essays about patriotism

Essay on Patriotism for Students and Children

500+ words essay on patriotism.

Essay on Patriotism: Patriotism refers to the passionate love one has for their country. This virtue pushes to citizens of a country to work for their country selflessly and make it better. A truly developed country is made up of true patriots. In other words, patriotism means keeping the country’s interest first and then thinking about oneself. Patriotism can be specifically seen during times of war. Moreover, it helps in building the nation stronger. There are other significances of patriotism as well.

Significance of Patriotism

Usually, we refer to our country as our motherland. This further proves that we must have the same love for our country as we have for our mother. After all, our country is no less than a mother; it nurtures us and helps us grow. Everyone must possess the virtue of patriotism as it makes it better.

In addition, it also enhances the life quality of the citizens . It does that by making people work for the collective interest of the country. When everyone works for the betterment of the country, there would be no conflict of interest. Thus, a happier environment will prevail.

After that, peace and harmony will be maintained through patriotism. When the citizens have the spirit of brotherhood, they will support one another. Hence, it will make the country more harmonious.

In short, patriotism does have great importance in developing the country. It eliminates any selfish and harmful motives which in turn lessens corruption. Similarly, when the government becomes free of corruption , the country will develop faster.

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Great Patriots of India

India has had a fair share of patriots from the very beginning. The struggle for independence gave birth to various patriots. These patriots have made a lot of sacrifices for the county to flourish and prosper. Their names have gone down in history and are still taken with respect and admiration. Some of the greatest patriots of India were Rani Lakshmi Bai, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, and Maulana Azad.

Rani Lakshmi Bai was one of the most famous patriots of the country. Her courage and bravery are still talked about. Her name always comes up in the revolt of 1857. She revolted against the British rule and to fight for independence. She gave her life fighting on the battlefield for our country.

Shaheed Bhagat Singh is another name that is synonymous with patriotism. He was determined to free India from the clutches of the British rule. He was a part of several freedom struggles. Similarly, he also started a revolution for the same. He dedicated his life to this mission and died as a martyr for the love of his country.

Maulana Azad was a true patriot. The first education minister of India played a great role in the freedom struggle. He traveled through cities and created awareness of the injustices by the British. He united people through his activism and led India to freedom.

In conclusion, these are just a few who were patriots of the country. They lived for their country and did not hesitate before devoting their lives to it. These names are shining examples for the generations to come. We must possess patriotism and work for our motherland to see it succeed.

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104 Patriotism Essay Ideas & Examples

Welcome to our list of patriotism essay ideas! Choose among positive and negative topics on patriotism and make sure to check out our patriotism essay examples.

🔝 Top 10 Patriotism Essay Ideas to Write about

🏆 best patriotism topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 most interesting patriotism topics to write about, 👍 good research topics about patriotism, ❓ questions related to patriotism.

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• Patriotism Essay

Essay on Patriotism

Patriotism is more than just a word; it's a feeling that resides deep within the hearts of individuals who share a common bond with their country. In simple terms, patriotism is the love and devotion one has for their homeland. This essay explores the essence of patriotism, its significance in our daily lives, and how it contributes to the overall growth and prosperity of a nation.

Defining Patriotism

At its core, patriotism is about love and loyalty to one's country. It's the recognition of the values, culture, and shared history that bind people together. This sentiment is not limited to grand gestures or extraordinary acts; it often finds expression in simple, everyday actions that collectively contribute to the betterment of society.

Love for the Land

Patriotism begins with a genuine love for the land one calls home. It's about appreciating the natural beauty, diverse landscapes, and resources that make a country unique. Whether it's the rolling hills, expansive plains, or the sparkling waters that surround us, patriotism involves recognizing and cherishing the inherent beauty of our homeland.

Cultural Identity

A strong sense of patriotism is closely tied to cultural identity. It's the pride in the traditions, languages, and customs that have been passed down through generations. Embracing and celebrating cultural diversity fosters a sense of unity, enriching the fabric of the nation with a tapestry of different backgrounds and experiences.

Shared History

Patriotism is also rooted in a shared history that forms the foundation of a nation. Understanding the struggles, triumphs, and challenges faced by previous generations fosters a sense of continuity and responsibility. By acknowledging the sacrifices made by those who came before us, we honor their legacy and contribute to the ongoing narrative of our country.

Individual Responsibility and Civic Duty

One of the essential aspects of patriotism is the recognition of individual responsibility and civic duty. It's not just about enjoying the benefits of living in a particular country; it's about actively participating in its growth and development. This can range from voting in elections to volunteering in local communities, each act contributing to the collective well-being of the nation.

Patriotism in Daily Life

While grand displays of patriotism, such as national celebrations and parades, are noteworthy, it is in the small, everyday actions that the true essence of patriotism is often found. Acts of kindness, respect for fellow citizens, and a commitment to upholding shared values are all expressions of patriotism in daily life.

Respecting Differences

A patriotic individual understands the importance of unity in diversity. Respecting the differences among fellow citizens, whether they be cultural, religious, or ideological, is a testament to a mature and inclusive patriotism. It involves fostering an environment where everyone feels valued and accepted, contributing to a stronger and more harmonious society.

