by Gareth Hewes

Created on: May 09, 2009

The question of the consequences of patriotism has several levels of complexity. In a theoretical sense, patriotism has the potential to either unite or separate nations, depending on its application. As mentioned by some writers, the line between patriotism and nationalism is a very significant distinction; however, oftentimes the line between the two can be vague and one can become the other almost unnoticed.

In practical examples, the negative consequences of patriotism often win out over the positives. In most cases, nations do not practice patriotism simply by exhibiting a sense of pride in their culture and history, but also often by using themselves as a criteria by which they measure the worth of other nations. The former is not a problem if practiced in purity, but the latter can become a force that can snowball into such things as nationalism, as well as create an environment in which racism has the potential to thrive in the event that other nations have significant ethnic distinctions. Such a problem is seen among many of the tribal nations in Africa and the Middle East, among others.

Furthermore, the rift between the idea of patriotism and the application of it is widened by the way it is used as a tool of governments. America in particular has always emphasized the idea of patriotism as a tool to drive military force-it is no surprise that at the beginning of an American armed conflict such as the "War on Terror," patriotic messages and sentiments are pushed extensively to boost military recruitment and government support. This propaganda is effective on several levels: a higher recruitment rate often leads to increased chances of success (historically) and that victory causes the nation to be "rewarded" for its patriotism, which in turn increases the odds that the nation will support the current or similar administrations in similar power plays in the future.

Often overlooked, though, by the media and others with the power to send a message to the citizens, are the negative effects of such a strategy. By using patriotism in such a way, the leadership is simultaneously toeing the aforementioned vague line toward nationalism as well as creating an isolating distrust of those the nation would call "enemies." Like the internment camps for the Japanese during World War II, an environment of paranoia is propagated that is cast over the vast majority of Middle Eastern citizens, regardless of their origin. This issue is often blamed on the enemies themselves, and never attributed to the implied superiority given by propagandistic methods.

In summation, patriotism itself does not necessarily separate nations, but the applications of it do so more often than not. This is not an absolute, however, so with insight a person can learn to tell the difference between patriotism and propaganda. Considering the rapid proliferation of the Internet, the world will very soon have the opportunity to be united as one people, and in the absence of visitation from other planets, a very positive step could be made if people could feel a new kind of patriotism, one that allows them to be proud to be a citizen of our planet and a member of the human race. If that were to happen, I would gladly change my vote over to the other side.

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