May 3, 2008
May 17, 2008
June 7, 2008
What is Patriotism?
First delivered at UUCB on July 9, 2006
I have to admit to a silly little pet peeve. Whether I see it on a bumper sticker or hear it from someone’s lips, the phrase “proud to be an American” absolutely sets my teeth on edge. For most of us, being an American is an accident of birth. I’m mindful of George Bernard Shaw’s remark, “patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all others because you were born in it.” So I find it just as silly to say, “proud to be a woman” or “proud to be white.” It’s not like I had much say in the matter.
Perhaps naturalized citizens can make some claim to being proud to be American but in that case too the phrase stops short. Contrasting American citizenship with Unitarian Universalist membership, the reality is reversed. Far more UUs choose to identify with this religious community rather than being born into it. Even so, the phrase “proud to be a Unitarian Universalist” rubs me the wrong way because it too stops short. These two pithy little claims bother me precisely because I find them incomplete.
Perhaps the phrase needs a modifier and we should be proud of what kind of American or what kind of UU we are. That’s certainly one way of looking at it, but then again we get into the trap of being proud of labels. When someone says he’s proud to be a patriotic American, what exactly does he mean? Patriotism is one of those loaded terms that can uplift or soundly deflate in a terse sentence.
Bertrand Russell said, “Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons." George Jean Nathan said, "Patriotism is often an arbitrary veneration of real estate above principles." But perhaps the most famous is Samuel Johnson’s claim that “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” None of these statements are particularly complimentary of patriots, are they? But then we have Felix Adler who said, "Love of country is like love of woman -- he loves her best who seeks to bestow on her the highest good." And George McGovern said, "The highest patriotism is not a blind acceptance of official policy, but a love of one's country deep enough to call her to a higher plain." Thomas Paine’s plea to moving beyond the Sunshine Patriot in “The Crisis” is about as eloquent as it gets.
Let’s take a look at two men. One gentleman accepts that our government officials are proceeding along the best course of action, flies a flag on all national holidays and sports a “Support the Troops” ribbon on his car. Another gentleman donates to a political party, never passes up an opportunity to vote and sports a “Dissent is the Highest Form of Patriotism” bumper sticker on his car. The relative patriotism of either man is pretty much dependent upon your sympathy with their points of view. In my opinion, they have equal claims to patriotism… up to a point.
If we look at someone who is proud to be an active UU, once again we must ask ourselves…what does she mean by that? Does she have more holy days of obligation because she’s signed up for Coffee Hour three times this month? Did she increase her pledge to the church by 15% over last year? Does she chair two committees, serve on three more and teach religious education every other week? We’d have to grant that she is indeed a very active UU….but again, up to a point.
Everything we are grants us both privileges and responsibilities and conveys advantages and disadvantages. I’ll extend that to accidents of birth and choice of affiliation. In the case of a naturalized young woman, she would have privileges, responsibilities, advantages and disadvantages arising from both biological reality and cultural conventions. As an American her privileges, responsibilities, advantages and disadvantages are governed by constitutional dictates and historical developments. If she joins a Unitarian Universalist congregation, her privileges, responsibilities, advantages and disadvantages are granted through congregational polity, the principles we covenant to affirm and promote and the norms of the larger community.
When describing the patriotic Americans and the active UU, I mentioned things they were doing. And of course actions are profoundly important. What we do is often the only discernible measure of the kind of American or kind of Unitarian Universalist we are. It’s all well and good to have someone feel compassion and empathy for our hunger, but it’s quite another thing to be fed or given the means to feed ourselves. But there is one action missing from the descriptions of these three individuals.
If we hope to gain more out of being an American than patriotic fervor, and seek to be active Unitarian Universalists, than we must step outside of the “club mentality” and engage in an endeavor Emmanuel Kant emphasized with his students two and a half centuries ago. It was absolutely integral to the development of his philosophical views. Fortunately for us, Kant wrote in the vernacular so we won’t be struggling with obscure Latin philosophical terms. Kant said, and I quote (in translation from German of course), “think for yourselves!”
Let’s look at our two patriots again. Many of us might assume the first gentleman is the worst sort of patriot. But let’s assume he accepts that our government officials know the best course of action because he has been following developments, reading up on the history of conflicts and spent a great deal of time agonizing over what the right course of action is, only after such reflection decided he agreed.