Environmental Stewardship

Caring for the environment is another manifestation of patriotism. Recognizing that the health of the land directly impacts the well-being of its inhabitants, a patriotic person takes measures to protect and preserve natural resources. This can involve sustainable practices, conservation efforts, and a commitment to reducing one's ecological footprint.

Education and Knowledge

Promoting education and knowledge is a patriotic act that invests in the future of a nation. By valuing learning, supporting educational initiatives, and encouraging intellectual curiosity, individuals contribute to the development of a knowledgeable and skilled population. A well-educated society is better equipped to face challenges and drive innovation, ensuring the continued progress of the nation.

Economic Contribution

Contributing to the economic prosperity of the country is an integral part of patriotism. This involves not only being a responsible consumer but also actively participating in the workforce. Whether through entrepreneurship, hard work, or innovation, individuals play a crucial role in building a robust and thriving economy that benefits everyone.

National Pride and Unity

Patriotism fosters a sense of national pride and unity. This pride extends beyond individual accomplishments to a collective celebration of the achievements of the entire nation. It's about recognizing and highlighting what makes the country unique and exceptional, fostering a shared sense of identity that transcends individual differences.

Challenges and Criticisms

While patriotism is generally seen as a positive force, it is essential to acknowledge that blind nationalism and exclusionary practices can emerge if taken to extremes. A healthy patriotism embraces diversity and encourages open dialogue, recognizing that different perspectives contribute to the strength and resilience of a nation.

Patriotism: A Historical Perspective

An essay on patriotism seems incomplete without delving into the historical context, particularly the role of freedom fighters. They are the heroes of times when the quest for freedom ignited the spirits of individuals who sought independence in economic, social, political, and cultural aspects.

India's Patriots

The history of India’s freedom struggle shines through the immortal courage of heroic personalities like Veer Damodar Savarkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and many more. These great patriots fought for the country and against the atrocities perpetrated on the countrymen.

Singing slogans of ‘Vande Mataram’, ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, ‘Jay Hind’, these patriots went to the cross for the country with a smile on their faces and pride in their hearts. A very inspiring quote by Swami Vivekanand, says, “Do you love the country? Then, come, let us struggle for higher and better things; look not back, no, not even if you see the dearest and nearest cry. Look no back, but forward!”

The gist of Swami Vivekanand’s thought is that when you have started your journey on the path of the country’s welfare, then there must not be any looking back. All you need is to create a list of the priority things that you want to do for your country. Once you accomplish one thing just move ahead with the next one. The slogans like Jai Hind or Bharat Mata ki Jai work as your motivation on the path of doing something for the country. So, are you prepared to do something special for the nation?

Patriotism in Different Roles

People express their patriotism in different ways and in different roles. Soldiers, scientists, doctors, politicians, and other citizens express their patriotism through their hard work in their profession.

Indian soldiers are role models for the youth of India. Highly scrupulous, positively secular, completely apolitical, with an ethos of working hard, simple needs and frugal habits, a soldier is the epitome of courage and unflinching devotion to the country.

Mangalyaan or Mars Orbiter Mission is one of the best examples of scientists' devotion toward the country. In the pandemic situation, the hardship of doctors and nurses proves their devotion towards their country.

Patriotism does not always mean that you have to sacrifice your life for your country; contributing good service towards the country and its people is also equivalent to your sacrifice.

Mathunny Mathews has set a great example of patriotism. Mathews was an Indian, a resident in Kuwait, and was one of the people credited with the safe airlift evacuation of about 1, 70,000 Indians from Kuwait during the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Only celebrating the flag hoisting ceremony on 15th August and 26th January, posing for photos with the flag, and posting on social media doesn’t imply that you are a true patriot. A real patriot is a person who has a true love for his country. He fights against the atrocities upon his countrymen by insiders or outsiders of the country.

Patriotism by Freedom Fighters

An essay on patriotism seems incomplete without the mention of freedom fighters. They are the heroes of the times when we all wanted to get freedom. We all need freedom in economic, social, political, and cultural aspects. These were the people who did not give a second thought before offering complete sacrifice to stay in a free country.

Patriotism is a simple yet profound celebration of love for our country. It encompasses a range of sentiments, from appreciation of the land and culture to a commitment to individual responsibility and civic duty. Patriotism is not a static concept; it evolves as societies grow and change. By embodying the principles of patriotism in our daily lives, we contribute to the collective well-being of our nation, ensuring a brighter future for generations to come. In the end, patriotism is about recognizing the beauty in our shared journey and working together to build a stronger, more united society. Explore the meaning of patriotism, its significance, and the diverse ways in which people express their love for their country. Learn about the role of patriotism in the lives of individuals, from freedom fighters to modern-day citizens, and understand how it contributes to the development of a nation.

