called democratic society, since herein it is a case of two distinct, albeit interconnected, orders. Democratic society is closer to the state than is the nation, but the nation is the ground on which the state is born. It goes on and it gets even more interesting Hang in there with me Since, as the catechism teaches, every human community needs an authority to govern it. Catechism, point 1898,. The authority of the state is a natural concomitant of the human community. That is the nation, and this is important. As John Paul says, the nation must exist as a state. And he goes on to say the issue of democracy comes later, in the area or in the arena of the internal politics of the state. And since the nation is a natural foundation on which the state and democracy are built, they can hardly exist without it, any more than a household can exist without a house's foundation. Thus, patriotic attachment remains today, no less than in the past, something to which one's nation has a right. Here's our last FULL PARAGRAPH. If we ask where patriotism appears in the decalogue, the reply comes without hesitation it is covered by the Fourth Commandment, which obliges us to honor our Father and Mother. It is included under the umbrella of the Latin word pietas, which underlines the religious dimension of the respect and veneration due to parents. Patriotism is a love for everything to do with our native land, its history, its traditions, its language, its natural features. It is a love which extends also to the works of our compatriots and the fruits of their genius. Every danger that threatens the overall good of our native land becomes an occasion to demonstrate this love. That's a fascinating paragraph. Looks a little bit more like all of our affections. Love of country can be excessive, to the point of arrogance toward other nations and even idolatry. Nationalism is the label usually attached to such a disordered love of country. And if you don't know the story of John Paul II, you can read about him in Witness to Hope. Many chapters talk about his upbringing. He was 17 or 18 years old when the Nazis stormed his country in World War II, invaded his country And through a clandestine priesthood he would put on plays. He was part of a makeshift actors guild that would put on plays promoting the nationalism of Poland or the patriotism of Poland, not the nationalism. And he saw the nationalism of Germany up front and up close in its destruction. Let's go back to the book to wrap up the warning on nationalism, and we're still quoting from Edward Fessers All in One in Christ, the church warns against such excesses, meaning nationalism, excessive and disorderly love for our country And the Poplarian progressio. St Paul VI condemned the haughty pride of a nationalism which would exclude the love for the whole family of man, and in the famous encyclical towards Nazi Germany, mitt Brendender Sorge, pope Pius XI I'm sorry, pius XI condemned the diabolical nationalism of Nazi Germany. But virtues are means between extremes, and just as one can show too much attachment to one's nation, so too can one show too little. Patriotism is the sober middle ground, and those who excew it in the name of cosmopolitanism or internationalism are no more in line with the teaching of the church than those who go to the opposite erroneous extremes of making an idol of one's nation. So very important distinctions in those long quotes. I thought it was very important. I thought it shitted a lot of color on the difference between patriotism and nationalism and internationalism. Now, often it's hard to teach children, or even to learn ourselves as adults, how to acquire the virtue of patriotism, and that's where our book Character Matters that we first quoted from in the beginning, has some great suggestions that in fact apply to children. But we as adults can relearn them, because often we acquire bad habits too. Let's go to the book. First point our country can only get in a good economic position if everyone works responsibly, thinking not only about his or her legitimate rights but also about his or her duties and about the common good, building up a good civil society within one's nation. Justice requires that everyone obey the laws, provided that they are just themselves, and therefore they should pay their taxes, they should do military service, if there is any, and they should exercise the franchise, etc. Justice also requires that everyone use the channels available for installing a greater degree of justice at all levels. Therefore, for there to be a strong United country, a person should take an active part in the associations, such as with parents, other parents, neighborhood associations, local government, etc. In accordance with his or her abilities. Peace is the result of charity being practiced by the members of a society. Therefore, people should seek out the best way to be charitable towards their neighbor, towards everyone, respecting diversity of opinions, joining forces to bring about improvements and protecting themselves against any form of violence which endangers peace. So as we see our civil society break down all around us, especially in our major cities, i thought it is an important reminder to think about these things and to be active in our local, state and federal politics, because that is a sense of patriotism And we have to understand patriotism versus nationalism and versus internationalism, where one is a virtue and the other two are vices. So in today's Mojo Minute, let us know and recognize the virtue of patriotism and understand its difference between nationalism, which lies in their scope, their nature, their impact on society and religion, most especially internationalism or cosmopolitanism, patriotism is a positive attribute and virtue. It promotes unity, love for our country and national pride. It fosters a sense of brotherhood among people and fosters collaboration and cooperation. On the other hand, the other two are vices nationalism and internationalism. They are the extreme forms of patriotism. Disordered love for country. Nationalism emphasizes hate, intolerance, violence, which then makes a dangerous attribute that creates divisions and promotes a sense of superiority of one's nations over others. Cosmopolitanism or internationalism creates a self-hate for one's own country We see a lot of that around nowadays too which doesn't advance the common good or common society or the civil society. Rather, and just like in our last mojo minute, let's not declare war on virtue, as they are the essential building blocks for the human condition to thrive. Instead, let us acquire the proper virtue of patriotism and give a good example of that to others, so that we too can live a flourishing life and a flourishing country.