Tag Archives: patriotism

Thoughts of patriotism – and its cousin, nationalism – have been on my mind lately as I watch events unfold in Russia and Ukraine, and in the U.S.

I am proud to be an American with a sense of equality and democracy, and the self-criticism demanded of each and every individual in a reasonable, empirical, and scientifically oriented social decision process.

St. Paul says we ought to pray and work of the well-being of the nation and city which we find ourselves, but that we are aliens to that nation and citizens of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus was not a patriot. His anti-establishment non-violence seems pretty clear: turn the other cheek, love your enemies, do good to those who harm you, put away your sword, etc.

Love of God. Love of Country. As we approach Independence Day, we become cognizant of the way these sentiments intersect.

When I combine thoughts of patriotism and religion I think of Neanderthals. I think of the trajectory of human evolution.