FAQs on Patriotism Essay

1. How is patriotism important for a country?

Patriotism helps in promoting brotherhood and belongingness among the citizens of a country. Corruption takes a back seat when the feeling of fraternity exists among the citizens. Also, the love for one’s country creates a feeling of responsibility towards the countrymen and brings forth the best of their services, in various fields.

For example, when an IAS officer is a true patriot at heart, he will ensure that there is no corruption in his immediate system and best efforts are being delivered by his team. Similarly, doctors, soldiers, scientists, and people from every walk of life put their best efforts into serving their countrymen, when they have patriotism deep down in their hearts.

2. What are the important points to be written in an essay on patriotism?

The following outlines will help you write an essay on patriotism in your own words.

What is the meaning of patriotism in simple words?

How is patriotism different from nationalism?

Who were the great patriots of India?

Role of patriotic personalities in India’s freedom struggle.

Showcasing patriotism on Independence Day and Republic Day through social media posts is not always a sign of true patriotism.

How does patriotism play a role in the development of a nation?

These are the basic points for this essay topic, and you may add more examples of patriotic personalities and emphasize the role of patriotism in safeguarding the interests of a nation, in your essay, depending upon the required word count.

3. How can I express my patriotism?

There are many ways to express your patriotism. Some common examples include:

Participating in civic duties, such as voting and volunteering.

Obeying the law and respecting the national symbols.

Educating yourself about your country's history and culture.

Supporting your country's athletes and teams in international competitions.

Contributing to social causes and community development efforts.

4. Is patriotism the same as nationalism?

No, patriotism and nationalism are not the same. Patriotism is a positive feeling of love and pride for one's country, while nationalism can be a more extreme and exclusionary ideology that emphasizes the superiority of one's own nation over others.

5. Can patriotism be dangerous?

Yes, patriotism can be dangerous if it is used to justify harmful actions, such as discrimination against other countries or groups of people. It is important to remember that patriotism should be combined with other values, such as tolerance, respect for human rights, and a commitment to international cooperation.

6. What are some good examples of patriotism in history?

There are many examples of people who have expressed patriotism in positive ways throughout history. Some famous examples include:

Martin Luther King Jr.'s fight for civil rights in the United States.

Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent resistance to British rule in India.

Nelson Mandela's fight against apartheid in South Africa.

The volunteers who helped rebuild communities after natural disasters.

7. What are some common arguments against patriotism?

Some people argue that patriotism is outdated, irrelevant, or even harmful. Some common arguments against patriotism include:

It can be used to justify war and violence.

It can lead to blind obedience and a lack of critical thinking.

It can be used to exclude and discriminate against minority groups.

It can be a form of tribalism that creates divisions between people.

What Is Patriotism? Definition, Examples, Pros and Cons

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Simply stated, patriotism is the feeling of love for one’s country. Demonstrating patriotism—being “patriotic”—is one of the necessities of being the stereotypical “ good citizen .” However, patriotism, like many well-intentioned things, can be harmful when taken to an extreme .

Key Takeaways

• Patriotism is the feeling and expression of love for one’s home country, along with a feeling of unity with those who share those feelings
• Though it shares patriotism’s love of country, nationalism is the belief that one’s home county is superior to all others
• While considered a necessary attribute of good citizenship, when patriotism becomes politically mandatory, it can cross a line

Patriotism Definition

Along with love, patriotism is the feeling of pride, devotion, and attachment to a homeland, as well as a feeling of attachment to other patriotic citizens. The feelings of attachment may be further bound up in factors like race or ethnicity , culture, religious beliefs, or history.

Historic Perspective

Patriotism originated some 2,000 years before the rise of nationalism in the 19th century. Greek and especially Roman antiquity provide the roots for a philosophy of political patriotism that conceives of loyalty to the “patria,”—the power that the male head of a family exercised over his children—like loyalty to a political conception of the republic. It is associated with the love of law and common liberty, the search for the common good , and the duty to behave justly toward one’s country. The Roman meaning of patria is repeated in the context of the Italian city-states of the 15th century, such as Naples and Venice, as representing the common liberty of the city, which can only be safeguarded by the citizens’ civic spirit.

To Renaissance period Italian diplomat, author, philosopher, and historian Niccolò Machiavelli , the love of common liberty enabled citizens to see their private and particular interests as part of the common good and helped them to resist corruption and tyranny. While this love of the city is typically intermixed with pride in its military strength and cultural superiority, it is the political institutions and way of life of the city that form the distinctive focal point of this kind of patriotic attachment. To love the city is to be willing to sacrifice one’s own good—including one’s life—for the protection of common liberty.

While patriotism is evident throughout history, it was not always considered a civic virtue. In 18th-century Europe, for example, devotion to the state was considered a betrayal of devotion to the church.   

Other 18th-century scholars also found fault with what they considered excessive patriotism. In 1775, Samuel Johnson , whose 1774 essay The Patriot had criticized those who falsely claimed devotion to Britain, famously called patriotism “the last refuge of the scoundrel.”

