A Case Against American Patriotism
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Patriotism is such an important ideal in this country. People, especially conservatives, love to brand themselves patriots. It provides this sense of fulfilling a moral obligation as a citizen of this country. Maybe that’s true to an extent, but I also believe patriotism can be a very dangerous thing.
Let me a read a portion of an article titled, Demonizing Nationalism. It’s all about Adolf Hitler’s rise to power which will make sense in a moment why I’m bringing this up.
Adolf Hitler emerged from World War I as a decorated but penniless army corporal, embittered by the lost war and the devastating Treaty of Versailles which he, like many Germans, attributed to treachery rather than failure of German arms. Yet in 1933 he stood as the undisputed leader of a resurgent Germany, revered by his own people as have been few leaders in history.
Let me skip down in the article:
The truth is that Hitler was the most popular politician in Germany in the late ’20s and early ’30s. He did not seize power by overthrowing a legitimate regime. He garnered the votes of millions of ordinary German workers, shop owners and artisans.
The first point I want to make about Germany and Hitler’s rise to power is that Adolf Hitler didn’t come along and steal his power, so to speak. He was elected. He was a very popular politician. The people in Germany loved him. Yes, he was an evil dictator once in power, but he was loved nonetheless. What’s most interesting was his message to the people. Whether the German people realized it or not, Hitler laid out the foundation for what he would do later in the many speeches he delivered even before he was elected. I mean, Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf, was published in 1925. That’s quite awhile before World War II began.
Let me read to you a quote from Mein Kampf:
What we have to fight for is the necessary security for the existence and increase of our race and people, the substance of its children and maintenance of our racial stock unmixed, the freedom and independence of the Fatherland, so that our people may be enabled to fulfil the mission assigned to it by the Creator.
Here’s the second point I want to make about Hitler. His message to the people was no doubt evil. Yet, it was difficult for many of them to see through it and see the evil it actually was. Hitler was constantly talking about preserving and protecting the heritage and well-being of Germany. He talked about fighting off the Communists who were destroying the nation. He eventually duped the people into believing Jews were a large part of the problem, but ultimately he was doing very little more than promoting German patriotism. As a result, the people not only thrust him into power, they widely supported his agenda to expand the German empire and kill close to 6 million Jews.
I want you to forget everything you know about Hitler. Let your mind travel back to the time before everyone realized what Hitler would do. Hitler was giving speeches about how Germany was a nation blessed by God. It stood out from the rest of the world. For that reason, the German way of life should be defended against all enemies–those within and those without. He would quote the Bible and talk about bringing an end to communism once and for all. He would talk about the threat of Judaism and how it had the potential to corrupt the nation. He would talk about freedom and the rights of the people.
Here’s my question for you: Does any of this sound vaguely familiar? I know. I know. Someone is already typing me an email saying something like, Are you really comparing the United States with Nazi Germany? As matter of fact, yes, I am. What’s the difference? If we substitute Jews with Muslims and maybe communism with socialism, it’s practically identical. It is just crazy what Americans have been encouraged to support under the guise of patriotism.
We can question virtually any aspect of the government with the exception of foreign policy. You can remain a loyal patriot it seems unless you question any part of what our country has done concerning the rest of the world. It blows my mind the way Christians have passionately supported the capture, torture, and killing of countless Muslims and suspected terrorists–suspected being the keyword there. Many of them were even American citizens. You know, sometimes the ends don’t justify the means. What do you suppose the Lord would have us to do? Do you really think the Lord supports torturing a man because some guy sitting behind a desk in Washington D.C. think he might be linked to terrorism?
What about the wars and the expansion of the American way of life into the Middle East? Aren’t we acting as if we’re Nazi Germany 2.0 looking to grow the empire? Hitler claimed military intervention was necessary because they were a potential threat to the German people. Now, look what we’re doing. If there’s a slight chance one of these nations could attack us one day, let’s do something about it now. Forget innocent until proven guilty. That’s an outdated concept. Preemptive strike. That’s the American way. I say this like it’s a joke but it’s not. Unfortunately, I fully expect we’ll be fighting in Iran by the end of 2014.
