Nussbaum’s
piece “Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism” put me in between two different parts of
my own personality. I found myself in accordance with what she had to say about
our need to pursue a cosmopolitan education and enlighten students that our
high standard of living very likely cannot be universalized. On the other hand
her denouncement of American patriotic pride was certainly hard to swallow. Our
sense of pride, however skewed it can be at times, is what makes us who we are.
The subscription to the idea of being from the United States drives work ethic
and a certain standard of living.
I believe
there is a middle ground between a myopic isolationist mindset and a complete
absolution of ethical and national ties. This might lean more towards ethical particularism,
where “because he is my brother” can be used as reason for helping one another,
but would not be mandatory. In “The Ethics of Nationality” David Miller touches
on a compromise that makes sense to me: we can have special loyalties and recognize
specific obligations to our fellow countrymen provided that this does not
violate the basic human rights of those outside of our group.
In more
concrete terms, I find it prudent to educate grade school students on other
cultures, languages, and economic conditions. Europe has the benefit of having
so many countries in a small area; we need to strive toward a global mindset
like that where we can acknowledge that we are one country out of many. Living
in the United States can be desensitizing to human rights violations around the
world-we are bombarded with images every day, but rarely are we able to
empathize. I understand that American History is important, but more emphasis
needs to be put on world cultures. And this “English or bust” attitude needs to
change-we are surrounded by other languages and have very little instruction in this respect.
The fact that i show more favor to the Patriotism view point also made Nussbaum's denouncement of American patriotic pride difficult for me to accept. Patriotism is what the United States was built on and is still a large part of our culture today; giving rise to sayings such as "its not what you know but who you know". It is only natural for us to show favor to those that we have a previous relation too. As far as education go however once again i agree with you and Nussbaum in that we must think beyond ourselves and become more aware of other cultures and their different view points
ReplyDeleteAlthough patriotism made the U.S great, it is bothering on nationalism. Patriotism creates solidarity and bravery to proudly serve one’s country. However, excessive patriotism can lead to a resentment of other nation’s culture. In Germany, patriotism was used to manipulate the people into forming a strong solidarity for returning the country to its former glory. Through the use of a strong leadership, inspiring speeches and compliments, Nazi Germany was born.
ReplyDeleteAmericans are heavily patriotic because of their history and the advent of the 9/11 attack further intensified this feeling. But just as the Germans were misinformed so were Americans. The sight of war planes and U.S troops going to battle the terrorist invoked more inspiring speech and the vow to crush radical Islamism in the Middle East. Though the sentiments were justified, this patriotism has led to the unfair profiling of Arabs and other minorities from the Middle East living in America. I agree that a global cultural education is important as it helps us understand more about the other people of the world and their perspective on the same issues we deal with.
I think you bring up a great point- patriotism can be a positive and unifying force but also a destructive one. I think what makes U.S. patriotism somewhat different is the idea of American exceptionalism which seems to imply that Americans have "god-given" duties and can do no wrong. This concept has been around in American rhetoric since its very beginnings, especially through such notions as "manifest destiny". This unique attribute of American patriotism is what I believe underlies foreign resentment of Americans, especially during interventions and wars.
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