One of my relatives sent me one of those email thingies intended to sway you into some sort of feeling or other. It was about the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and what happened to them.

“Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.” (See the Snopes breakdown on the facts)

It ends with the idea that we shouldn’t take our liberties for granted. I certainly agree with that.

But then there’s this little strange twist.

It’s time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July involves much more important symbolism, meaning, and tradition than beer, picnics, and baseball games.

Very odd to invoke the idea of patriotism as a sin. Perhaps my ideas about patriotism are still affected by my Jehovah’s Witness childhood, but it seems that there may be some confusion about what patriotism really means in a democracy. I agree that we should be thinking about independence day and what that revolution was really about rather than just (simply) enjoying the holiday. But all I see is a lot of flag-waving, hate-mongering, and an association between war and democracy. That’s not patriotism – that’s more like just wanting to be on the “winning team.” Even in sports, a true fan wants the game to respect the rules.

So anyway, here was my reply:

“No, patriotism is not a sin, but sometimes there is a real distinction to be made between patriotism – love of our country, love for freedom, appreciation for our democracy and its hard-earned rewards – and nationalism – which is a blind following of national government regardless of whether it acts in the interests of its people, or its own laws, or in the service of democracy and freedom – or not.

I am a patriot – but not a nationalist. It’s not “my country right or wrong.” Part of the strength of our system is the right of the people to hold its representatives accountable. George is not the king, after all – and all the sacrifices being made now are based on deception. Shouldn’t a patriot be angry? I am.”