Patriotism: Insights from Israel By Eyal Lewin

patriotism. Both executed actions of utmost bravery, proving true love to their country and people. However, whereas Beck criticized Hitler for his policy, von Stauffenberg opposed him on moral grounds.

It follows that the distinction of the two forms of patriotism, blind versus constructive, might not be enough because it fails to distinguish between constructive patriotism that is led by moral considerations (revealing a true passion for values of justice and fairness) and constructive patriotism that is motivated by political ambitions and personal preferences. This consideration of ethical versus political motivations is taken by another way of grouping patriotism in the categories of authoritarian patriotism and democratic patriotism. The first, according to this typology, describes surrendering one’s will to the authorities and conceding the individual right of choice whereas the latter reflects the love that brings a people together rather than being united because of misguided loyalty to the institutions that dominate their lives. Authoritarian patriotism demands an unquestioning loyalty to a cause determined by a centralized leader or a leading group; it takes away personal responsibility. Democratic patriotism, by contrast, is manifested through a passionate concern about the substantive values that underlie democracy. Democratic patriotism, then, is more of an ethical loyalty, and therefore it means that one must be committed not only to the nation, its symbols, and its political leaders but also to its citizens and their welfare. In America, this is evident not only in the first words of the Pledge of Allegiance that calls for loyalty to the flag and what it represents but also the closing words that refer to liberty and justice for all. This does not mean that democratic patriots leave no room for symbolic displays of support and solidarity, but it stresses how democratic patriotism seeks to ensure that moral principles serve not only as slogans but also as guiding principles for policies and laws (Lummis, 1996). The perspective this study takes toward patriotism is one that views it as being torn among its variations but rather as a social phenomenon that spans a spectrum. If the model of authoritarian patriotism is to be placed at one end of the scale and the model of democratic patriotism at the other, this study rejects the theoretical extremities and embraces the practical occurrence