Date added: December 14, 2008.
By Cuauhcoatl Moyocoyatzin
- 1st draft
After a brief debate with someone over my YouTube channel about the topic of Patriotism I decided to write down my exclusive idealism in respect to Mexican Patriotism so that there is to be no confusion with other ideals or concepts one might assume are essential or inherent within my own. Try to avoid any preconceived notions of what my deals are before you even look at them.
The British rationalist Bertrand Russell came to esteem patriotism as "the willingness to kill to be killed for trivial reasons." It is this opinion of Patriotism that I find most prevalent among those who oppose it. I very strongly disagree with Russell considering the various examples of patriotism that some countries have shown in history, mostly former colonies, particularly the United States. When reading the literature that is hostile to the notion of Patriotism I find that there is a deliberate omission of the fact that Patriotism predates Nationalism, to which the cynics seek to make a synonym.
It is patriotism that sets out to create, evolve and preserve nations, not the other way around, for it was Patriotism that fueled the will of the American colonists. In the case of American patriotism it is quite notable that patriotism is the polar opposite of Jingoism. Here is where I come to draw a line that is not unlike the line which divides the socio-political ideals of the Right - Left (Capitalist - Socialist) spectrum.
In the way I view and hold my ideals towards my country there are three distinct grades of sentiment concerning one’s nation. Patriotism comes first as I hold it to be the most important, Nationalism comes second though is not in any way an ideal center among polar opposites, and last comes Jingoism the most extreme and radical position which also makes it the worst.
Patriotism is the love of one’s country, culture, language, expression, esthetic, laws (so long as these remain just). The true patriot is paternal. He is fatherly and fraternal who takes an active part in the life of his nation and does not just sit idly by like some sort of narcist merely loving his reflection that passes by in the day to day happenings of his nation. He takes joy in the autonomy of his country and thinks to himself how good that his nation can run and survive well without him. Contrast this to the stingy mind of the fascist who seeks to be a rigid control freak of every aspect of political and social life and who cannot imagine his country living on without his constant manipulations and hegemony. The father is one who nurtures and inspires his children and fellow citizens to grow and be independent so that they may build their own lives and continue to make progress on the foundations that the forefathers have laid out. The Patriot is also one who is able and willing to kill and be killed, not for short sighted trivialities, but for the intrinsic good inherent in the culture, to which Russell completely ignores; as well as good traditions and above all for the survival, freedom and prosperity of his very people. No, the Patriot does not kill and die for trivial things but for those things which make his life and lives of all human being worth living. With a love so healthy and fervent one cannot say that the Patriot is merely a lover experiencing an emotion. Love is a verb and to be in love means to be in action. The action which the Patriot is acting is the betterment of his country which embodies all those attributes that give it its unique and singular identity. He acts because his love for his people and culture compels him; and it is extremely naive to say this is all just a "feeling." But there is also moderation. The Patriot is one who has reached a mature level of the understanding of love for it’s own sake and not as an extension of the love for one’s self. The Patriot is critical of those things he sees are not right or just within his culture or in the habits and attitudes of his own people. A true and loving father does not ignore the faults and flaws of his children or brethren. He acknowledges injustice and corruption within his nation and feel no shame in doing so for he knows he is acting in the process correction. He knows that things cannot be corrected if they remain ignored hence he voices the errors of his nation and inspires and acts along with fellow citizens and Patriots to correct these faults and create a steady progress for the future in which our children will live. In Patriotism, all those aspects which make a country: people, language, ethnicity, culture, law, music, history, art, technologies, environments, architectures, etc... are all held as constituents of a single entity to which the Patriot loves and acts in their defense, conservation and progress.
Nationalism is merely an infant compared to it’s more ancient counterpart previously discussed. This is a relatively new and modern ideology that originated in Europe, most notably during the French Revolution and the two world wars. Nationalism has an overtly political agenda with little regard for culture and all those other things that Patriotism holds dear. This ideology carries an emotion towards the country that can be as strong as that of the Patriot but not as sober or critical of it. The Nationalist hesitates to acknowledge the mistakes of his nation but is quick towards hatred against others. In Nationalism it is the people who are held as the mortar that holds the nation together and they do not esteem the culture, history, art or traditions of the people as essential or even as a whole. The Nationalist will be inclined to bend the arts and education to push forth the political agendas of the socio-political state instead of those things which are essential for a healthy and prosperous people such as their culture, language and history. In fact, the Nationalist may even hide or deny certain historical events if he sees them as embarrassing, or conflicting with their political agenda, or may just have plain disinterest. This is because in Nationalism the political entity of the state comes first, everything else comes second.
Jingoism is the very lowest of the fanatical spectrum. Some stupid individuals calls it "extreme patriotism," how can moderation become extreme yet still be moderate? Jingoism is not patriotism at all, it is a fanaticism of the state. The Jingoist is a xenophobe and often a racist with absolutely no regard for justice. These individuals take a perverse pleasure in war and conquest because they see themselves as superior with an itch to prove their superiority in brutal acts of war and aggression. Ironically the same nation that was born out of Patriotism is also known to harbor Jingoism. The best example of a modern Jingoist sentiment would be the U.S. foreign policy. The most exact example of Jingoism in modern history are the Nazis and Imperial Japan during WWII. The Jingoist is a fanatic, one who is driven to kill or be killed purely out of radical and blind pride and the hatred of other nations.
Now that I have explained how I, as well as many others, view these 3 ideologies I hope you have a better understanding that I am a Mexican Patriot. It is patriotism that is clearly the better of these three with Nationalism faring only a bit better than Jingoism which comes as the very worst.
I am first and foremost a Mexican Patriot, and as such, I am willing to kill or be killed in the name of all that I hold dear in life, even if this means rising against corrupt institutions and governments; I honestly prefer not to do either of these things and I will exhaust every possibility to avoid conflict and war but if circumstance should call upon me to act I will not hesitate in the slightest in order to defend my patrimony with either the pen or the bullet.