Lisa Jin

Professor Dietz
Ideas & Ideologies
21 March 2015
Rabble-Rousing Juggernauts: Patriotism and the Devotion of American Conservatism
America is the only country in the world where patriotism appears to be a national endeavor.
The vein of American exceptionalism runs deep; everyone who has successfully and willingly
immigrated to America has done so in order to gain an advantage in life. No one comes to the United
States to maintain the same level of economic and social status they held previously in life. The fact
that America attracts so many foreigners attests to the power of the American image and the spread of
American patriotism. Although living in the United States does confer undeniable advantages for its
inhabitants, it is easy to forget the reality of the situation in the face of saccharine praise. The United
States and most European countries are on the same level of development, yet one does not see the
French or the Germans take such deep pride and confidence in their nation. America's fervent
patriotism, with its roots in plucky British settlers and stubborn colonialists, has become a tool used by
politicians to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Although liberals indulge in selfcongratulatory speeches in order to shore up votes, patriotism is a hallmark of modern conservatism
and is a point of debate between the conservative and liberal factions in the United States. The freedom
fries debacle in the early 2000s, TSA airport security measures and racial profiling, and recent
demographics all point to a visible rift between conservatives and liberals in regards to patriotism.
In 2003, President Bush proposed a plan for the invasion of Iraq in order to overthrow a regime
thought to be supportive of terrorists and to remove weapons of mass destruction. Russia and China
were predictably against the United Nations Resolution, but France was the most unequivocal in its
opposition,... arous[ing] the ire of House Republicans (Stolberg). In a knee-jerk patriotic reaction,
Republican Representative Bob Ney had the word French removed from dining halls in the House of

Representatives. French fries were renamed freedom fries, alongside with freedom toast. Although it is
understandable that some would have been incensed by France's opposition to the proposal,
considering how the U.S. and France have a long history of mutual friendship, the renaming decision
was wholly unnecessary and immature. The fact that French fries originated from Belgium escaped the
minds of those who were in favor of the proposal, indicating that the issue was not simply just France's
opposition, but the fact that an ally was against an American position. Had Germany or Great Britain
responded the same way, it is likely that the Republicans in the House would have renamed English
muffins or hamburgers into freedom muffins or freedom burgers. Although it was only two years after
the 9/11 attacks and tension was still running high at the time, American conservatives were more
prone to blind and senseless acts of patriotism in the face of a threat.
In the aftermath of 9/11 and the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security,
increased security protocols at airports have led to a surge of racially-biased stops and searches.
Regarding the fear and suspicion of Muslims and Arabic-looking people, it cannot be denied that
people will naturally fear an other if they pose a notable threat. However, conservatives like Bush, in
seeking to bolster the security of the country, inadvertently instilled unbridled racism and fearmongering of Middle Eastern people into the American public (Ali). This is similar to how reckless
paranoia and patriotism caused Roosevelt to sign Executive Order 9066, which interned thousands of
innocent Japanese people and ruined their livelihoods during World War II. Conservatives have even
gone so far as to paint Barack Obama as an other by requesting his birth certificate and raising
suspicions that he is concealing his real name and is not a true American. This rabble-rousing worked;
apparently 13% of Americans believed Obama was Muslim simply due to his Arabic name, and
thereafter immediately harboured suspicions about his loyalty and intentions (Ali). Much like the
Maginot Line, a series of fortifications France build around its borders after World War I to guard
against the threat of German invasion, TSA security measures do not work. When confronted with the
Maginot Line, the Germans simply went around it and entered France via Belgium. Despite the billions

