Daniel Larison explains:
…this is the crucial difference between patriotism and nationalism:
patriotism is love of one’s country and defensive, while nationalism is
expressed typically through contempt and fear of other nations and a
will to power over other nations. The Iraq war was made possible by a
propaganda campaign by the government, the exploitation of public fear
and anger, the warmongering of nationalists and the twisting of
patriotic sentiment into support for a war of aggression by casting the war dishonestly as one of self-defense.
That the administration succeeded in this is not a measure of
mindless love of country, but rather a fairly mindless foreign policy
consensus that says that small states on the other side of the planet
pose meaningful threats to the United States. To cede that it is
patriotism is mainly to blame for the Iraq war, rather than the
government’s abuse and manipulation of patriotism, is to let the
government off the hook much too easily.
Larison writes for The American Conservative. He’s no lefty, believe me. I bring this up because so many people of my tribe, perhaps traumatized by the sight of constitutional scofflaws such as Richard M. Nixon and George W. Bush wrapping themselves in the American flag, disdain patriotism entirely. That’s a mistake — a big one.
This distinction, which Barack Obama would do well to seize upon, could make a difference with millions of American voters, who love their country devoutly, and mistrust those who think the American flag somehow beneath them.
Kit Stolz 