“Patriotism is putting the country first,… before anything”
July 3rd, 2008A couple of days ago, Obama delivered an honest and heart-felt oration about the meaning of patriotism. Naturally, John McCain responded by giving his own speech on patriotism.(*) Hilariously, he did so by saying things so completely crazy and unhinged from reality that he can’t possibly mean them.
If John McCain were to mention in casual conversation that “patriotism is putting the country first, before party or personal ambition, before anything,” there wouldn’t be a story. Everyone exaggerates and makes silly comments from time to time. Normal conversation doesn’t repay a literal parsing of the text in that way.
But when he declares in a set speech that patriotism means having no obligations greater than service to the state, I have to consider how unpleasant it would be to actually think that way, and how unfortunate it would be for our country to elect someone who thinks that way to lead it. There’s a reason no one puts Lieutenant Worf in charge of the ship.
It goes without saying that there are ethical and moral obligations — whether one is religious or not — more important than fealty to the nation. Certainly it’s impossible for a Christian to believe that the first and greatest commandment is “render everything unto Caesar”.
Just as problematic, McCain goes out of his way in his speech to denigrate “sentiments about place and kinship” — a kind of patriotism that really does enrich and strengthen, and which is an unalloyed good — as unworthy of the name. When I heard him, I was reminded of an argument from C.S. Lewis about first and second things: “every preference of a small good to a great, or a partial good to a total good, involves the loss of the small or partial good for which the sacrifice was made”.
There are two possibilities. One, John McCain is going around saying that people should put their country “before anything” because, like some 19th-century German philosopher, he thinks it’s true. Two, John McCain thinks most Americans believe to be true, and he wants to win our votes by appealing to the most base nationalistic fervor imaginable.
Fortunately, if the polls are any guide, we don’t seem to be going for it.
(*) “Do you love your country” is apparently an open question in American politics these days, along with “can the president order the torture of prisoners” and “is it okay for the president to ignore the law”. Stay classy, Republican Party.