of dollars that are poured into the TSA each year, potential terrorists can theoretically very easily find
alternative ways of spreading destruction. Knee-jerk reactions to fear will not solve anything if they are
accompanied with a dearth of thought.
Both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party have a white majority, but according to a
2013 Gallup poll, the Democratic Party has more minorities than the Republican Party or Independents.
The Democratic Party is 60% white, whereas the Republican Party is a staggering 89% white. AfricanAmericans constituted 22% of the Democratic Party, but only 2% of the Republican Party (Newport).
People from the Silent Generation and the Boomer Generation tend to skew towards the Republican
Party. In addition, for many conservatives, race and ethnicity are strongly associated with views about
government, and in no small part account for some of the greater liberalism of the younger age groups
and greater conservatism of older groups (The Generation Gap). Conservatives who are unmoving
on the issue of diversity see Obama as an unwelcome indicator of the way the face of America has
changed (The Generation Gap). Some conservatives mean no harm when they feel uncomfortable
around people of color because they did not grow up around ethnic minorities. However, many harbor
fear and distrust of anyone who is different from them. According to the American National Election
Study, the Silent Generation and the Boomer Generation have the highest rates of patriotism. This is
understandable due to the fact that both generations grew up with the specters of World War II, the
Korean War and the Vietnam War looming over their heads, not to mention the influence and spread of
McCarthyism and the Cold War. Most conservatives tend to be older, white and used to viewing the
United States as the ultimate harbinger of freedom, hence the increased patriotism. According to Lynn
Vavreck, columnist for the New York Times:
In general, millennials have more appetite for egalitarian principles than older people.
They may look less patriotic than the rest of America at first glance, but coming of age
in the era of globalization and being a more racially diverse generation may simply
mean that traditional symbols of American democracy hold less meaning for this cohort.

Milliennials [sic] may be less devoted to the symbols of America, but they are no less
devoted to democratic ideals.
Millennials are growing up in a stable environment without any major conflicts; no one was drafted
into the Iraq War. Through the use of the internet, they are exposed to an abundance of diverse people
and cultures, becoming a much less ethnocentric and much less patriotic generation.
Conservatism is mainly about preserving the status quo; unlike socialism or fascism, which
have their own set of values, conservatism is rather the negation of ideology (Kirk). When one thinks
of conservatism in America, one's mind likely pictures the Republican Party. That is not necessarily the
case, as there can be liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats. Conservatism is simply a way of
thinking and its definition changes throughout the years; todays' conservatives may have been
yesterday's liberals. Someone who may have been for Civil Rights during the 1960s would have
definitely been considered a liberal then. However, that same person now may be against abortion or
same-sex marriage and would now be considered a conservative. Thus, the terms conservative and
liberal are relative and depend on the situation and time period the person is in. According to Heywood,
there is... some truth in the belief that conservatives have a clearer understanding of what they oppose
than what they favour. In that sense, conservatism has been thought of as a negative philosophy, simply
preaching resistance to or at least wary suspicion of, change. One of the reasons why many old people
tend to be conservative is because their way of thinking is often set in stone. People who identify as
conservative find permanent things more pleasing than Chaos and Old Night (Kirk). Unlike
something who is young and has not had enough life experiences to shape their thoughts permanently,
people over a certain age sometimes settle on an idea and have difficulty changing their opinion,
whether out of inability to do so or stubbornness. Although not all conservatives are old and wizened,
they still prefer to base their thinking upon experience and reality rather than abstract principles
(Heywood 56). There is a rift in the Republican Party between those who desire to modernize the party
and those who wish for things to remain the same. Those who advocate for change within the party are

actually more conservative than the ones who do not wish for change, because although change is
seldom welcomed, it is nevertheless accepted if it is thought to be wither inevitable or prudent
(Heywood 57).
Merriam-Webster defines patriotism as love for or devotion to one's country. Both patriotism
and conservatism emerged in the 18th century; patriotism out of the Enlightenment and conservatism
out of the French Revolution. Edmund Burke, the founder of conservatism, wrote that:
...we have consecrated the state, that no man should approach to look into its defects or
corruptions but with due caution; that he should never dream of beginning its
reformation by its subversion; that he should approach to the faults of the state as to the
wounds of a father, with pious awe and trembling sollicitude (Burke 129).
Writing during the time of the French Revolution, Burke saw grave injustices committed upon the
French monarchy and heads of state. He affirmed the notion of conservatism, where no man or woman
should ever turn against his or her father, i.e. the state. Patriotism goes beyond merely respecting the
father; it is a bold declaration of love for the entire extended family. No matter how painfully verbose
the uncle is, no matter how daft and dim-witted the cousin is, no matter how asinine the twins are, one
is to love the entire family unconditionally. One's nation may wage war in order to gain resources, one's
nation may reproach its citizens with violence, one's nation may fail to provide support for the weaker
members of society, but one is to love the entire nation unconditionally. This blind allegiance is useful
for when the nation must work together to overcome a common enemy, for example, when AfricanAmericans enlisted in the military during America's past wars, despite not having the same rights as
white people. They fought and died for an ungrateful family and were not fully appreciated until after
the fact. Conservatives who expect other people to feel the same admiration they do for their country
and then lash out when they encounter an opposing opinion is reprehensible.
Liberals approach patriotism in a much more different manner. Although it is a source of
strength for one nation to be united and indivisible, to dwell too much on it is a source of weakness.

