Patriotism During and After World War II - Essay Example

?Running Head: PATRIOTISM DURING AND AFTER WORLD WAR II Patriotism during and after World War II The question of patriotism being a virtue has been debatable. Patriotism which can be defined as a person’s love and devotion for his country has encouraged people to exhibit great acts of courage and altruism. To be devoted towards one’s country is admirable and yet the drawbacks of patriotism can be seen in the U.S. history. The concept of Manifest Destiny was a result of mass patriotism that led to military and economic invasion of Central and South America. This paved the way for wars like Mexican American War and Spanish American War. This paper focuses on the role of patriotism on World War II along with the positive and negative aspects of patriotism (LaMothe, 2009, p.152). What is Patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, loyalty and devotion that a person feels for his country. This feeling remains irrespective of the government’s efficiency and imperfections. Patriotism on one hand is a kind of property right in the social ladder, and on the other hand a citizen’s belief that idealistic devotion towards his country falls under the genre of his duty to perform. Patriotism is regarded as having the highest ethical value not because it is subject of one’s soul, but because it ensures wisdom more than devotion. Patriotism can take evil shape if the significance of ethical values becomes questionable. If the “political, economical and international policies of a nation” are rooted in moral values, then patriotism can be a messenger of “peace and justice” (Matthews, 1918, pp.24-25). Patriotism vs. nationalism Nationalism means viewing one’s country as superior to other countries while patriotism encourages the feeling of belonging to one’s own country (Mummendey, et.al, 2001, p.160). According to Marxian theory patriotism and sense of belonging to one nation were feelings encouraged by the bourgeoisie to rule over the proletariats. These deceptions were created among the proletariats so that they could be dominated by the bourgeoisie. Marxian theory stated that socialism fraternity can be created with unification of proletariats and disorganization of national units. Nationalism which means the feeling of belonging to one nation by birth can be regarded as a curse because it has been seen that nationalism can lead to commitments of international crimes. The virtue of patriotism is also misleading. The love and devotion for one’s country can be fanatical. The strong nations may feel that they have the right to invade weaker nations and rule over them. The pride of belonging to a nation especially if it is a stronger and developed nation can call upon aggression and brutality nationwide. Many nationalists like Germans, Russians and Turks have conquered beyond their boundaries to slaughter millions for the purpose of satisfying their national egos. All these are valid accusations against nationalism and patriotism to some degree (Matthews, 1918, p.26). Types of patriotism It is considered that there are two categories of patriotism – the first one is patriotism of democracy and the second one is patriotism of autocracy. The morals of both types of patriotisms can be judged. The patriotism of democracy is against taking up arms and any sort of conflicts. In reality, the German patriotism is aggressive and accepts war as indispensable part of foreign policy. The patriotism of democracy does not support conquering other lands that are owned by “settled national life”. This type of patriotism recognizes the rights of other nations of organized nature and believes that loyalty to one’s country also involves respect of the rights belonging to other nationalities. The patriotism of the Germans has disregarded all these principles and has adopted war and aggression as means to conquer other nations. The Germans have shown total disregard of rights and interests of other nations. Such patriotism can only encourage expansion of their country’s boundaries, invading the territories of other nations and endangering the safety of the people of other nations. The other type of patriotism which is the patriotism of autocracy compromises personal rights to give priority to the power of the state. The German patriotism instills courage among people to conquer other countries and impose upon those countries their own national civilization. Such concepts of patriotism have encouraged the people of free nations to feel that it is necessary to recognise and respect the rights and individualities of other nations for peaceful co-existence. This has been illustrated by democratic countries like Great Britain, France and the United States who have continued to maintain peaceful relationship for hundreds of years despite provocations from other nations (Matthews, 1918, pp.35-36). In-group bias The matter of in-group and out-group bias can be viewed from a social psychology standpoint. In-group bias refers to preference of one’s own group over the out-group or any individual considered as not a member of the in-group. If social scientific research stresses that the characteristics of the identity of any nation is socially constructed as a result of political struggle, then the need arises to analyze the identity from social psychology standpoint. This will explain the guidance of psychology on the struggles and their results. According to some authors Social Identity Theory (SIT) “predicts a positive correlation between in-group identification and intergroup differentiation which implies that national identification and the derogation of other nations should be positively related”. However, many other authors have found inconsistencies in this theory and they have stated that intergroup comparisons are not always needed which result in derogation of out-groups (Hopkins, 2001, p.184). How does in-group bias promote patriotic behavior