Measuring Patriotism

At last, Americans can carefully calibrate their devotion to their country. No more wondering. No more guess work. Barack Obama’s conservative critics offer a convenient checklist of patriotic criteria to ensure uniform allegiance to nation and state. I call it the Complete Conservative Criteria of Patriotism (CCCP for short). Needless to say, I could hardly wait to jump right in and verify my patriotism. Turns out that I don’t fit well into the CCCP.

Flag Pin. I find the whole idea of a flag lapel pin trivial: America as a giant fraternal organization. It’s a hollow gesture in a nation awash in American flags that are almost meaningless in their ubiquity. The only flag that catches my attention these days is on a coffin. Richard Nixon was the first president I recall seeing with a flag pin. He may not have been the first but he is certainly symbolic of the misappropriation of a national symbol for political purposes. For me, then, the flag lapel pin will never rise above its questionable beginnings. Good on you, Obama, for insisting that people judge you on your ideas and actions rather than the trinkets you display. BTW, John Prine nailed that kind of silliness long ago.

Unquestioned National Pride. No unquestioned pride for me. First of all, pride is a sin, one of the seven deadly ones, if I recall my grade school catechism correctly. Second, no human institution should ever be beyond question. The sin comes in elevating oneself above others. That does not mean I do not take pride in my accomplishments but that pride is specific and is based on some relatively objective measure of achievement; it’s in no way universal or constant. I hold my country to the same standard and will state in no uncertain terms that, unlike Cindy McCain (the conservative embodiment of patriotism), I am not always proud of America. I know too much history to not understand that America has not always lived up to its lofty ideals. I am proud that I am associated with a community (America) that has accomplished much and contributed to the world, but that pride is tempered by America’s, at times grievous, failures. (EEK! He said “failure” and “America” in the same sentence!! Everything...is spinning...around!)

National Anthem. I stand for the national anthem. It’s a gesture of respect for the ideals I find in the nation’s founding principles even if the lyrics are mainly about not being overrun during the night and set to a virtually un-singable drinking melody . I don’t put my hand over my heart. I don’t recall that gesture being part of the patriotic ceremonies of my youth (mostly high school football games). Ever since the Army, though, it’s probably a reflection of my antipathy to saluting anything as a matter of ritual. I would prefer “America the Beautiful” as a national anthem. Just sayin’.

Pledging Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States, not the flag. Maybe that’s what the flag represents but it’s also been used to represent enough dubious causes (racism, imperialism, genocide, economic exploitation) that I cannot ever look at my nation’s flag and not see the bad along with the good. If I am called to join others in pledging allegiance to the flag, I pledge allegiance to “one nation with liberty and justice for all.” It’s never a rote gesture because it always makes me think about why I cannot simply say the requisite words.

The Bottom Line. To determine my overall Patriotism Quotient (PQ), I quantified the CCCP by allocating four points one. Cindy McCain would no doubt earn a perfect score of 16. I fared less well. I earned no points on either of the first two criteria and maybe two points on the last two for at least going through the motions publiclly. But maybe I shouldn’t get any points because I question both the national anthem and the pledge and would not rule out refusing either gesture if I thought the a public refusal were appropriate.

My PQ indicates that I do not love my country. I’m not sure what it means to love your country, if that love precludes an informed, realistic evaluation of my country’s past and present. I am painfully aware of America’s failures (Ohmigod! He said “America” and “failure again”! Swoon.) Yet I don’t hate America nor do I blame America first for all the world’s ills. America is as noble a community, as noble in its founding ideals as any on earth. Nor do I want to see America fail. In fact, I very much want America to succeed, which to me means offering the liberty and opportunity to all citizens that the founding fathers believed were the inherent right of white male property owners in 1776. Success also means contributing to the spread of that liberty and opportunity to other nations and peoples. Not by conquest and force but rather by the power of our ideas and mutual understanding of competing interests and national cultures.

I guess I can’t run for president now.