James Altucher has an interesting article on his website dated May 23rd. It’s titled, Name Me a Single War that was Worth It. Let me just focus on the part where he comments on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He wrote:
Over 40,000 American troops have been killed or injured there. Much more than died in the World Trade center. And this ignores the 800,000 Iraqi civilians killed.
Tell me a single war that might’ve been good? We destroyed Iraq and now it’s helpless. We can’t even rebuild it. Afganistan is back to the stone ages and it took 10 years to find Osama in a mansion in Pakistan and we still don’t have the full story on that. I guess I’d be a horrible President.
Unless it was war with Canada (to get oil cheap since they are by far our biggest provider of oil) I’d never go to war with anyone. Libya? They blew up one of our planes 30 years ago and we even let the guys free so they could have a hero’s welcome in Tripoli? What’s going on now?
In the article, he goes back even to World War I and World War II asking what exactly those wars accomplished. By the way, I’m not some flower-loving hippie who believes peace is always an option. I’m merely asking, who exactly are America’s enemies? Why are they America’s enemies? Today, we’re encouraged to support every military action against those in the Middle East because of 9/11. But there’s a few problems there. First, those responsible for the attacks were Al-Qaeda and Saudi Arabia who funded them. We invaded Afghanistan 10 years ago to pursue Al-Qaeda but we never did a thing to Saudi Arabia. Of course, somehow our military expanded into other parts of the Middle East including, of course, Iraq. Secondly, what exactly provoked Al-Qaeda to attack us on 9/11? Surely we don’t believe it was strictly for irrational religious reasons, do we?
I don’t want to insult any soldiers when I say this because that’s not my intention. I am just tired of hearing that our military is fighting in places like Iraq to preserve our way of life or that they’re fighting for our freedom. That’s not what’s happening. To be honest, I’m not sure what’s happening. I do know that Iraq never attacked us. Yet, we don’t even question our government about this in fear we’ll be accused of being un-American or lacking patriotism or not supporting our troops. Personally, I find it more patriotic to stand up against needless wars in attempt to keep our soldiers from harm’s way if possible.
How were American lives improved after the Korean War? How about after the Vietnam War? How about the Gulf War? Did we see more prosperity? More freedom? Anything? So, what do we expect to get after the current Iraq War is finished? If we do invade Iran in the near future, what do we expect to happen there? Soldiers and civilians alike will be killed. Chances are, those nations will experience devastation and unrest for years to come. Years later, there will be a few nut jobs like myself asking, “Was it worth it?”
I guess what troubles me the most is that Christians are often the most stanch supporters of these wars. Even though Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” It’s incredible how sometimes there will be a picture of a soldier posted on Facebook where his limbs have been blown off or he’s been severely disfigured and the comments beneath the photo will say something like, I hope the bleeping enemy burns in hell for this. Support our troops. It’s sad that very few people are asking, Is it even worth it? I mean, obviously the enemy is going to try and blow us up. That’s the nature of war. We’re trying to blow them up and they’re trying to blow us up. But for what?
Ladies and gentlemen, blind patriotism is one of the greatest threats to our freedom we will ever know. As far as I’m concerned, this idea that American can do no wrong is not patriotism at all. It’s nationalism and it leads to the tyranny of the very ones supporting it. Case in point, Nazi Germany.
“Marketing Wars | 063 Coffee & Cigarettes” Transcript
Demonizing Nationalism | Our Race Is Our Nation
http://library.flawlesslogic.com/finance.htmName Me a Single War that was Worth It? | The Altucher Confidential | May 23rd, 2011
http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2011/05/name-me-a-single-war-that-was-worth-it/
About The Author
Jeremy Sarber
I'm the pastor of one of the most blessed churches in all the world. I'm married to the most wonderful woman to walk the face of the earth. I'm host of possibly the most unconventional podcast on the Internet. I am thankful because I deserve none of it. Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email
