Is American Patriotism Getting Out of Hand? (Psychology Today)

[RufusTFirefly]

Is American Patriotism Getting Out of Hand?
Patriotism shouldn't be hostile, divisive, and uninformed
by David Niose
...

Whereas a healthy love of country would nurture a sense of unity and common values in an atmosphere of intelligence and maturity, modern American patriotism has instead become a vehicle for division and aggression. Ugliness in the name of patriotism has occurred in the past in America—the Palmer raids and McCarthy era are easy examples—but modern times easily rival those periods, as patriotism has become increasingly zealous, immune to critical thinking, and unquestioningly militaristic.

…

Amid all of this symbolic and emotional expression of patriotism, critical thinking is rarely encouraged. Out of concern for American troops being sent to the Middle East to die, for example, one could seek out information on the underlying reasons for strife in the region—an intellectual journey that would go back at least a century and reveal an array of colonialism, western-backed coups, and exploitation—but this is much more difficult than slapping a magnet on one’s car, and it might lead one to question the wisdom of militaristic policies that benefit from blind patriotism.

This aversion to facts is a defining characteristic of modern American patriotism. As Americans wave their flags and puff out their chests with national pride, they are oblivious to facts relevant to their own civil discourse. Only 35 percent of Americans could name even a single justice on the Supreme Court, according to the New York Times. The same piece revealed that 30 percent could not name the vice president, while even fewer could place the American Revolution in the correct century. It only gets worse when we ask Americans to consider facts outside their own borders. Reports show that as many as 85 percent cannot locate Iraq on a map and more than half can’t locate India.

Psychology Today: Is American Patriotism Getting Out of Hand?

[TygrBright]

1. "Better someone who wraps themselves in the Constitution and burns the flag, than...

...someone who wraps themselves in the flag and burns the Constitution."

But still no one listens to the distinction.

wearily,
Bright

[obxhead]

2. Absolutely not.

That ship sailed when sails were the only power we had to push them.

[MANative]

3. "Getting"? Long past that, folks. nt

[RufusTFirefly]

4. I fully expect to be struck by lightning (or, perhaps, just audited) for saying this, but...

... I can't stand the song, "God bless America." It's fingernails-on-the-chalkboard for me. Its lyrics are atrocious and its ersatz anthem sensibilities are offensive.

Of course, the National Anthem is militaristic and borderline unsingable, although we all seem to manage. Despite its religious overtones, my favorite is still "America the Beautiful" for its emphasis on beauty and brotherhood, which are the American ideals I most passionately espouse.

[hifiguy]

5. It goes completely off the rails in cycles,

but the latest cycle is the deepest, craziest and longest-lasting. The majority of the US populace has almost always been dumb-as-a-rock jingoist know-nothings who are gullible enough to fall for all the happy horseshit about 'murkan exceptionalism.

True greatness never boasts about how great it is. It's obvious to all. Just another form of simple-minded over-compensation, like the ammosexuals induge in.

ETA - Couldn't agree more with post #4, Rufus I loathe that song.

[seveneyes]

6. Patriotism, love it or leave it

For some it's the Lima beans, cold and dry left on the plate. Others, it's the meat and potatoes.

[Fumesucker]

7. Ambrose Beirce was an optimist..

He said that war is God's way of teaching Americans geography, clearly that no longer works.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. "Patriotism is the passion of fools and the most foolish of passions." Arthur Schopenhauer

[hifiguy]

9. That one is going into my Bank of Great Quotes.

[eppur_se_muova]

10. Only when it suits the purposes of the Neocons to do so.

Truly, the last refuge of scoundrels.