Arguably, America’s first patriots were its Founding Fathers who had risked their very lives to create a nation that reflected their visions of freedom with equality. They summarized this vision in The Declaration of Independence :

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

In that single sentence, the Founders dispelled the long-held belief of the ruling British Monarchy that an individual’s pursuit of personal happiness was nothing more than a disloyal act of self-indulgence. Instead, they acknowledged that the right of each citizen to pursue personal fulfillment was essential to the qualities, such as ambition and creativity, that would fuel the nation’s economy. As a result, the pursuit of happiness became and remains the force behind America’s entrepreneurial system of free-market capitalism .  

The Declaration of Independence further states, “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” In this phrase, the Founding Fathers rejected the autocratic rule of monarchs and confirmed the revolutionary principle of “government of the people, by the people” as the basis of American democracy and the reason the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution begins with the words “We the People.”

Examples of Patriotism

There are countless ways of showing patriotism. Standing for the National Anthem and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance are obvious ones. Perhaps more importantly, many of the most beneficial acts of patriotism in the U.S. are those that both celebrate the country and make it stronger. A few of these include:

• Participating in the representative democracy by registering to vote and voting in elections .
• Volunteering for community service or running for elected government office.
• Serving on juries.
• Obeying all laws and paying taxes.
• Understanding the rights, freedoms, and responsibilities contained in the U.S. Constitution.

Patriotism vs. Nationalism

While the words patriotism and nationalism were once considered synonyms, they have taken on different connotations. While both are the feelings of love people feel for their country, the values upon which those feelings are based are very different.

Feelings of patriotism are based on the positive values the country embraces—like freedom, justice, and equality. The patriot believes that both the system of government and the people of their country are inherently good and work together for a better quality of life.

In contrast, feelings of nationalism are based on a belief that one’s country is superior to all others. It also carries a connotation of distrust or disapproval of other countries, leading to the assumption that other countries are rivals. While patriots do not automatically denigrate other countries, nationalists do, sometimes to the point of calling for their country’s global dominance. Nationalism, through its protectionist beliefs, is the polar opposite of globalism .

Historically, the effects of nationalism have been both positive and negative. While it has driven independence movements, like the Zionist movement that created modern Israel, it was also a key factor in the rise of the German Nazi Party , and the Holocaust . 

Patriotism versus nationalism arose as a political issue when U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron verbally sparred over the meaning of the terms.

At a rally on October 23, 2018, President Trump defended his populist “Make America Great Again” platform and protectionist policies of tariffs on foreign imports, officially declaring himself a “nationalist":

“A globalist is a person that wants the globe to do well, frankly, not caring about our country so much,” he said. “And you know what? We can't have that. You know, they have a word. It sort of became old-fashioned. It's called a nationalist. And I say, really, we’re not supposed to use that word. You know what I am? I’m a nationalist, OK? I’m a nationalist.”

President Macron, speaking at the 100th Armistice Day ceremony in Paris on November 11, 2018, offered a different meaning of nationalism. He defined nationalism as “putting our nation first, and not caring about the others.” By rejecting the interests of other countries, Macon asserted, “we erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life, what makes it great and what is essential, its moral values.”

Pros and Cons of Patriotism

Few countries survive and prosper without some degree of patriotic feelings among their people. A love of country and shared pride bring the people together, helping them endure challenges. Without shared patriotic beliefs, colonial Americans may not have chosen to travel the road to independence from England. More recently, patriotism brought the American people together to overcome the Great Depression and achieve victory in World War II .

The potential downside of patriotism is that if it becomes a mandatory political doctrine, it can be used to turn groups of people against each other and can even lead the country to reject its fundamental values.

A few examples from United States history include:

As early as 1798, extreme patriotism, spurred by fears a war with France, led Congress to enact the Alien and Sedition Acts allowing the jailing of certain U.S. immigrants without due process of law and restricting the First Amendment freedoms of speech and the press .

In 1919, early fears of Communism triggered the Palmer raids resulting in the arrest and immediate deportation without trial of more than 10,000 German- and Russian-American immigrants.

After the December 7, 1941, Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor , the Franklin Roosevelt administration ordered some 127,000 American citizens of Japanese ancestry imprisoned in internment camps for the duration of World War II.

During the Red Scare of the early 1950s, the McCarthy era saw thousands of Americans accused without evidence by the government of being communists or communist sympathizers. After a series of so-called “investigations” conducted by Senator Joseph McCarthy, hundreds of those accused were ostracized and prosecuted for their political beliefs.

• Johnson, Samuel (1774). “ The Patriot .” SamuelJohnson.com
• “ Nationalism .” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Plato.stanford.edu
• Boswell, James, Hibbert, “The Life of Samuel Johnson.” Penguin Classics, ISBN 0-14-043116-0
• Diamond, Jeremy. “ Trump embraces 'nationalist' title at Texas rally .” CNN (October 23, 2018)
• Liptak. Kevin. “ Macron rebukes nationalism as Trump observes Armistice Day. ” CNN (November 12, 2018)
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What Is Patriotism Essay? – Definitions, Topics, Examples

Do you want to write a patriotism essay and don’t know where to start? Don’t worry about it too much! We are here to help you write the best patriotism essay possible in the shortest amount of time. We will explain the concept of patriotism and clarify why it is essential, discuss patriotism essay examples, and then provide you with some topics. Some tips and tricks are included and the end of the blog post. They should make it much easier to write a patriotic essay.

