Americans have engaged in a longstanding argument about the nature of patriotism–and how it differs from nationalism. I agree with those who argue that a true patriotism requires allegiance to the nation’s founding principles, and includes an obligation to protest official actions that violate those original commitments. Nationalism, on the other hand, requires belief in “my country right or wrong”–blind support for wherever the nation’s leaders take us.
It has become abundantly clear that the various members of the Trump administration fall into the second camp, which brings me to the nationalist idiocy of FCC Chair Brendan Carr.
As a Daily Beast headline accurately put it, “Trump Goon Demands ‘Pro-America’ Content from the Networks.” Among Carr’s suggestions: broadcasters should start each broadcast day with the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ or Pledge of Allegiance” and offer viewers daily “Today in American History” announcements that explain “significant events that took place on that day in history.” (Somehow, I doubt that those history lessons would include the My Lai massacre or Emmitt Till’s murder…) Carr wants “patriotic, pro-America content that celebrates the American journey and inspires its citizens.”
Evidently, truly “pro-American” material would exclude televised interviews with Democratic candidates, since the memo followed a widely-publicized episode in which Stephen Colbert was forbidden to air a segment with Texas Democrat James Talarico, who is running for the Senate. Colbert had been told by CBS lawyers that airing the interview would run afoul of Carr’s decision to enforce the FCC’s “equal time” rule for talk shows, which had traditionally been exempt from that rule. This was not a one-off; a couple of weeks before this incident, Carr had launched an investigation into The View after it broadcast an interview with Talarico.
Carr is evidently as stupid as the rest of Trump’s appointees: Colbert published the video on his YouTube channel, where it has garnered more than 8 million views to date–far more than most of his late-night interviews. (It also generated $2.5 million for Talarico’s campaign in a mere 24 hours.)
An article in The Independent also covered Carr’s request that broadcasters join his Pledge America Campaign–a promise to air “patriotic, pro-America content that celebrates the American journey and inspires its citizens by highlighting the historic accomplishments of this great nation from our founding through the Trump Administration today.”
Carr rather clearly doesn’t understand what it means to be a truly patriotic “pro American.” Anna Gomez–who is the only Democratic Commissioner at the FCC, took to X to school him, writing that “Nothing is more American than defending our constitutional rights against those who would erode our civil liberties. If broadcasters choose to participate in this FCC campaign, they can do so by defending their First Amendment rights and refusing government interference.”
Carr and his tone-deaf efforts to undermine the First Amendment are just one aspect of the Trump administration’s nationalism–a nationalism that is far from patriotic. Historians and political scientists define patriotism as affection, pride, and support for the shared values of one’s country, and a commitment to support national improvement. Nationalism, on the other hand, is a devotion to “blood and soil.” It emphasizes the superiority of the nation over others, and fosters exclusionary, competitive, and aggressive attitudes toward foreign nations.
There’s an excellent quote attributed to someone named Sydney Harris: “the patriot is proud of his country for what it does, and the nationalist is proud of his country no matter what it does.” Precisely.
After the close of the Olympics, the New York Times published an article titled “At the Olympics, I Saw the Difference Between Nationalism and Patriotism.” It traced that distinction with references to the conduct of both athletes and audiences, and strongly rebutted J.D. Vance’s insistence that America’s “distinct national culture is part of what makes international institutions suspect, immigration threatening and alliances based on shared principles unwise.” The essay concluded:
With our wallets, our attention, our time and our collective groans with every fall and cheers for every newly realized lifelong dream, the world’s citizens are sending a message: We proudly root for our countries, but we are more than just our countries. And in many cases we are better — much better — than the governments in charge of them.
To be “pro America” is to be patriotic–not nationalistic. Too bad Trump and Carr don’t understand the difference.
Well, both Carr and Trump really want neither. They want loyalty to Trump or pro-Trumpism.
I understand all the performative bullshit in politics, but I can’t even grasp the commitment to such a grotesquely inhuman being with no redeeming qualities. I mean, here is a POTUS who was afraid to attend the SuperBowl because he’d get booed. That’s kind of a patriotic event. Even JD Vance got booed in Italy for the Olympics. That’s kind of a nationalistic event.
