Note to readers: If you think this looks familiar, you’re right. A version of this column was originally published July 4, 2018. I’m a wee bit under the weather (summer cold/sinusitis), so I opted to rerun this piece, written at a time when we were divided as a nation. It’s scary how apropos this still is.

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On the Fourth of July, I always remember the story of our founding as a nation. What I recall more, though, is what patriotism really is. And it’s not shooting off fireworks illegally in city limits and terrorizing small animals (protect those furbabies!), or proclaiming that only people who agree with you are patriots.

Patriotism means love of one’s country, or more specifically love of the ideals on which the country was founded—you know, those crazy things like equality and liberty.

You may love your political party, but that makes you a partisan, not necessarily a patriot. Blindly trusting in the words and actions of an elected official, whoever it is, is not patriotism, and is deeply worrisome to many of us, as is the idea that one should get news from only one source, especially if that source is the elected official. (Ahem, like the president, who creates his own reality and had, as of June 7, told 10,796 falsehoods in 869 days, according to The Washington Post Fact Checker. At an average of about 16 per day since he crossed the 10,000 threshold in April, I imagine he’s passed the 11,000 mark by now.)

As Teddy Roosevelt wrote in the Kansas City Star on May 7, 1918:

“The president is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile.

Teddy probably would not think kindly of the current administration.
Image found on theodore-roosevelt.com.

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or anyone else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about anyone else.”

So the idea that journalists who report the truth about a president’s bad deeds (or anyone else’s) are un-American? That’s an un-American idea. Positive or negative, the actions of public figures such as the president should be reported, and if all you’re seeing is one side, you should consider widening your news diet. We don’t live in a nation with state-run media (yet), and no public official, regardless of party, should expect the media to cover only those things that are favorable to them. That’s propaganda and would relegate journalists to being no more than stenographers … and some of us don’t type fast enough to cut it at that job. If we wanted to do that sort of thing, we’d move to North Korea to fawn over its Dear Leader.

We know how Roosevelt felt, but what have others said about patriotism through the years?

Philosopher George Berkeley (also known as Bishop Berkeley), said, “To be a good patriot, a man must consider his countrymen as God’s creatures, and himself as accountable for his acting towards them.”

Ambrose Bierce, on the other hand, wrote in The Devil’s Dictionary: “Patriotism, n. Combustible rubbish ready to the torch of any one ambitious to illuminate his name. In Dr. Johnson’s famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior lexicographer I beg to submit that it is the first.”

G.K. Chesterton, wit that he was, wrote one of my favorite explanations of the difference between patriotism and nationalism: “‘My country, right or wrong’ is a thing that no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying, ‘My mother, drunk or sober’.” Charles de Gaulle had another explanation: “Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.”

While running for president in 1952, Adlai Stevenson told the American Legion Convention at Madison Square Garden that patriotism was love, not fear:

“What do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? I venture to suggest that what we mean is a sense of national responsibility which will enable America to remain master of her power—to walk with it in serenity and wisdom, with self-respect and the respect to all mankind; a patriotism that puts country ahead of self; a patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. …

One can dislike the president and still love the country, Ronna.
Screenshot found on Daily Kos.

True patriotism, it seems to me, is based on tolerance and a large measure of humility.
There are men among use who use “patriotism” as a club for attacking other Americans. … That betrays the deepest article of our faith, the belief in individual liberty and equality which has always been the heart and soul of the American idea.
What can we say for the man who proclaims himself a patriot—and then for political or personal reasons attacks the patriotism of faithful public servants? … To me this is the type of ‘patriotism] which is, in Dr. Johnson’s phrase, ‘the last refuge of scoundrels’.”

All these thoughts are well and good, but being a bit of a cynic, I’m particularly fond of a quote from playwright George Bernard Shaw: “Patriotism is, fundamentally, a conviction that a particular country is the best in the world because you were born in it.”

Well, duh. Only a great nation could host so many brilliant minds as ours. Snuggies? Beanie Babies? Slinkies? We’re geniuses! And hey, what about that Flowbee?

Perhaps the most prescient quote about patriotism was delivered by Gerald Ford in Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1968, six years before he would become president after Richard Nixon’s resignation in the wake of the Watergate scandal:

Not these kinds of torches. This is nationalism, not patriotism, and we don’t want this.
Image found on Vox.

“America now is stumbling through the darkness of hatred and divisiveness. Our values, our principles, and our determination to succeed as a free and democratic people will give us a torch to light the way. And we will survive and become the stronger—not only because of a patriotism that stands for love of country, but a patriotism that stands for love of people.”

When I wrote this column a year ago, I hoped that the hatred and divisiveness that permeate our every interaction would be replaced by true patriotism and, if not love, an understanding of our fellow man.

It hasn’t happened yet, and seems to have gotten worse. Can we try this again, please?

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As for those fireworks, please remember that many cities (mine included) have outlawed shooting off fireworks within city limits. I’ve had neighbors who love shooting them off all week, no matter how many times the police tell them to stop, and boy, I loved the July 5th I woke up to find that fireworks had hit the house near my bedroom window … luckily, no fire.

I grew up out in the country, so we could set off as many as we wanted, but there was still a big fire danger (and yes, my brothers once had a bottle-rocket war around our propane tank). If you must set them off, practice safety, and preferably do it near a body of water.

For those with pets, make sure that your furry ones are safe and calm. It’s best not to take them to fireworks show because even normally calm pets may not appreciate crowds and fireworks at the same time; for that matter, keep them inside while fireworks are going off, or at least make sure they’re wearing a collar and/or are chipped. Give them a quiet place to burrow if needed, and be ready to cuddle. Luke was usually attached to my hip during the first week of July because he knew Mama wouldn’t let anything happen to him. I miss that.