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July 04, 2008

What defines American patriotism? I mean, as a unique virtue of our country, for most citizens will have an innate fondness for their own nation. But this is rarely distinguishable from tribalism, a crude awareness of an allegiance based upon the accidents of history. As George Will remarked about other countries, what are they but entities that emerged from the swirling mists of time, and therefore, what claim do they lay upon their citizens' loyalties? The United States is, as we often delight in saying, different. Our citizenship is not grounded in, ahem, 'blood and soil.' We are a creedal nation, a creed articulated in the Declaration of Independence. This is our founding document and the antecedent for our government, history, and yes, even our patriotism.

America's creed of inalienable rights gives us an anchor. Every new generation of citizens, regardless of origin, is taught to revere principles, not lineage. The creed, hopefully, inspires them to live out those principles. And when we err, and we have erred greatly and frequently, the creed draws us back: fools and knaves can discredit America only when they abandon Americanism; once they are disposed of, the creed survives, ready for true patriots to try again. And this is part of the enduring genius of the American experiment, that neither blood nor soil can supplant our founding principles.

There are other creedal nations, to be sure. The Republic of South Africa strikes me as one of the more inspirational creedal nation to have ever emerged. The State of Israel has an obvious creed, but likewise does it also have blood, soil, and tribalism in spades. There are also dark creeds, as exemplified by the USSR and the French First Republic. From all of these, America stands apart, perhaps because she is grounded in the principles of the Enlightenment. The fullness of this distinction is reserved for those who know more about philosophy than I, but it seems to have worked out well over the past 232 years. America's creed sets us apart.

So on this very patriotic day, we dabble in a narrow band of our history and celebrate not just a battle, a war, or some men. We celebrate a document. Think about how extraordinary that is.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Posted by Zach Wendling at July 4, 2008 09:45 AM

Comments

Posted by: Michael at July 4, 2008 10:59 AM | permalink

Posted by: Joshua Claybourn at July 4, 2008 01:03 PM | permalink

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