The second patriot supports his chosen political party and always votes along party lines because that’s the way he’s always done things. It doesn’t matter who is on the ballot so long as he checks off the right box concerning party affiliation. Voting to him is a privilege without any correlating responsibilities.
Now let’s look at our active UU. Goodness gracious who wouldn’t love to have her in their congregation? The woman is a dynamo, generously contributes to the financial stability of the congregation and is always there to make sure anything that needs to be done, gets done. BUT…she’s only happy if it’s done her way. She’s obsequious to visitors but then rude when they become new members. She is a Grand Dame who drives away more people than the church can attract. She’s a very active UU, but is she acting on the basis of our denominational principles?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to belong to a club that touts pride in simply being a club. That’s a superior attitude I can do without. Years ago, okay decades ago, I attended an ecumenical youth council in which I overheard a group of Methodists talking, “You know, those Presbyterians are alright, but thank God I’m not Catholic!” As one of the Catholic representatives to the council that hit me like a dehumanizing punch in the stomach. I can only imagine what truly oppressed groups of human beings have felt like when I reacted so strongly to a thoughtless insensitive comment regarding a different denomination of Christianity. When I heard someone say last week, “I’m so glad I’m an American, I’d sure hate to be an Arab,” it was all I could do not to scream.
Unitarian Universalists must face up to an inherent temptation to feel patronizing when we think of those folks sitting in pews right now as sheep taking the easy path to religious fulfillment. It’s far too smug a position and smacks of a teensy martyr complex to assert the relative difficulty of being a Unitarian Universalist rather than say a Baptist.
Being an American or a Unitarian Universalist is not good fortune or superior decision-making. It’s opportunity and having access to those tools that inspire us to improve ourselves, humanity, our community and the world.
The rights granted in the Constitution and Principles expressed in the UU covenant are like muscles. They become weak and atrophy if not exercised. Dissent is a high form of patriotism, if the dissent is informed and based on both constitutional values as well as our religious convictions. Dissent is not patriotism if the dissenting view is one that seeks to eradicate the separation of church and state or establish a Bureau of Censorship as was advocated on a major news channel two weeks ago. It’s not patriotic if we dissent simply to dissent. Our objections must be founded on reason.
I was astonished recently to learn that less than 5% of Americans could name all five rights guaranteed in the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Even sadder, I personally surveyed a few folks at the First Amendment rally and found some who were surprised there were five: the right to freedom of religion, of speech, of the press, of peaceable assembly and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Five powerful rights packed into just one sentence within the entire framework of our government. So much for informed consent, although that one sentence does give great ammunition for countering the “America, love it or leave it" crowd. Know your rights, assert your rights and stand up for your rights.
The recognition of knowledge as a synthesis of both reason and experience came out of the ideas of the Enlightenment era. This era initiated the birth pangs of both our nation and our faith community. Our rebellious and heretical ancestors eventually discarded superstition, tradition and revelation as the basis for government and religion. The history of both our country and our denomination has been one of radicals rebelling against authority and then becoming the establishment only to face attack by a new breed of rebel. It is an uncomfortable and often painful process of forward momentum to be certain.
But if we are truly patriotic Americans and active Unitarian Universalists we can exercise our rights and struggle to live out our principles in order to inch all of humanity forward, providing for a satisfactory life for all, not merely for a few. There is indeed good fortune in being both an American and a Unitarian Universalist because of the tools we are given. Both associations provide for the freedom necessary for individuals to function in community with a robust exchange of ideas for we cannot develop fully as human beings in isolation. Respectful fellowship and vigilant citizenship inspire us to live as part of healthy human groups rather than subsuming us as a number within a mass, although that is often easier said than done.
Being an American can help us live our UU principles and being UU can help us achieve what James Bryce expresses so beautifully. “Our country is not the only thing to which we owe our allegiance. It is also owed to justice and to humanity. Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.”
May we endeavor to actively serve our world in grace, reason, faith and love. Then we shall be true patriots to that which deserves our allegiance most, the interconnected web of all existence of which we are a part. So don’t be proud of your club, be proud of your honest appraisal of the privileges, responsibilities, advantages and disadvantages wrought by the obligation of belonging.
Copyright © 2006
Ann Fuller, July 2006