What Is Patriotism Essay?

Why is patriotism important is it the same as nationalism, good patriotism examples make for good essays, patriotism essay list of 68 topics, get our patriotism essay examples, the importance of patriotic essay examples, tips for the best essay on patriotism.

The first thing we want to discuss is the definition of the patriotism essay. What is patriotism essay? Defining patriotism is a very difficult thing to do. Some would tell you that it is the love and devotion one feels for their country. Others would tell you that it is just a set of principles. And then there are others who consider patriotism to be just a special feeling. You will need to know all these definitions if you want to write a patriotism definition essay. However, in most cases, you will be required to write an essay on patriotism, not on its definition. That means you will have to decide what patriotism means specifically to you. It will influence the way you write the academic paper, of course. However, no approach is wrong, simply because patriotism has different meanings to different people. That applies to everything from a speech on patriotism to patriotism in a sentence prompt.

In some cases, you may be required to write a ”what does patriotism mean to me essay.” That is a bit more complicated because you need to understand why patriotism is important. It also means you have to know the differences between it and nationalism. Be aware that nationalism is not simply the love for the people who live in a country. And patriotism is not the love for the country. The reality is that patriotism is a moral principle, a feeling, or a level of loyalty to the country. On the other hand, nationalism is a political ideology that protects the interests of everything a nation stands for: people, language, traditions, industry, etc.

When writing an article on patriotism, it is important to realize that the patriotism essay ideas you come up with are very important. You want a topic that is both interesting and original. You want something you can write about, so make sure the topic you choose has plenty of information about it online. However, make sure to narrow down the topic – unless you want to write a short novel on it. You can find plenty of examples of American patriotism all over the Internet, so you have a lot of topics to choose from. Ensure the topic is something your classmates didn’t think about. You can read some patriotism essay examples to get an idea of how experienced writers organize their writing and their ideas. Don’t hesitate to look at the winners of a patriotism essay contest. You’ll find a lot of neat ideas. And you also learn how a proper patriotism essay is written.

We have answered the “why is patriotism important” question and helped you pick the right topic. But we are prepared to do much more. We have asked our experienced patriotism essay writers to compile a list of topics for our readers. Patriotism is a broad concept, and there are many standpoints that you can perceive it. If you want to write a patriotism essay or you need patriotism ideas, here are some topics that you can write about:

• What is true patriotism?
• Do Americans still practice true patriotism?
• Can patriotism be related to extremism?
• American heroes and their patriotic acts.
• The uniqueness of American patriotism
• How is American patriotism different from that of other countries?
• Does patriotism change the way we treat foreigners?
• How did American patriotism start?
• How to reach patriotism to children and teenagers
• Movies that portray patriotism
• How music has helped to explain the concept of patriotism.
• Is dissent the highest form of patriotism?
• Dying for your country: patriotism or suicide?
• What does patriotism mean to you?
• How does patriotism affect our relationship with people from other countries?
• Difference between patriotism and nationalism
• President John F. Kennedy’s We Choose To Go To The Moon speech and how it portrays patriotism.
• The true definition of patriotism
• How the entertainment industry teaches true patriotism.
• What is blind patriotism?
• Are patriots racists?
• Is the patriotism level in the country declining or increasing?
• Patriotism 100 years ago and now: what has changed?
• What role does patriotism play in genocide?
• How is patriotism reflected in our day-to-day lives?
• How did patriotism help to galvanize World War I?
• Xenophobia is an act of patriotism, true or false?
• The difference between patriotism and cosmopolitanism
• How does patriotism influence the kind of products we use?
• Do people consider patriotism when choosing the kind of car to buy?
• Rock n Roll and patriotism
• Patriotic acts that people need to emulate
• Breaking the law in the name of patriotism: can that be regarded as patriotism?
• Misconceptions about patriotism
• How the government and other people have exploited patriotism for their selfish use
• Is patriotism taught in school?
• Why patriotism should or should not be taught in schools
• Is American patriotism the same as blind patriotism?
• Is terrorism also a form of patriotism?
• How to encourage people to be more patriotic
• Is patriotism important? Why?
• What are the benefits of patriotism?
• How is patriotism portrayed in literary works?
• What is/are the correlation(s) between patriotism and colonialism?
• What is/are the correlation(s) between patriotism and nationalism?
• Patriotism and realism: How to connect one with another
• Are there limits to what you should do as a true patriot?
• What is the meaning of overwhelming patriotism?
• How to pursue your American dream as a patriot
• The national anthem and the national pledge and how it helps you to be more patriotic
• Examples of patriotism during the American Revolution.
• Compare and contrast patriotism and xenophobia.
• Are conscientious objectors traitors?
• What patriotism means to me?
• The worst case of ethnic chauvinism.
• What does true patriotism mean?
• Patriotism still matters in the modern world. (excellent pride in one’s country essay topic)
• The difference between patriotism and nationalism.
• Teens and patriotism today.
• The importance of Independence Day.
• Why are we proud of our patriots?
• Veterans and their tales of patriotism.
• Is patriotism a good thing?
• What is national chauvinism?
• Discussing the pledge of allegiance in schools.
• Patriotism is an excuse for war.
• Is patriotism stronger than the love for family?
• Avoiding western chauvinism and learning from our mistakes.

