Patriotism...

flag at Camp Dixie, May 2013, dd

July 4th.

Independence Day.  A day of celebration in the United States.   Freedom, liberty, and fireworks.

A time to be with family and friends.

A time to remember and reflect.  A time to be grateful.  A time to consider, possibly, that there is more responsibility given to us than we are living into. 

Being born in the United States of America doesn't make me better than anyone born anywhere else.  And, those that have that attitude frustrate me.  They are the "ugly americans."  (There was a book written about them in 1958 that I read in the 1980s, The Ugly American, by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer..)  This attitude of superiority is part of ethnocentrism.

It is one thing to appreciate one's country; it is another to put others down as if yours is superior.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have studied abroad in Spain in 1984.  That was my first experience in another country and culture.  That trip got me to Belgium and North Africa (Ceuta) too.  Well, I did experience some different culture experiences in the 70s when I got to visit Hawaii and Colorado and some other western states.  Being from the South, there was some culture shock there. ☺

In 1985, I had the joy of going to Mexico with my first cousin.  Great fun and fellowship, a highlight in my trip logs.

Since then, I have traveled quite a bit.  I enjoy languages and culture and meeting people from all over the world.  We can learn much from one another, if we will only listen to one another and treat each other with respect.

What spurred this post this morning was a devotion by Joan Chittister in her book Songs of the heart: Reflections on THE PSALMS.

Song 7, "Patriotism." page 36

It is based on Psalm 47.  This psalm verse is at the beginning of the chapter: "God is the Creator of all the earth, caring for all nations." (36)

She introduces a new term to me, "jingoism."  I learned that it means "chauvinism, a love of country that lacks a critical eye. [...] lacks a loving eye." (36-37)

Interesting.  I took this statement to be one that we need to heed and doing something about: "What we do in the name of "Americanism" to people will be weighed in the light of what is good for all creation, our own and those whose lives as a nation we touch." (37)

This is what Joan Chittister says about patriotism:

"Patriotism, on the other hand, is a commitment to the ideals for which, as a people, we say we strive.  Real patriotism welcomes, encourages, commits itself to the great national debates that question war, resist taxes, and determine penal systems." (36-37)

Under the section "Soul Points", there are several good points. 

Here are two of them:

"Real patriotism will not be reached on this planet until, for each of us, our country is the world.  Until then, we are all merely tribes fighting for territory that doesn't belong to us in the first place." (38)

"It is only when we travel outside our country that we can really come to know what it means to be from the U.S.  It is an exhilarating and humiliating thing.  Real love of country demands that we find the beauty in other cultures and strive to grow from what we learn from others.  As Albert Camus says, "I love my country too much to be a nationalist."" (39)

Take some time to reflect today on your country and what it means to you.  Then, take some time to get to know others from another country... whether that means making friends from another country who have moved into your country or researching information or maybe even traveling. 

What can you and I do to live into the truth that God cares for all nations? 

Blessings on your journey,

Debra