patriotism
The definition of patriotism is: love of country and willingness to sacrifice for it; "they rode the same wave of popular
patriotism"; "British nationalism was in the air and patriotic sentiments ran high"
Patriotism may be strengthened by adherence to a national religion (a civil religion or even a theocracy). This is the opposite of
the separation of church and state demanded by the Enlightenment thinkers who saw patriotism and faith as similar and opposed
forces. Michael Billig and Jean Bethke Elshtain have both argued that the difference between patriotism and faith is difficult to discern
and relies largely on the attitude of the one doing the labelling.
“Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the steady and tranquil dedication of a life time.”
The United States went through rough times during 9/11. There was death by thousands and a country was torn apart.
However our love for our country, was not. Over 300 fire fighters died when trying to save the lives of the people in the building. While
there were families struggling to live without a mother or a father, other Americans helped support them by sending food, water, blood,
and donation money.
On Flight 93, a plane was hijacked by terrorists and was planned to go into another major building to kill even more people.
However, the passengers on the flight killed the terrorists and flew the plane into a field. They lost their lives to save many others. This
is the true meaning of patriotism.
Several surveys have tried to measure patriotism for various reasons, such as the Correlates of War project which found some
correlation between war propensity and patriotism. The results from different studies are time dependent. For example, patriotism in
Germany before the World War I ranked at or near the top, whereas today it ranks at or near the bottom of patriotism surveys.
patriotism"; "British nationalism was in the air and patriotic sentiments ran high"
Patriotism may be strengthened by adherence to a national religion (a civil religion or even a theocracy). This is the opposite of
the separation of church and state demanded by the Enlightenment thinkers who saw patriotism and faith as similar and opposed
forces. Michael Billig and Jean Bethke Elshtain have both argued that the difference between patriotism and faith is difficult to discern
and relies largely on the attitude of the one doing the labelling.
“Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the steady and tranquil dedication of a life time.”
The United States went through rough times during 9/11. There was death by thousands and a country was torn apart.
However our love for our country, was not. Over 300 fire fighters died when trying to save the lives of the people in the building. While
there were families struggling to live without a mother or a father, other Americans helped support them by sending food, water, blood,
and donation money.
On Flight 93, a plane was hijacked by terrorists and was planned to go into another major building to kill even more people.
However, the passengers on the flight killed the terrorists and flew the plane into a field. They lost their lives to save many others. This
is the true meaning of patriotism.
Several surveys have tried to measure patriotism for various reasons, such as the Correlates of War project which found some
correlation between war propensity and patriotism. The results from different studies are time dependent. For example, patriotism in
Germany before the World War I ranked at or near the top, whereas today it ranks at or near the bottom of patriotism surveys.