These topics are excellent starting points for any high school or college student. Remember that finding amazing patriotism examples is important — the more interesting the tale, the better the essay. There are many ways to state your ideas and express your views about patriotism in essays by presenting facts and deducing a conclusion.

A group of people can pick a topic from different patriotism essay ideas and write entirely different essays. There are different ways patriotic essays can be written. It all depends on how the writer views the topic.

If the essay is a narrative essay like the President John F. Kennedy’s ‘We Choose To go To the Moon speech;’

• Narrate every bit of the event. Paint a mental picture of the event so that the reader can understand the history of the essay.
• After narrating the event, draw out parts of the story that relate to patriotism.
• One after the other, explain how these parts that you have drawn relate to patriotism.

When you are writing a patriotic essay that expresses your viewpoint on an issue, the writing style will be different. In essays like “Is American patriotism the same as blind patriotism?” you are expected to present the essay in a detailed and logical manner. You can do that by using the guide below:

• Introduce the essay by explaining the topic. In the example above, you will explain American patriotism and blind patriotism.
• After the introduction, you will present facts to explain both American and blind patriotism.
• Provide correlation(s) between the facts that you have presented.
• End the essay by stating your viewpoint about the subject matter.

There are patriotism essays ideas that require you to take sides on an issue. “Does patriotism change the way we treat foreigners?” is an example of a patriotic essay that needs you to pick aside. To write a similar or more convincing patriotic essay;

• State facts and do not come from an emotional place.
• Be clear on where you stand from the beginning.
• Present your facts that support your stand on the argument.

If you want to write a patriotic essay to persuade people to do something, this is where you apply your emotions. Applying your emotions helps others to relate better and get interested in the message you’re trying to pass.

• Give reasons why you are writing the essay.
• Explain the personal and collective benefits of the essay topic.

Did you know that the best way to learn how to write an amazing patriotism essay is to read the best patriotic essay examples you can find? The truth is that you can learn most of the things simply by carefully reading works written by seasoned writers. You will quickly understand the concepts of patriotism and will also get the chance to see how a good patriotism essay is structured. Don’t miss the chance to write down all the ideas you deem important. Bottom line, you can read an excellent essay on what makes America great, and then replicate its structure and ideas in your own writing. However, make sure you avoid plagiarism.

• The first tip , we can give you is to choose the best topic possible. For example, why not write a ‘dissent is the highest form of patriotism’ essay?
• Second , don’t forget to list the values of patriotism in the intro. Each paragraph of the essay body should discuss and support a single idea. The conclusion is used to sum everything up, and further support your position.
• Third , don’t forget to make effective use of the five-paragraph essay structure (intro, three body paragraphs, conclusion).
• The last tip , and perhaps the most important one is to get help when you need it.

There are many seasoned academic writers who know exactly how to write an amazing patriotic essay, master’s thesis , or any other paper you might possibly need. Don’t hesitate to get help, especially if you are running out of time!

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Essay on Patriotism: Samples for Students in 100, 250, 500 Words

• Updated on  
• Oct 13, 2023

Essay on Patriotism: Patriotism can be defined as one’s love and loyalty towards their country. Everybody loves to serve their country and take it to new heights. These people are referred to as patriots. The feeling of patriotism allows a set of people to come closer. It must be promoted for the betterment of the country as well as the people residing there. 

Those who are true patriots work towards building their nation in whichever way they can. Here are essays on Patriotism of varying lengths to help you with the topic in your exam. You can select any Patriotism essay as per your interest. 

Also Read: Maharana Pratap: The Patriotic Hero of the Century

Essay on Patriotism in 100 Words

Patriotism in India is a fervent devotion and love for one’s country, deeply ingrained in its rich history and diverse culture. It transcends mere flag-waving and extends to an unwavering commitment to the nation’s progress. Patriotism finds expression in the sacrifices made by countless freedom fighters for India’s independence, serving as a timeless inspiration.

This sentiment is not confined to any particular religion, caste, or creed; it unites Indians from all backgrounds. It is evident in the respect for the national flag and anthem, symbolizing the collective pride of  1.4 billion people.

Patriotism isn’t blind allegiance; it involves constructive criticism and an earnest desire for India to reach greater heights. It fuels the spirit of nation-building, fostering unity in diversity and preserving the values that make India unique. In a rapidly changing world, patriotism remains the bedrock upon which India’s future is built, reminding all Indians of their duty to their beloved motherland.

