Posted on 11/13/2008 11:02:58 AM PST by Sisku Hanne
I have to write about patriotism for an ethics course, and give a "bad" example of it.
My country right or wrong.
To support her when right.
To right her when wrong.
Joe Biden’s notion that paying taxes is patriotic...
Write it on your own terms. Challenge the premise of the assignment by writing about the difference between patriotism and nationalism.
Write it on your own terms. Challenge the premise of the assignment by writing about the difference between patriotism and nationalism.
I guess failure to do the second would be an example of "bad patriotism".
A bad example is feeling more patriotic because Obama won the election.
Look at Nazi Germany for an example patriotism gone awry. It started out good but ended badly with the wrong leader.
Sounds like the teacher of your course has the typical liberal academic bias against anything patriotic. In their tiny, well indoctrinated minds, patriotism is a rabid, anti-multicultural form of nationalism, with xenophobia thrown in for good measure, ala Hitler. So Hitler or Mussolini would make good examples. Oh, and Napoleon. When I had squishes like that for professors, I always made it a point to find out what THEY think and parrot it back to them. They never know the difference and think you’re brilliant because you agree with them. I guarantee you’ll get an A.
Sounds like the teacher of your course has the typical liberal academic bias against anything patriotic. In their tiny, well indoctrinated minds, patriotism is a rabid, anti-multicultural form of nationalism, with xenophobia thrown in for good measure, ala Hitler. So Hitler or Mussolini would make good examples. Oh, and Napoleon. When I had squishes like that for professors, I always made it a point to find out what THEY think and parrot it back to them. They never know the difference and think you’re brilliant because you agree with them. I guarantee you’ll get an A.
Just because of my recollection of him, I am confident that he had no concrete idea of some of the atrocities going on in Germany at the time, but it's hard to believe that no rumors reached him.
I think a case could be made that he was excessively patriotic.
Sounds like the teacher of your course has the typical liberal academic bias against anything patriotic. In their tiny, well indoctrinated minds, patriotism is a rabid, anti-multicultural form of nationalism, with xenophobia thrown in for good measure, ala Hitler. So Hitler or Mussolini would make good examples. Oh, and Napoleon. When I had squishes like that for professors, I always made it a point to find out what THEY think and parrot it back to them. They never know the difference and think you’re brilliant because you agree with them. I guarantee you’ll get an A.
” I submit there is a difference; a dividing line between patriotism and nationalism, “
I agree. I don’t see patriotism as something aggressive or jingoistic. Nationalism can be as evidenced be dictators throughout history.
Patriotism has been redefined...
due to the Obama victory...’Patriotism” no longer means what it used to.
Now...Jeremiah Wright is a Patriot
...William Ayers is a Patriot
...Michelle Obama is a Patriot
the meaning has changed...they voted for Change...they got Change.
The distinction you make between excessive nationalism and patriotism is exactly the point you should make. You could call it also blind patriotism, which means that you by default support the state/regime/government of your country only because it’s currently at the helm. A healthy patriotic German would have resisted the Nazi regime, a blind patriotic German supported the regime, if not because of ideology, simply because of uncritical loyalty. The same goes for any other evil totalitarian system. Dissent to a harmful, evil or even suicidal regime/state/government can be the highest form of patriotism. The Loyalists during the Revolutionary War thought themselves to be patriotic and loyal towards the British Crown, while the American revolutionaries dissented towards their king and were patriotic to their country. You see it can also be a question of perspective.
The distinction you make between excessive nationalism and patriotism is exactly the point. You could call it also blind patriotism, which means that you by default support the state/regime/government of your country only because it’s currently at the helm. A healthy patriotic German would have resisted the Nazi regime, a blind patriotic German supported the regime, if not because of ideology, simply because of uncritical loyalty towards the state. The same goes for any other evil totalitarian system, which though bad for the country, successfully exploited the patriotism people have towards their country. Dissent to a harmful, evil or even suicidal regime/state/government can be the highest form of patriotism. The Loyalists during the Revolutionary War thought themselves to be patriotic and loyal towards the British Crown, while the American revolutionaries dissented towards their king and were patriotic to their ideals of a free country. You see it can also be a question of perspective.
When working on an assignment like this, it is important to establish working definitions at the onset. Thus, define “patriotism” in terms of the assignment, being aware of and perhaps making the point that the definition can vary from the undermining patriotism of the NYT to the genocide of the NAZI’s. I would then pick the best (worst) liberal example I could find, i.e. Hanoi Jane, and expound on this.
An example would be the Hitler Youth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Youth
When working on an assignment like this, it is important to establish working definitions at the onset. Thus, define “patriotism” in terms of the assignment, being aware of and perhaps making the point that the definition can vary from the undermining patriotism of the NYT to the genocide of the NAZI’s. I would then pick the best (worst) liberal example I could find, i.e. Hanoi Jane, and expound on this.
When working on an assignment like this, it is important to establish working definitions at the onset. Thus, define “patriotism” in terms of the assignment, being aware of and perhaps making the point that the definition can vary from the undermining patriotism of the NYT to the genocide of the NAZI’s. I would then pick the best (worst) liberal example I could find, i.e. Hanoi Jane, and expound on this.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.