The United States Federal Government should not continue to encourage patriotism in schools.

This is for anyone looking for a well-rounded debate. Resolved: The United States Federal Government should not continue to encourage patriotism to in schools. Definiotns provided by www.dictionary.com Continue-to go on with or persist in. Encourage-to promote, advance, or foster. Patriotism- devoted love, support, and defense of one's country; national loyalty. Schools- institutions where instruction is given, esp. to persons under college age. My argument is that students should not be encouraged by the U.S. government to promote patriotism in the school systems. I bring for the first round these three arguments. 1. Patriotism is known to produce harmful effects to children if taught institutiomally. 2. Patriotism is similar to that of socialism, humanism, and nazism. 3. The United States Federal Government does not need to be the ones teaching the students about patriotism. On my first argument, Institutions such as schools are where children learn the basic fundamental education that they will use for the rest of their lives. But also, schools are where students decide on habits, friends, and even what governmental party they want to be in. After all, the average student from grades K-12 go to school for nine months out of the year, and eight hour a day, five days a week. Schools are an institution where the things that should be taught should not have a negative influence on students. Now as for patriotism. Patriotism as defined above is love, loyalty and defense to a country. Now at first patriotism seems good, but the Brussels journal reports "Are countries really appropriate objects of love? Loving things can be bad for us, for example when the things we love are morally corrupt". Also mailonline quotes thie above statement exactly. By promoting patriotsm t students now, they will be patriotic even if the United States becomes corrupt (which the U.S. isn't far from). Also as history is concerned Hitler, along with being taught anti-Semitism, socialism and humanism, was in fact taught patriotism. Patritosim taught young can lead to superiority of a race. In the past American history, Americans have felt superior against Afriacan Americans and Indians. Even today, Americans have superior race feelings towards the people of the middle east, Mexicans, Cubans, and even African Americans. ALL of this hostility was and is taught by parents and schools. Students are bound to think that if you do not love America thaen you should be treated terrible physically and emotionally. In the Declaration of Independence, it states that all men are created equal, and patriotism is in fact completely reversing this fact to the students who learn to be patriotic at an early age. My next argument is that patriotism is similar to that of socialism, human, and nazism. First of all, let me define these words according to dictionary.com. 1. Socialism-(In Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles. 2. Humanism-Philosophy. a variety of ethical theory and practice that emphasizes reason, scientific inquiry, and human fulfillment in the natural world and often rejects the importance of belief in God. 3. Nazism-The ideology and practice of the Nazis, especially the policy of racist nationalism, national expansion, and state control of the economy. A. form of socialism featuring racism and expansionism and obedience to a strong leader. Now, as was said in my first argument, Hitler learned to hate a specific race and learned the major fundamentals of bad government. Socialism to control all of the industry and capital that the Germans produced. Humanism to beileve that Hitler's role in the human world was to establish a pure and superior race and eliminate the bad blood (or Jews). Patriotism to love and defend the Fatherland at all cost. More important, loyalty to the Fuerher. Of course, combine all of these and you get Nazism. In the definition stated above Nazism covered all of these including patriotism. Now if Hitler hadn't have learned these ideals early in his life, then things might have went alright. This is an excellent example that patriotism can easily be confused with the ideal that some humans are more equal (or better) than others. The idealogy of patriotism can be so closely reated to dangerous bad government ideals that teaching it to a child will inevitably bring destruction and devastation to America. Teaching this to young children and even teens can and will produce harmful effects in the long run. Now on to my third and final argument for this round. The Federal Government shouldn't be encouraging patriotism to America. In many ways, that is very similar to when Communist Russia was teaching communism to schools. First let me give a brief history note of socialism and how communism came from it. [Socialism] was first applied in England to Owen's theory of social reconstruction, and in France to those also of St. Simon and Fourier . . . The word, however, is used with a great variety of meaning, . . . even by economists and learned critics. The general tendency is to regard as socialistic any interference undertaken by society on behalf of the poor, . . . radical social reform which disturbs the present system of private property . . . The tendency of the present socialism is more and more to ally itself with the most advanced democracy. --Encyc. Brit. Now the link to socialism to commuinism is first of all, all communists are socialists, but not all socialists are communists. Since in my previous argument I proved that patriotism is close to socialism, it is also closely related to communism. Now that I made that point, I will continue on my other contingency that Communist Russia taught communism to students like the Federal Government is teaching patriotism to students. This right here proves that the USFG is not right to teach patriotism to students in schools. With these three arguments being stated, I now stand open for any and all arguments by my opponent. Thank You.