Patriotism is a virtue

Today, Americans take it for granted that patriotism is a virtue. Americans are so patriotic that even a politician’s failure to wear an American flag lapel pin [1] or stand correctly during a rendition of the national anthem [2] can be controversial. Questioning the patriotism of an opponent is (rightfully) viewed with scorn, but nobody ever disputes the underlying premise that patriotism itself is important. In other words, nobody questions whether loving your country is really such a healthy emotion.I submit that patriotism is not a virtue. At best, patriotism is an irrational sentiment that serves no intrinsic moral purpose. At worst, patriotism is a form of political indoctrination capable of motivating tremendous carnage and destruction. Accordingly, it is time that human beings recognize and reject patriotism for the parochial propaganda it is.1. Patriotism is unnaturalSociologist Benedict Anderson once famously observed that coutries are “imagined communities,” in the sense that the members of a country never personally meet the vast majority of their compatriots. [3] Unless a country has observable geographic borders, it is hard to tell that a country physically exist at all.Given the abstracted nature of countries, it is clear that patriotism can only be learned as a result of social indoctrination. Unlike the affection a child feels for her mother, for example, patriotism is not natural or innate. It takes a constant exposure to nationalist propaganda and mythology before a person genuinely loves an entity he cannot readily observe. Much like religion, "patriotism . . . is a superstition created and maintained through a network of lies and falsehoods." [4]Love, however, is an emotion best reserved for relationships between actual human beings. As E.M Forster once wrote, "[i]f there ever comes a time when I must choose between betraying my country or my friend, I hope I shall have the courage to betray my country." [5]2. Patriotism is arbitraryThe vast majority of people on Earth do not choose their national identity; nationality is a characteristic most often inherited through the accidental circumstances of birth. It is a mystery, then, why so many non-immigrants are so fiercely proud of an identity they really had no control over.To the extent that a patriot claims to love his country because of its values or accomplishments, there are other countries in the world that share similar values and accomplishments. Rather, most people feel patriotic about their country is simply because it is their country. While parochial nostalgia may be a more tolerable explanation of patriotism than a conceited belief in national superiority, patriotism "because my country is mine" is still morally irrelevant.3. Patriotism minimizes national shortcomingsCeremonial expressions of patriotism gloss over national shortcomings. For example, Southernors who defend the Confederate flag as a symbol of "heritage" ignore the fact that the flag also represents a (former) country established precisely to maintain a system of human slavery. Similarly, Americans who interpret the American flag as a symbol of national glory tend to ignore the fact that many atrocities were committed in the name of the United States, including the genocidal displacement of indigenous Native Americans [6] or the deliberate incineration of thousands of Japanese civilians. [7]To their credit, the people of Germany have acknowledged the evils committed in the name of their nation during World War II, and have accordingly made public expressions of patriotism taboo. [8] Germany's sober skepticism of all patriotic pomp and circumstance is an example worth following. 4. Patriotism distracts people from their common humanityPerhaps most importantly, patriotism distracts people from their foremost identity as human beings. By dividing the word into finite political communities competing against one another for prestige and influence, patriotism and the principle of national sovereignty provokes unnecessary disputes and drives people to war. In fact, patriotism is responsible for more death and human suffering than all other religions or political ideologies combined.This madness must end. We human beings live in an increasingly interconnected planet, and it is time we recognized national boundaries and the patriotism that sustains them as irrational and destructive relics of our barbaric ancestors.Patriotism is NOT a virtue.Sources:[1] http://www.time.com...[2] http://www.snopes.com...[3] Benedict Anderson. Imagined Communities (1991)[4] Emma Goldman. Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty (1910)[5] http://en.wikiquote.org...[6] http://en.wikipedia.org...[7] http://en.wikipedia.org...;[8] http://www.foxnews.com...;