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Definition of patriotism essay
What does patriotism mean essay
Essay on patriotism in the usa
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These words may seem confusing at first but they show a very clear picture, patriotism. Patriotism has been given many different definitions but what patriotism really means, is dedication. Like a gardener plants seeds, and cares for his crops he builds his legacy. His legacy is his country. Planting the seeds of knowledge into your fellow patriots and watching them grow into a beautiful country. Patriotism is being devoted to your country and wanting to make it better and better.
Patriotism might not seem as common as it used to be but there are still many patriots out there. A patriot could be someone who teaches their child how to behave during the national anthem or thanking military personnel for their service. The man who walks into
Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers to the United States, was not a patriot but a mere loyalist to England before the dissolution between England and the colonies occurred. Sheila L. Skemp's The Making of a Patriot explores how Benjamin Franklin tried to stay loyal to the crown while taking interest in the colonies perception and their own representation in Parliament. While Ms. Skemp alludes to Franklin's loyalty, her main illustration is how the attack by Alexander Wedderburn during the Privy Council led to Franklin's disillusionment with the British crown and the greater interest in making the Thirteen Colonies their own nation. Her analysis of Franklin's history in Parliament and what occurred on the night that the council convened proves the change behind Franklin's beliefs and what lead to his involvement in the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution.
An appeal to patriotism is one in which emotions are used to show loyalty towards something. To engage patriotism in the audience, one should point out to the audience the opponent’s success. This helps the audience to feel like they are a part of something important. Patriotism should not be tied to idealism. Ideas are not a part of emotional appeal, rather a part of logical appeal. Patriotism is associated with pathos as idealism is associated with logos.
Throughout history, beginning when settlers first arrived in America, every event that took place became part of American history. Ideals, as described by Dr. Margolies, History Professor at Virginia Wesleyan College, are "motivating, lofty goals". Some of these ideals, which shaped American history, included life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as protected by the Constitution. Self-interest, a second influential factor in American history, is shown through the gaining of benefits for oneself. Although it is debatable which of these two influential factors was more dominant in American history, the possibility arises that they coincide with one another revealed by many documented events.
“Nationalism(n.) - loyalty or devotion to a nation, especially an attitude, feeling, or belief characterize by a sense of national consciousness” (The War of 1812 and the Rise of Nationalism 1). Nationalism was a crucial part of America’s success during the War of 1812; nationalism was reflected in the post-war period through increased national pride, emphasis on national issues, increase in power and scope of the national government, and a growing sense of American identity (The War of 1812 and the Rise of Nationalism 1). The first to arise which was the driving force behind American victories against the British was nationalism. This nationalism was expressed in four ways; patriotism, political, economical and cultural. American patriotism
For example, Mark Twain expressed his hatred by stating, “A patriot sets himself apart in his own country under his own flag, sneers at other nations and keeps an army of uniformed assassins on hand at heavy expense to grab slices of other people’s countries and keep them from grabbing slices of his. In the intervals between campaigns he washes the blood off his hands and works for ‘the universal brotherhood of man’ with his mouth.” Twain makes many valid points by bring up how patriotism encourages hatred and distrust for other countries, promoting war by having an army of assassins, and washing away wrongful violations within the country. Numerous Americans have shown similar controversy in regards to whether they should support patriotism. Despite the fact that patriotism can bring social culture and bonding together, it can ultimately become destructive and does more harm than
In “What They Fought For”. James McPherson engages the reader with the general themes of what motivated the individual soldier to enter to fight in the Civil War. The book is divided into three chapters, giving the insight of many soldiers being divided by the border between the north and south. The lack of censorship at the time allows the reader to clearly see the insight of what these soldiers were trying to display. Although the soldiers are not equally represented by these few letters. There are still a lot of factors that could ultimately affected the overall believes of the soldiers. For example the opinion of the illiterate soldiers were not disclosed because they lacked the ability to write, the unskilled and farmers were also under
As a result of the war, America felt a new patriotism. As the wealth of the country increased the people were inclined to celebrate their success. They also celebrated having a much easier life than in comparison to the hardship and compromises of the war years. This was evident in the products that were designed to save Americans time and effort. There was advertising particularly aimed at women in the home household products. The consumerist beliefs were perpetuated by the mass media, radio, television, cinema and print media. Household objects and celebrities faces were the way to sell these products. Art became visible to greater sections of the population and to lower classes. Because of its positioning, images were seen in conjunction with advertising and printed on clothing and acce...
