The Troika

 Heart and soul, I fell in love with you,
Heart and soul, the way a fool would do,
Madly...
--Heart and Soul, Frank Loesser

Well the eagles been flying slow,
and the flag's been flying low,
and a lotta people say that America's fixing to fall.
But speaking just for me, and some people from Tennesse,
we got a thing or two to tell ya all 
--In America, Charlie Daniels Band

Smokestack, fatback,
many miles of railroad track
All night radio, keep on runnin'
through your rock 'n' roll soul
All night diners keep you awake,
hey, on black coffee and a hard roll 
--Living in America, James Brown
___________________

RAW's friend Peter Van Buren @ his blog WeMeantWell recently asked, "What's patriotism", deciding upon the definition that it was loving his country, if not its government. Ranger wishes to riff off of that idea.

Can one be patriotic and not love one's country (if the country is defined largely by its government)? Is patriotism affixed to a place, or an ideal? Western civilization recognizes many schisms, such as the tripartite mind - body - spirit. This may be a result of our delight in system-making, but can a thing like "patriotism" be cleaved from its referent?

Does being patriotic require the entirety (mind - body - spirit) to be on board, or is the body alone needed to make the claim -- the willingness to fight and die for one's country, for instance? Ditto for the laws that compose the nation: Does the mind and spirit need to comply if the body behaves in compliance with those laws, and further, is compliance the basic requisite in order to declare for patriotism?

Or is patriotism a phenomenon of the spirit, sans approval for any specific administration, government or law? Is it a non-corporeal love for a concept which may (or may not) transcend the practice of that concept at any given time? Is the government and the country an indivisible essence?

What is the role of "faith" in the idea of patriotism? Faith could be described as belief in a system beyond the empirical facts, so is patriotism faith-based, like belief in religious dogma? Is this why we vote for "hope", in the absence of any other viable option?

In reverse, what is the government's concern/obligation to the integrity of it's polity? Can a government be healthy if its constituents are not cohesive or in harmony? It seems the body (individual) and the body politic must be in symbiosis for effective functioning. We tend (generally, if inadequately) to tend to the individual's bodily needs, but do not tend the harmonious interplay of the individual with his government.

What is the function of patriotism? Is it necessary for the attainment of a robust and equable government and society? Is it a thought, or an action? Is it defined by what it is, or what it isn't?

We have not defined the term, but provided for some weekend musings.

Define Patriotism

~~NOTE (8.3.10): Contest extended an additional week~~

Sometimes you feel like a nut,
sometimes you don't
--Mounds/Almond Joy candy bar commercial

I'm a stranger in paradise
All lost in a wonderland
A stranger in paradise
--Stranger in Paradise, Kismet

Europeans, you must open this book
and enter into it. After a few steps in the darkness
you will see strangers gathered around a fire;
come close, and listen, for they are talking of the destiny
they will mete out to your trading-centres
and to the hired soldiers who defend them
--Wretched of the Earth, preface (Jean-Paul Sartre)

Short human words were like
trying to lift water with a knife
--Stranger in a Strange Land,
Robert Heinlein
__________________

Today's contest should be a meaningful one for every American, and really, every citizen anywhere.

Patriotism: How do you define it? This may be as personal or as objective as you wish it to be. Contest ends Wednesday (8.4.10). Talk amongst yourselves.

The idea came from a recent Schott's Vocab -- a Miscellany of Modern Words & Phrases at the New York Times on defining "courage". Many of the responses were most impressive, and can be seen HERE. Maybe we will have our own contest later for the definition of courage. RAW has a rarefied group of readers well-qualified to tackle that topic.

The contest will be co-adjudicated by Ranger Andy, and the winner may choose an item from Ranger Andy's International Society of Dysfunctional Veterans site. We are not affiliated in any way, but he is a good guy who has come to some hard lessons in life. His website begins, "In 1976, when I left the Army and the 75th Infantry Rangers, I felt like an astronaut on a weird, alien planet. ..."

Ranger Andy and his lovely wife are good people, and we are pleased to have him aboard for this contest.