Patriotism Versus Nationalism

Patriotism Versus Nationalism    

A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Randy K. Hammer

Jonah 4; reading from Dan Rather’s What Unites Us

 

Are you a patriot or a nationalist?  Actually, you might want to wait until the end of the service before you answer that question.  And what is the difference between patriotism and nationalism? 

I had not given the subject a whole lot of thought until 6-8 months ago.  Events of the past year in our nation laid a foundation for considering the topic.  But then what really got me to thinking about patriotism versus nationalism was Dan Rather’s book titled What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism, which one of the members of this United Church gave me for Christmas.

Now, to be completely honest, I never really was a big fan of Dan Rather.  I always felt like Rather was too confrontational and had an abrasive personality.  However, I have to confess to you that after reading Rather’s book, I have a much greater appreciation for him as a journalist, dogged pursuer of the truth, and social justice advocate.

What Unites Us looks at several different characteristics of patriotism and how true patriotism serves as a lens through which we view different areas of life, such as the press, public education, the right to vote, the environment, and so on.

And here is the core of the subject, for today’s purposes anyway.  Rather warns that “It is important not to confuse ‘patriotism’ with ‘nationalism.’  As I define it, nationalism is a monologue in which you place your country in a position of moral and cultural supremacy over others.  Patriotism, while deeply personal, is a dialogue with your fellow citizens, and a larger world, about not only what you love about your country but also how it can be improved.  Unchecked nationalism leads to conflict and war.  Unbridled patriotism can lead to the betterment of society.  Patriotism is rooted in humility.  Nationalism is rooted in arrogance.”¹ 

In dictionary language, a patriot is “One who loves, supports, and defends one’s country.”  Patriotism is “Love of and devotion to one’s country.”  And the definition of “Nationalism” is: 1. “Devotion, especially excessive or undiscriminating devotion, to the interests or culture of a particular nation-state.” 2. “The belief that nations will benefit from acting independently rather than collectively, emphasizing national rather than international goals.”

The two definitions or descriptions at first reading might sound very similar.  But in reality, they can be very different.  At best, a true patriot is one who loves and serves their country with a passion.  A patriot loves the natural landscape beauties of America, such as America’s wonderful national parks; loves the American ideal of freedom and democracy; and so on.  But a patriot can also appreciate the fact that great as our nation is, we are part of a much larger whole. And thus, can have great appreciation and respect for other countries of the world too, and the fact that people of other nations of the world are just as deserving of natural beauty, freedom, democracy, and justice for all.  A patriot loves his or her nation of origin, but doesn’t feel that that nation is better than or superior to other nations of the world.

Nationalism, on the other hand, in its extreme can be a dangerous thing.  Nationalism can degenerate to the belief that MY nation is better than and superior to every other nation of the world, and therefore, my nation can do no wrong.  Nationalism, as I see it, is political narcissism that feels that the rest of the whole world revolves around our nation, and whatever our nation decides to do with the rest of the world is okay; because we are the best; and we are always right.  It might be tempting to think that way at times, I suppose.  But think of German Nationalism and Hitler’s superior race theory, his attempts to take control of Europe, his extermination of the Jews and other ethnic groups, and so on.  Hitler took nationalism to its most horrific and evil extremes.

Well, let’s look at the scriptures for a moment.  After all, this is a sermon.  Obviously we don’t find the words patriot or nationalist in the Bible.  But the ideas are there, nonetheless.  As we read biblical history, we read of how at different times some countries seemed to be operating under a nationalistic banner; that their nation was special, superior, the “Apple of God’s Eye,” while the rest of the world didn’t matter.

But then whoever wrote the little book of Jonah had a different idea.  The author of Jonah, I believe, was a patriot who sought to sound a warning against the idea of narcissistic nationalism.  The common feeling among some was that Israel was God’s chosen people and the rest of the world didn’t matter to God.  Of special note was the country of Assyria, Israel’s hated enemies.  Assyria had invaded Israel in 732 BCE.  Perhaps there was a bit of the spirit of Assyrian nationalism at play then.  So when the author of Jonah has God send the prophet to Assyria to preach repentance, he is saying, “God isn’t just the God of one nation – of our nation – but God is the God of the whole world.  God loves other nations just as God loves ours – even the Assyrians!”  So the book of Jonah was written as a corrective to extreme nationalism that places one nation upon a pedestal and condemns the rest of the world to destruction.

Now, since I quoted a few words from a hymn in last week’s sermon, don’t fear that I am going to start quoting lines from hymns to you every week.  But there is a wonderful hymn in our New Century Hymnal that illustrates the idea of patriotism while differentiating it from nationalism. The hymn is “This Is My Song,” set to the tune Finlandia.  It goes:

“This is my song, O God of all the nations, a song of peace for lands afar and mine.  This is my home, the country where my heart is; here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine; But other hearts in other lands are beating with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

“My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean, and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine; But other lands have sunlight, too, and clover, and skies are everywhere as blue as mine.  O hear my song, O God of all the nations, a song of peace for their land and for mine.”

I love the way that hymn blends the spirit of true patriotism – love of country, its natural beauties and landscapes, its hopes and dreams – while not falling into nationalism by respecting other nations of the world and recognizing that they, too, love their country, have natural beauties, and hopes and dreams just as we do.  And the final prayer is a song of peace for their land and for mine.

So, again, are you a patriot or a nationalist?  I think you probably know where I stand.  I love this land.  I love the natural beauties, the ideals of freedom and democracy, the principle (albeit not yet fully realized) of liberty and justice for all.  But I also realize that there is a lot of room for improvement in our nation.  We are not yet perfect in the ideals we have long professed.  And as much as I love America, I do not feel that our nation is superior to other nations of the world, that we are God’s chosen nation of all nations on the earth, or that America should seek to go it alone in the world.  We are part of a much larger whole.  And God cannot be limited to a red, white and blue box.

There is a car bumper sticker that I see from time to time that might also illustrate the point.  It reads: “God bless the whole world” in response to the idea that God should bless America and maybe no one else. It’s okay to say, “God bless America” as long as we don’t seek to limit God’s blessing to America.  The extreme nationalist might say, “God bless America, and no one else,” whereas the true patriot might say, “God bless America, and the whole world too.”  May it be so.  Amen.