Extremes
I struggled a long time with my position on nationalism and patriotism. On the one extreme, I knew people who seemed to blindly worship their nation, considering its every defender a hero, and refusing to consider the possibility that its people were not as morally superior and high-minded as they believed themselves to be. On the other extreme, there were those who seemed committed to finding fault or who didn't care either way.
I knew there was plenty of good here in my home country which deserved credit, but I wasn't sure what it meant to pledge my allegiance to the nation as a whole. Would I be embracing everything it stands for and everything it has done historically? Would I be pledging allegiance to a contrived human institution? Would I be placing this contrived institution on a pedestal, further deepening human tribalism and segregation?
I knew my nation wasn't perfect. I knew it had done things and will continue to do things which are morally questionable. The U.S. does have a lot of blood on its hands, like it or not. Yet we also have some great ideals here. We are rights-oriented, and our internal struggle to maintain and reproduce values like these is proof that our democracy and philosophy hasn't been broken quite yet. Whatever our level of corruption (compared to that of any other), we still have a good number of people here trying to make a positive difference in the world.
My Conclusion
Taking the good with the bad, my personal conclusion was intended to be a moderate one. I wouldn't blindly pledge allegiance to my country or take pride in merely being part of it by the sheerest of accidents. Nor would I assume we were morally superior. There's some good here and there's some bad here. How much of each, I'll never know.
My commitment to this country, or rather my patriotism, is conditional. That is to say, insofar as my nation supports me, gives me due process, and does the same for others, I will support my nation and give it due process. Just as it holds me responsible for my injustices, I will hold it responsible for its injustices.
My commitment to this country is also familial. As the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius noted long ago, our nation is our extended family. It supports and provides for us in many ways and we, in turn, support and provide for it. That seems fair enough. And, not to discount the rest of the world here, I would also hope more and more that we view the international community as our extended family. I am also committed to this goal.
With this reasoning in mind, I can say in good conscience that I pledge allegiance to the flag. It's a commitment to a people and a system which are, at this time, committed to me and at least some of my ideals. Admittedly, I have to stop short of the 1954 addendum, but that's a matter for another post.
I am 3 yrs late to this discussion but better late than never. I feel your view on patriotism is appropriately measured given the good and bad aspects of our history. I too must be cautious and conditional given other realities I have to deal with. One being that a signigicant portion of the founders and framers were active slave owners - totally inconsistent with the ideals they were declaring and the freedom they sought from Britain. Even the author of the national anthem, Francis Scott Key, was an active slave owner - again inconsistent with the ideals of the first 2 stanzas, and yet totally consistent with the 3rd stanza where escaped slaves were demonized for escaping and fighting with the British to gain their freedom. These and a number of other historical hypocrisies vs. stated ideals causes me to have a measured, conditional sense of patriotism to the extent I think is appropriate. I agree with your take on this subject.
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