Also Read- Famous Personalities Of India

Essay on Patriotism in 250 Words

Patriotism is a powerful force that has shapes a country’s history and continues to influence its present. In this essay, we will explore the significance of patriotism in India, its historical roots, and its manifestations in contemporary society.

Historical Roots of Patriotism

India’s rich history of patriotism can be traced back to its struggle for independence against British colonial rule. Visionaries like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Subhas Chandra Bose inspired millions with their unwavering love for the nation. Their sacrifices and dedication instilled a deep sense of patriotism in the hearts of Indians.

Diverse and United

India’s diversity in culture, language, and religion is a testament to its unity in diversity. Patriotism in India transcends these differences, binding the nation together. Indians take pride in their heritage, from the majestic Himalayas to the serene backwaters of Kerala. This love for the motherland fosters a sense of belonging and unity.

Modern Expressions of Patriotism

Today, patriotism finds expression in various forms. Indians celebrate their independence on August 15th with flag-hoisting ceremonies, parades, and cultural events. Social media has provided a platform for citizens to express their love for India, and campaigns like “Make in India” promote economic patriotism by supporting indigenous products.

Patriotism in India is a deep-seated emotion that binds its people together. Rooted in history, it has evolved to suit the modern world. As India continues to progress, patriotism remains a guiding force, reminding citizens of their responsibilities and the importance of unity in building a brighter future for the nation.

Also Read: Education of Rabindranath Tagore

Essay on Patriotism in 500 Words 

Introduction.

Patriotism in India is an enduring sentiment deeply etched into the collective psyche of its citizens. This essay explores the multifaceted dimensions of patriotism, tracing its historical roots, examining its contemporary expressions, and highlighting the challenges and responsibilities it entails.

Historical Legacy of Patriotism

1. The Freedom Struggle: Patriotism in India finds its origins in the arduous struggle for independence from British colonial rule. Visionaries like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Subhas Chandra Bose became iconic symbols of unwavering love for the nation. Their sacrifices and dedication stirred the hearts of millions, laying the foundation for modern Indian patriotism.

2. Iconic Moments: The Salt March, Quit India Movement, and Dandi March stand as enduring symbols of patriotic fervor. These historic events not only marked milestones in the journey towards independence but also demonstrated the power of non-violent resistance and unity.

Diverse and Unified

1. Unity in Diversity: India’s remarkable diversity in culture, language, religion, and geography is a testament to its unity in diversity. Despite these differences, Indians share a common bond of love for the motherland. This sense of belonging transcends regional and cultural boundaries.

2. Cultural Expressions: India’s rich cultural tapestry, from the majestic Himalayas to the vibrant festivals of Holi and Diwali, serves as a canvas for expressions of patriotism. Songs, dances, and traditional rituals celebrate the nation’s heritage and its people’s attachment to it.

1. National Celebrations: Independence Day and Republic Day are grand celebrations that unite the nation. Flag hoisting ceremonies, parades, and cultural performances showcase the pride Indians take in their country’s achievements.

2. Economic Patriotism: Initiatives like “Make in India” promote economic patriotism by encouraging the consumption of indigenous products. Supporting local businesses and industries is seen as a way to contribute to the nation’s growth.

Challenges and Responsibilities

1. Upholding Democratic Values: Patriotism must go hand in hand with upholding democratic values. Respecting the Constitution, ensuring equal rights, and promoting social justice are crucial aspects of being a patriotic Indian.

2. Tackling Divisions: While patriotism unites, it can also be misused to promote division and intolerance. Indians must be vigilant against divisive ideologies that threaten the nation’s unity.

3. Environmental Responsibility: Protecting India’s natural heritage is an essential facet of patriotism. Preserving forests, rivers, and wildlife ensures a sustainable future for the country.

Patriotism in India is a timeless bond that has withstood the test of time. Rooted in a history of struggle, it has evolved to encompass the vast diversity of the nation. 

As India continues to progress on the global stage, patriotism remains a guiding force, reminding citizens of their responsibilities and the importance of unity in shaping a brighter future for the nation. It is a sentiment that continues to inspire and define India’s identity in the modern world.

Ans. Patriotism arises organically and holds great importance in safeguarding a nation’s cultural and historical legacy. It involves a deep sense of pride in being a representative of one’s country. Patriotism encompasses a profound love for the nation and a willingness to endure any hardship for the sake of one’s homeland.

Ans. The top 5 points of a best patriot are a unique fondness for one’s native land, a feeling of personal connection to the nation, a particular care for the welfare of the country and readiness to make sacrifices to advance the nation’s welfare.

Ans. The term “patriot” refers to an individual who harbors a deep affection for their homeland and is willing to courageously uphold and protect it. This definition has remained constant since the word was introduced to the English language in the 16th century, although it has faced occasional scrutiny and debate over the years.

We hope that this blog essay on Patriotism has given you some known and unknown facts and secrets about Patriotism. For more amazing reads on essay writing , follow Leverage Edu. 

Aditi Gupta

A bachelors in Journalism and Mass Communication graduate, I am an enthusiastic writer. I love to write about impactful content which can help others. I love to binge watch and listen to music during my free time.

