Traitors and Patriots: The Difference Between Nationalism and Patriotism

Originally posted as a comment on MSNBC.com, in response to an article titled "Manning facing new charges, possile death penalty", subtitle " 'Aiding the enemy' is most serious of 22 new counts filed against private in Wikileaks case", regarding the Wikileak leaks of some U.S. secret documents, along with documents that sparked the revolution in Egypt and Tunisia, which were accompanied by the separate group "Anonymous", the cyberactivists who attacked those working against Wikileaks, and who helped shut down government websites and communication (along with evidence of infiltration and impersonination via web) in Egypt and Tunisia during their repsective uprisings. I have given my very positive overall view of Anonymous and Wikileaks in a past post, although neither is perfect or infallable. That being said, here goes: Since everyone wants to debate whether or not this Private, and anyone else who leaks government secrets that are in the public interest, is a patriot or a traitor (black and white thinking, a psychopathic fallacy), let us then define patriot and traitor...then I'll give you my opinion. traitor - a person who betrays his or her country, cause, friends, etc.; one guilty of treason or treachery (Notice it doesn't say "state" or "government", as the word "country" above does not mean either of those things. In fact, "country, "nation", "society", and "people" are all synonyms, all meaning basically the same thing...the physical people, their society, culture, and other cohesive identifiers. "State" and "government" often come in conflict with "country" and the like. For this reason, support for your government where it hurts your country is treasonist.) Patriotism is a love and devotion to one's country. It has had different meanings over time and its meaning is highly dependent upon context, geography, and philosophy. It is a related sentiment to nationalism, but nationalism is not necessarily an inherent part of patriotism. (Notice again, "country" is the word, not "state" or "government".) The English term patriot is first attested in the Eliabethan era, via Middle French from Late Latin (6th century) patriota "fellow countryman", ultimately from Greek (patrits) "fellow countryman". The abstract noun patriotism appears in the early 18th century. (Notice again, "countryman"...see the theme?) Nationalism involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. It can also include the belief that the state is of primary importance, or the belief that one state is naturally superior to all other states. It is also used to describe a movement to establish or protect a homeland (usually an

autonomous state) for an ethnic group. In some cases the identification of a national culture is combined with a negative view of other races or cultures. National flags, national anthems, and other symbols of national identity are often considered sacred, as if they were religious rather than political symbols. Deep emotions are aroused. Gellner and Breuilly, in Nations and Nationalism, contrast nationalism and patriotism. "If the nobler word 'patriotism' then replaced 'civic/Western nationalism', nationalism as a phenomenon had ceased to exist." (As you can see, nationalism is not patriotic, it can be opposed to patriotism in fact, as it finds blind allegiance to a government to be preferable to true national interests, the interests of society, the interests of the people, and the interests of the country. A simple example is fascist nationalism, where the nations were effected detrimentally by their governments interests. Secrecy is rarely about true national security, it's usually about government security, and therefore nationalist, not patriotic.) A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -Edward Abbey Politics, as a practise, whatever its professions, has always been the systematic organization of hatreds. -Henry Brookes Adams And that the said Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms; or to raise standing armies, unless necessary for the defense of the United States, or of some one or more of them; or to prevent the people from petitioning, in a peaceable and orderly manner, the federal legislature, for a redress of grievances; or to subject the people to unreasonable searches and seizures of their persons, papers or possessions. -Samuel Adams If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin. -Samuel Adams The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack... These actions apparently arise from a view that our national tradition of free expression is no longer valid; that censorship and suppression are needed to avoid the subversion of politics and the corruption of morals. -quote found at the American Library Association If America is destroyed, it may be by Americans who salute the flag, sing the national anthem, march in patriotic parades, cheer Fourth of July speakers - normally good Americans, but Americans who fail to comprehend what is required to keep our country strong and free, Americans who have been lulled away into a false security. -Ezra Taft Benson

The constitutional right of free speech has been declared to be the same in peace and war. In peace, too, men may differ widely as to what loyalty to our country demands, and an intolerant majority, swayed by passion or by fear, may be prone in the future, as it has been in the past, to stamp as disloyal opinions with which it disagrees. -Justice Louis D. Brandeis If you think we are free today, you know nothing about tyranny and even less about freedom. -Tom Braun Men in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find criticism subversive. -Henry Steele Commager The republic was not established by cowards, and cowards will not preserve it. -Elmer Davis They have always taught and trained you to believe it to be your patriotic duty to go to war and to have yourselves slaughtered at their command. But in all the history of the world you, the people, have never had a voice in declaring war, and strange as it certainly appears, no war by any nation in any age has ever been declared by the people. -Eugene Debs But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. -Declaration of Independence Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it. -Albert Einstein Here in America we are descended in spirit from revolutionaries and rebels -- men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. -Dwight D. Eisenhower They [the founders] proclaimed to all the world the revolutionary doctrine of the divine rights of the common man. That doctrine has ever since been the heart of the American faith. -Dwight D. Eisenhower Let me write the songs of a nation - I don't care who writes its laws. -Andrew Fletcher Where liberty dwells, there is my country. -Ben Franklin The evils we experience flow from the excess of democracy. The people do not want

virtue, but are the dupes of pretended patriots. -Elbridge Gerry None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. -Johann Wolfgang von Geothe To oppose corruption in government is the highest obligation of patriotism. -G. Edward Griffin I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country. -Nathan Hale From the saintly and single-minded idealist to the fanatic is often but a step. -Frederich August von Hayek Love your country, but never trust its government-Robert A. Heinlein Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death! -Patrick Henry The following quotes are from Mark Twain: "In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." "Man is the only Patriot. He sets himself apart in his own country, under his own flag, and sneers at the other nations, and keeps multitudinous uniformed assassins on hand at heavy expense to grab slices of other people's countries, and keep them from grabbing slices of his. And in the intervals between campaigns he washes the blood of his hands and works for "the universal brotherhood of man"- with his mouth." "Patriotism is usually the refuge of the scoundrel. He is the man who talks the loudest." "Patriot: the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is hollering about." "We teach them to take their patriotism at second-hand; to shout with the largest crowd without examining into the right or wrong of the matter -- exactly as boys under monarchies are taught and have always been taught. We teach them to regard as traitors, and hold in aversion and contempt, such as do not shout with the crowd, and so here in our democracy we are cheering a thing which of all things is most foreign to it and out of place -- the delivery of our political conscience into somebody else's keeping. This is patriotism on the Russian plan." "The soul and substance of what customarily ranks as patriotism is moral cowardice -- and always has been." "[Patriotism] ...is a word which always commemorates a robbery. There isn't a foot of land

in the world which doesn't represent the ousting and re-ousting of a longline of successive "owners" who each in turn, as "patriots" with proud swelling hearts defended it against the next gang of "robbers" who came to steal it and did -- and became swelling-hearted patriots in their turn." "...the true patriotism, the only rational patriotism, is loyalty to the Nation ALL the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it." So, as you can see, if you support the Private you are a patriot. If you support killing him, or banning Wikileaks, you are a nationalist, and not a patriot. The idea you can support secrecy is in itself support for the government, and is statism. Again, national security is not the same as government security. There are many differences, chiefly of which are motives and IF IT HURTS ANYONE DIRECTLY. Even indirect harm is inconsequential, as the greater public good is the release of secrets, not the keeping of them. The legal precedent is even very clear here. What Manning did was in no way treason, and it is treasonist to call it that. Let's stop redefining words to justify our statism please. And for conservatives...I'm farther right than you are, I'm a libertarian...so please attack that, and not the usual "stupid liberal hates America" nonsense...thank you.