Patriotism Archives - Public Seminar

Making Sense of the War

As the shock of war gives way to reflection, Ukrainian public discourse has turned to questions of the past, present and future

July 6, 2022 • by Tatiana Zhurzhenko

In Ukraine, the initial shock, anger, and sorrow have slowly given way to the sober realization that the war is not going to end soon. The first month passed like one day, but meanwhile, the feeling of time has returned. People and institutions are adjusting and even trying to make ...

History

We Lionize Abraham Lincoln – But John Wilkes Booth Still Embodies a Part of America’s Soul

How the insurrection on January 6th brought a legendary assassin back to life

March 18, 2021 • by Bennett Parten

"But if January 6 should tell us anything, it’s that his cause is far from lost. Like Lincoln, the ghost of John Wilkes Booth still haunts us from the grave." - Bennett Parten ...

We Lionize Abraham Lincoln – But John Wilkes Booth Still Embodies a Part of America’s Soul

Politics

Patriotism’s Dilemma

Lessons from The Godfather

February 1, 2021 • by Steven B. Smith

The idea of patriotism – love of country – is an ancient one. It goes back to the Greek word patris (place of one’s ancestors) and the Latin patria (fatherland). Like every form of love, patriotism is partly determined by the object of its affection. Is love of country unconditional – ...

Education

Teaching Patriotism

Abraham Lincoln’s idea of America

October 8, 2020 • by Steven B. Smith

In the midst of a global pandemic and an economic crisis, President Donald Trump recently found time to convene a Committee on Patriotic Education. In principle this was not a bad idea. The great question of course is how will patriotism be taught, and who will be its teachers? Or, as Karl ...

Politics

Why Don’t We Call It Treason?

John Bolton confirms what Senate Republicans already knew

June 24, 2020 • by John Stoehr

I don’t like John Bolton any more than you do. He’s a crank. He’s a snob. He’s a warmonger. One thing you can’t question, though, is his loyalty. No matter how wrongheaded, how dangerous, how much he prefers airstrikes to diplomacy, you can’t doubt his dedication to the United States. ...

Feature

The Dilemma of Black Citizenship

Perpetual Partiality and Patriotism

August 23, 2019 • by Kristopher Burrell

"I love America more than any other country in the world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”James Baldwin, Notes from a Native Son The concepts of universal equality and suffrage have historically provided the necessary openings for those who are not rich or white ...

Feature

Why Trump’s Battle with NFL Players Reveals His Racist View of Patriotism

Athletes have the right to express their political views

July 4, 2018 • by Peter Dreier

We can expect President Donald Trump to use the July 4 holiday as an occasion to whip up his political base by challenging the patriotism of anyone who disagrees with him. He’s been doing this ever since he announced he was running for president, but he’s reserved a particular brand of ...

Why Trump’s Battle with NFL Players Reveals His Racist View of Patriotism

Feature

Refashioning Patriotism

Selling Fear as Part of The War On Terror

December 5, 2016 • by Maria Christoforou

Less than one week after the World Trade Center attacks, campaigns for the restoration of the American economy and the recovery of the former consumer confidence and spending habits proliferated across the country. By transforming the national tragedy into a commodity, these campaigns initiated a discourse of patriotic consumerism and ...