| Chapter 1: | Defining Patriotism |
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meaning of patriotism does not necessarily become any less elusive when one draws this theoretical boundary. Several questions remain unanswered: Is loyalty to the state equivalent to loyalty to its institutes? How would loyalty to the country be manifested when there is dissent among laymen and bureaucrats? How would patriotism be evaluated if the nation’s leaders are involved in ideological splits and blame each other for not being patriotic enough? What, exactly, is patriotism in cases when the national ethos contradicts other values of the people?
In order to keep things as clear as possible, patriotism, in this book, will refer only to a loyal devotion toward the legacy of the state, toward its cultural foundations, and toward the ethos that it represents for its citizens (Grodzins, 1956).
The Attributes and Components of Patriotism
Screening the attributes of patriotism and, later, showing the components from which the phenomenon of patriotism is comprised, will be done through a collection of various examples from different societies. It is important to point out, however, that given how characteristics and components of patriotism form necessary conditions for its existence, each example is not only a good one for the patriotic quality it was chosen to illustrate but also would be relevant in demonstrating other traits of patriotism.
Stepping beyond its narrow definition, then, patriotism is characterized by six attributes:
(1) Loyalty
Patriotism is, in its essence, a private case of loyalty. Alasdair MacIntyre views patriotism as a virtue, similar to loyalty toward marriage, family, friends, or even one’s favorite football team (MacIntyre, 1984). Andrew Oldenquist illustrated this as a set of circles surrounding every person, starting from the close family circle, expanding to include community and nation, and finally encompassing the entirety of humanity as