Patriotism is the feeling of pride in a nation, and it can be a way to express love for fellow citizens. Americans are the most patriotic people in the world, according to a recent report by Wallethub.
But the number of people prioritizing classic American values like patriotism, religious faith and having children is declining. That trend is a concern because it could impact the future of our country.
Patriotism is a way of life
Patriotism is a way of life for Americans. It is an attitude of loyalty and affection towards a particular nation or group, often referred to as a patria (Latin for ‘fatherland’).
The most obvious kind of patriotism is based on the desire to protect and preserve one’s country from harm or attack. This can be done through participation in a local or national military force, public service and activism, or through participating in political affairs.
But patriotism is also a sense of identification with and pride in a nation’s achievements and its culture, and the desire to preserve and promote its history and traditions. It is also a concern for the well-being of one’s own people and the safety of compatriots, both at home and abroad.
However, some critics argue that patriotic pride is a dangerous and intolerant sentiment that should be rejected on moral grounds. Specifically, they argue that it violates universal norms of fairness by abroading or abridgeing equality for unequal reasons.
It is a feeling of pride
The word “patriotism” refers to a feeling of pride and devotion to one’s country. This has been an important ideal for Americans to feel throughout the centuries.
While many people believe that patriotism is a feeling of adoration for their country, others may view it as a form of group egoism or chauvinism that promotes exclusivity and hostility toward other countries.
Some scholars argue that patriotism is not exclusive in a morally arbitrary sense, but rather an expression of solidarity with a nation’s history, culture and people. It is therefore compatible with the demands of universal justice and common human solidarity.
The United States is often viewed as the birthplace and exemplar of a civic order that is based on basic principles and institutions such as those “All men are created equal.” It is a source of pride for Americans to live in this country and to see these ideals upheld by its government. However, this sense of pride has dwindled recently due to a number of factors.
It is a way of expressing love
Patriotism is the love of one’s country. It is a value that Americans have shared very broadly, but it seems to be losing ground in the face of polarization and national pessimism.
When people are asked about what they consider to be important in life, the number who say patriotism is very important has dropped significantly. It was cited as very important by 70 percent of Americans in 1998, and less than 40 percent today, according to a recent poll.
The word patriot was derived from the Greek “patrios,” which means “of one’s father.” It is said that it entered the English language through French, where it meant “fellow countryman,” or “compatriot.”
In Europe, patriotism was a positive connotation, and it meant someone who supported an established government. But it became negative after the American Revolution, when infighting in Europe led to the creation of new nations, and patriotism went from being a good thing to a bad one.
It is a way of expressing solidarity
A patriot, by a distinctively ethical type of morality, will be concerned with justice done, rights respected, human solidarity at work in the world. But a patriot of this type will also show special concern for her own country and compatriots, and identification with them in vicarious feelings.
Nevertheless, she might be less than fully engaged in that concern whenever her interests and those of her country and compatriots conflict with those of others in the world. This, of course, would be more the case in an extreme or robust type of patriotism than in a moderate one.
A moderate patriot of a distinctively humanitarian type will not, however, be so obdurate in her concern for her own country and compatriots as to make it impossible for her to be involved with their welfare whenever their welfare would be more important to her than that of any other people or groups. This, of course, is a much more difficult challenge to ordinary patriotism than is the one to which moralities which take the moral point of view to be a perspective of impartial concern for all human beings can be expected to give rise.