John Locke, the founder of liberalism wrote:

If we ask, 'what security, what fence, do we have to protect us from the violence and
oppression of this absolute ruler?', the very question is found to be almost intolerable.
They are ready to tell you that even to ask about safety from the monarch is an offense
that deserves to be punished by death... the ruler ought to be absolute, and is above all
such considerations, because he has power to do more hurt and wrong, it is right when
he does it! To ask how you may be guarded from harm coming from the direction where
the strongest hand is available to do it is to use the voice of faction and rebellion...
(Locke 3)
Although Locke is writing about an absolute monarchy in this context, it is nonetheless applicable to
conservatism. While Burke wrote about the sacredness of the state and the dangers of modifying it,
Locke is writing in favor of questioning the state. If the people do not criticize the state when it
commits a wrongdoing, whether to its own citizens or citizens of other nations, then the state will
eventually become heedless and unstoppable. It must be kept in check by the people. Unfettered
patriotism is merely a way for the state to override critiques and to become an unyielding juggernaut. It
creates an extremist ethnocentric mentality that makes any form of dissent anathema. In a democratic
society, extremist rabble-rousing mentalities are dangerous and may lead to a far-right nationalist state
that seeks to control its citizens.
A country can be a great source of pride for some people and a great source of embarrassment
for others. Conservatives often side very closely with their nation and seek to defend it from all
enemies, foreigners threats and internal criticizers alike, to the point where it becomes vicious
nationalism. This blind devotion often occurs when an individual feels as though they have an
obligation to help protect the citizens, no matter what cost. Although they may have good intentions,
the side-effects of doing so are great and may lead to restrictive policies that ironically do nothing to
help the people. Patriotism is useful, and a nation lacking in it is worse off than with it. It is a

convenient way to unite the people under a single entity, especially for a country like the United States
that has such a wide array of people from different backgrounds. However, patriotism that goes too far
leads to bad decisions, like Bush's decision to invade Iraq and the formation of a post-9/11 surveillance
state. Both conservatives and liberals should adhere to policies based on reason and logic rather than
those based on hasty emotional decisions designed to appeal to the majority.

Works Cited:
Ali, Wajahat. Flying While Brown. The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 3 Jan. 2009.
Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
Festenstein, Matthew, and Michael Kenny. Edmund Burke, from Reflections on the Revolution in
France (ed. C. C. O'Brien: Penguin, 1969), pp. 191-7. Political Ideologies. Oxford: Oxford UP,
2005. 128-31. Print.
The Generation Gap and the 2012 Election. Pew Research Center. Pew Research Center, 03 Nov.
2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
Heywood, Andrew. Conservatism. Political Ideologies: An Introduction. New York: St. Martin's,
1992. 53-68. Print.
Kirk, Russell. Ten Conservative Principles. The Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal. The
Russell Kirk Center, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
Locke, John. Of Political or Civil Society. The Second Treatise of Government (1689). Rpt. in Ideas
& Ideologies. Kelly Dietz. Spring 2015.
Newport, Frank. Democrats Racially Diverse; Republicans Mostly White. Gallup. Gallup, 8 Feb.
2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
Stolberg, Sheryl Gay. An Order of Fries, Please, But Do Hold the French. The New York Times. The
New York Times, 11 Mar. 2003. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
Vavreck, Lynn. Younger Americans Are Less Patriotic. At Least, in Some Ways. The New York

Times. The New York Times, 04 July 2014. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.