Simon Keller argues in his essay "Patriotism as Bad Faith" that patriotism is not a virtue but it is actually a vice. Keller begins by splitting the views on this philosophical debate into three different representations. The first being the "communitarian patriot", where patriotism is not only a valued virtue to someone's self but that it is actually an essential virtue. The second representation is a radical contradiction of the first, known as the "hard universalist. The hard Universalist sees patriotism as a vice instead of being any type of positive virtue. They think that everyone should be valued the same, and that there should be no favoritism. The third representation is the idea of the first two combined, to form what is called the "soft universalist." This view is understood as patriotism is allowed, and is not seen as a vice, but also that one has an obligation to the rest of the world, almost to try and treat them as a loyalty that you would have towards your own country. (p.112).
When patriotism becomes the daily reciting of the Pledge, waving the flag and never looking beyond your own small piece of the world, we do harm to our own country and the cause of true liberty and true peace in the world.
I’ll admit it, I’m American. I’m an American and I admit, I enjoy it very thoroughly. I enjoy having the right to a free education, choice in who rules over me (who rules, who cares? pun intended), and the right to walk around the streets at three a.m. because I can. But I do not consider myself patriotic, in any way, sense or fashion. The astounding number of Americans nowadays who consider themselves patriotic can overwhelm the small few who were there for America before 9/11. But just what can we do about the bandwagon patriotism and its abuse on middle-eastern oriented Americans; it’s manipulation of American’s gullibility for cheap trinkets, and the backing of leaders in a war we don’t belong in. I believe it’s time to instill more peaceful tactics in our country today. It’s time to stop calling ourselves Americans and start calling ourselves humans. So far America has lost more soldiers in Iraq since the war ended than we actually lost in the war itself and people of Middle Eastern decent have suffered more embarrassing attacks than most “average” Americans. Perhaps its time to reconsider the Patriot Act, because truth be told it’s not exactly what our true patriotic forefathers had in mind when they wrote that all men were created equal(despite the fact these men had slaves).
The exploration of what patriotism is and what represents patriotism is an important one more people should embark upon. If Americans are to examine patriotisms true meaning, we will be able to abolish this faux patriotism, which is represented by intimidation, censorship, and majority rules attitudes or actions. This can be replaced by feelings and actions of caring, compassion, acceptance, rationality, and nonviolence, or in other words, patriotism.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, national pride, also known as patriotism, is love for or devotion to one's country. Jonathan Edwards, a Puritan, told others to beware of patriotism. He shows how it is appropriate, yet sometimes deceiving. Gerald R. McDermott, author of “What Jonathan Edwards Can Teach Us about Politics,” uses Edwards to support his own beliefs about national pride. McDermott builds an argument to persuade his audience that Christians should be wary of national pride by quoting Edwards’s words, by using history to create an image for the audience, and using Edwards’s argument that entirely Christian countries have never existed.
Nationalism is extreme loyalty and devotion to one particular nation, and many Americans are nationalistic about their country. But even though they are loyal to America, defining what it means to be a true American is tricky. Being American is one complex thing, but the concept of being American can not be fully grasped. What it means to be American may in fact be one of the biggest mysteries of all time. Indeed, discovering what it means to be a true American could possibly take an entire lifetime. One thing, however about all true Americans is certain: we are all alike in that each one of us is different from the Americans in important ways. We are diverse in our backgrounds, races, and religions. Nevertheless, we are exactly identical in the we feel toward our country, even though we express our pride in a million different ways.
While finding cosmopolitanism and patriotism in the same country is rare, it’s entirely possible. The two aren’t mutually exclusive and can in fact compliment each other. The best example of this is Sweden. Sweden is cosmopolitan in its efforts to support and aid other drastically different groups. While it doesn’t boast America’s version of patriotism, it still lends itself to the definition as Swedes very much enjoy and support their country. Sweden also encourages other communities’ national identities by supporting decolonization efforts and local movements for more rights, thereby combining cosmopolitanism and patriotism in its actions.