The social psychological viewpoint of nationalism and patriotism is the detrimental facet of believing in the superiority of one’s own nation by belittling the other nations and ignoring the rights and freedom of other nationalities. Patriotism can take negative shape and result in disastrous consequences when there is uncritical support of every characteristics of the in-group i.e. in-group bias can promote negative behaviour in the name of patriotism and this can be termed as “blind patriotism”. On the other hand there is “constructive patriotism” which takes a critical view of everything related to the in-group and the loyalty towards the in-group remains un-biased (Mummendey, et.al, 2001, p.160). How is patriotic behavior created and maintained from a socio psychological perspective From a socio psychological perspective it has been observed that comparisons between groups can create differential behaviour among groups and this can lead to nationalism or blind patriotism. Temporal comparison which means nonexistence of intergroup comparisons can lead to constructive patriotism. Therefore, to maintain positive patriotism it is necessary to love and respect one’s own nation and such feelings must not be based upon comparisons of different groups, but must be based upon temporal comparisons (Mummendey, et.al, 2001, p.169). How is it related to our sense of self? Veterans of World War II maintain a positive attitude towards the military service and its impact on the health of those who had joined the military service. Patriotic feelings, sense of duty towards one’s country can be considered as the reasons why the WWII veterans keep positive opinions of the military service. WWII veterans believe that the military service took utmost care of them during the war because of their involvement in the war which was instigated by their sense of patriotism. Because of their low expectations from the military service, they have taken positive view of the services. However, it has been seen that there was a positive effect on the mental health of the WWII survivors. This is because surviving the stress of war instilled a feeling of freedom and self-confidence. The WWII survivors have developed a high regard of the self (La Verda, 2006, p.1081). What role did in-group have on the general public in the US during the WWII? The Americans of all races and classes united to fight the WWII. They had a common purpose and this instilled in them to make sacrifices for the common benefit of the country. This unification also enabled the US citizens to overcome their “ethnic divisions and religious differences”. The Americans irrespective of their races and classes got engaged in variety of cooperative activities like “community service, war bond campaigns” etc. In-group psychology like preferring one’s own group over the others got reduced to a large extent in the American society during WWII (Polenberg, 1992, p.295). Effect of Patriotism on the Japanese-American families in the United States The narratives of the Japanese-American veterans of WWII provide a “contradictory understanding of masculinity, military service and national allegiance.” Although the Japanese-Americans showed utmost patriotism for the United States, their narrations of their participation in the WWII did not provide a consistent image of “heroic patriotism and patriotic nationalism”. The Japanese-American had long experienced dislocation because of their race. They were treated as minorities since they were colored immigrants. Their recollections of WWII experiences frequently focus on their patriotism. They took extra effort to exhibit patriotism towards America to overcome their minority status (Koikari, 2010, pp.547-548, 557). Positive and negative consequences of patriotism Patriotism can have both positive and negative consequences. It encompasses the glorified feeling of triumph of land as way of benefiting humanity. This results in unnecessary wars which require sacrifice of millions of young men. Patriotism can also instill in nations the need to help weaker nations. It can guide the nations to rectify their past mistakes. This kind of positive patriotism can make the world a safer place (Matthews, 1918, p.40). Summary The term patriotism is generally regarded as an immensely emotional and positive feeling. It comprises love and devotion for one’s country. But patriotism is guided by the socio psychology of the citizens. Their love for their own country can take fanatical shape and if they belong to a stronger and developed country, their ego can manifest in their aggressive manner which can lead to international consequences. Conclusion The WWII like any other wars was manifestation of the ego of developed countries. To ensure a peaceful environment in the international arena it is the duty of citizens of all nations to discourage in-group bias and embrace all mankind as one unit. References Hopkins, N. (2001). National Identity: Pride and Prejudice? British Journal of Social Psychology, 40, 183-186 Koikari, M. (2010). Japanese Eyes, American Heart, Men and Masculinities 12(5), 547-564. LaMothe, R. (2009). The Problem of Patriotism: A Psychoanalytic and Theological Analysis. Pastoral Psychol, 58, 151-166. La Verda, N. (2006). Use of the Veterans History Project to Assess World War II: Veterans’ Perceptions of Military Experiences and Health. Military Medicine, 171, 1076-82. Mathews, S. (1918). The Moral Value of Patriotism. The Biblical World, 52(1), 24-40 Mummendey, A., Klink, A., & Brown, R. (2001). Nationalism and patriotism: National identification and out-group rejection. British Journal of Social Psychology, 40(2), 159-172 Polenberg, R. (1992). The Good War? A Reappraisal of How World War II Affected American Society. Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 295-322, retrieved on April 30, 2012 from: http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/readings/polenberg_goodwar.pdf Read More