And that was before they caused absolute chaos by letting Bibi lead us into another disastrous war. I’ve been telling you his loyal MAGA fans have been splintering, but since this week, X has not been good to Trump and the cabinet.
Nick Fuentes said, “Fu** this! Trump needs to be immediately removed from office now!!” This was followed by more expletives.
Trumpism has replaced both Patriotism and Nationalism, and it’s not going very well because he’s a compromised chief executive.
A brilliant piece of wordsmithing today, Sheila. Thank you. Let’s all resolve to explain the real meaning of “patriotism” whenever we use it in future. And let’s all start using it…
I keep waiting for the day when those nationalists, who would follow our “leaders” to Hell and back, but who don’t want the “govmint” messing with their Medicare come to understand cognitive dissonance.
there was a time we all walked the streets and kept the faith. we didnt need to speak out or wave the flag. we just walked the walk. if the ones who cant cope or muster a faith in its own country, they alone should stand alone. we dont kiss thier ass, as they might expect us to do. we’d rather shove a stink finger under their noses.walk up and walk right,no one owes you s—. many who served and died,shouldnt have a back seat in this conversation. they are the ones being shoved under the bus because someone aint happy. my words to them and in thier face, your shitting on the very people who gave you the freedom to speak up. not speak out. social media has fueled an immeasurable amount of free ink. and the ignorance is front and center in all forms. taking a stand on kids getting into this fold is the start of more ignorance by their own peers, parents,church,and whatever they walk into. the responsability to spout off about whatever,and to,watch them look stupid as they wave our flag with a scowl on their face. look, if ya dont like America as you see it, its obvious, and theres a more perfect union for you in a place called russia. go and visit, enjoy the views, youd be right at home with putin..I watched Steve that night when his shows lawyers said he couldnt even say Taliricos name. he did a outright FU
for America. Carr, mmmm must be the asswipe who didnt like protest songs on the air. but thank king geo (bush)the 2nd for that. the republicans whined for decades about no spotlight, except now thiers is a dim fading nothing. and i find no retract by carr for insighting political fights and advancing needless wars on his watch.
“Deutchsland Über alles!”? Sure! Trump, being phenomenally dumb, finds, and chooses other dummies to help run his show. Of course, there is a bit of what one might call “Dumb like a fox,” as he and his family suck up money like it’s going out of style, but, then, grifting is his thing.
And, yes, though it may be a bit redundant at this point, he’s not a Nationalist, he’s a Trumpist…who could not care less about the nation.
Another great quote on this topic, attributed to Mark Twain: “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it”.
The USA was unique at its founding because it was explicitly created as a *nation of laws*, a nation literally formed by ideas expressed in a legal document, instead of being cobbled together purely as an accident of geography or ethnicity. Loyalty to those ideas is the fundamental basis of the true American patriotism that you describe.
There is always, though, the temptation to substitute loyalty to something more simplistic and obvious, like a skin color, or a religious faction, or a political party, or a “Great Leader”. Ideas are abstract, and require civic education for understanding. Racial/religious/partisan identities, or servitude to a Great Leader, are much easier to promote with simplistic memes, images, and propaganda. As Eric Hoffer pointed out, hatred is the simplest and most readily available means of uniting a mass movement.
Loyalty to “people like me” and hatred of “those people”, loyalty to a “Great Leader”, or simple opportunistic groveling to whichever authoritarian movement offers the greatest personal payoff to its flunkies, are the wedges that aspiring authoritarians use to split off sections of the great united American Experiment and turn them against each other.
The payoff, for the would-be authoritarian, is growing a personal cult that unquestioningly follows The Leader, with the hope of seizing control of the vast economic, social, and military engine that the American Experiment has created. . The cost, to all of the rest of us, and to the world, is the destruction of the very American Experiment that created the rich, diverse, vibrant, idea-defined, surprisingly efficient society that the authoritarians seek to control, and with it the loss of all the personal rights and freedoms that make it great in the first place.