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Patriotism raises questions of the sort philosophers characteristically discuss: How is patriotism to be defined? How is it related to similar attitudes, such as nationalism? What is its moral standing: is it morally valuable or perhaps even mandatory, or is it rather a stance we should avoid? Yet until a few decades ago, philosophers used to show next to no interest in the subject. The article on patriotism in the Historical Dictionary of Philosophy , reviewing the use of the term from the 16 th century to our own times, gives numerous references, but they are mostly to authors who were not philosophers. Moreover, of the few well known philosophers cited, only one, J. G. Fichte, gave the subject more than a passing reference – and most of what Fichte had to say actually pertains to nationalism, rather than patriotism (see Busch and Dierse 1989).

This changed in the 1980s. The change was due, in part, to the revival of communitarianism, which came in response to the individualistic, liberal political and moral philosophy epitomized by John Rawls’ Theory of Justice (1971); but it was also due to the resurgence of nationalism in several parts of the world. The beginning of this change was marked by Andrew Oldenquist’s account of morality as a matter of various loyalties, rather than abstract principles and ideals (Oldenquist 1982), and Alasdair MacIntyre’s argument that patriotism is a central moral virtue (MacIntyre 1984). Largely in response to MacIntyre, some philosophers have defended constrained or deflated versions of patriotism (Baron 1989, Nathanson 1989, Primoratz 2002). Others have argued against patriotism of any sort (Gomberg 1990, McCabe 1997, Keller 2005). There is now a lively philosophical debate about the moral credentials of patriotism that shows no signs of abating. A parallel discussion in political philosophy concerns the kind of patriotism that might provide an alternative to nationalism as the ethos of a stable, well-functioning polity.

1.1 What is patriotism?

1.2 patriotism and nationalism, 2.1 patriotism and the ethics of belief, 2.2 the moral standing of patriotism, 3. the political import of patriotism, other internet resources, related entries, 1. conceptual issues.

The standard dictionary definition reads “love of one’s country.” This captures the core meaning of the term in ordinary use; but it might well be thought too thin and in need of fleshing out. In the first philosophical book-length study of the subject, Stephen Nathanson (1993, 34–35) defines patriotism as involving:

• Special affection for one’s own country
• A sense of personal identification with the country
• Special concern for the well-being of the country
• Willingness to sacrifice to promote the country’s good

There is little to cavil about here. There is no great difference between special affection and love, and Nathanson himself uses the terms interchangeably. Although love (or special affection) is usually given expression in special concern for its object, that is not necessary. But a person whose love for her country was not expressed in any special concern for it would scarcely be considered a patriot. Therefore the definition needs to include such concern. Once that is included, however, a willingness to make sacrifices for one’s country is implied, and need not be added as a separate component. Identification with the country, too, might be thought implied in the phrase “one’s country.” But the phrase is extremely vague, and allows for a country to be called “one’s own” in an extremely thin, formal sense too. It seems that if one is to be a patriot of a country, the country must be his in some significant sense; and that may be best captured by speaking of one’s identification with it. Such identification is expressed in vicarious feelings: in pride of one’s country’s merits and achievements, and in shame for its lapses or crimes (when these are acknowledged, rather than denied).

Accordingly, patriotism can be defined as love of one’s country, identification with it, and special concern for its well-being and that of compatriots.

This is only a definition. A fuller account of patriotism is beyond the scope of this article. Such an account would say something about the patriot’s beliefs about the merits of his country, his need to belong to a group and be a part of a more encompassing narrative, to be related to a past and a future that transcend the narrow confines of an individual’s life and its mundane concerns, as well as social and political conditions that affect the ebb and flow of patriotism, its political and cultural influence, and more.

Discussions of both patriotism and nationalism are often marred by lack of clarity due to the failure to distinguish the two. Many authors use the two terms interchangeably. Among those who do not, quite a few have made the distinction in ways that are not very helpful. In the 19 th century, Lord Acton contrasted “nationality” and patriotism as affection and instinct vs. a moral relation. Nationality is “our connection with the race” that is “merely natural or physical,” while patriotism is the awareness of our moral duties to the political community (Acton 1972, 163). In the 20 th century, Elie Kedourie did the opposite, presenting nationalism as a full-fledged philosophical and political doctrine about nations as basic units of humanity within which the individual can find freedom and fulfilment, and patriotism as mere sentiment of affection for one’s country (Kedourie 1985, 73–74).

George Orwell contrasted the two in terms of aggressive vs. defensive attitudes. Nationalism is about power: its adherent wants to acquire as much power and prestige as possible for his nation, in which he submerges his individuality. While nationalism is accordingly aggressive, patriotism is defensive: it is a devotion to a particular place and a way of life one thinks best, but has no wish to impose on others (Orwell 1968, 362). This way of distinguishing the two attitudes comes close to an approach popular among politicians and widespread in everyday discourse that indicates a double standard of the form “us vs. them.” Country and nation are first run together, and then patriotism and nationalism are distinguished in terms of the strength of the love and special concern one feels for it, the degree of one’s identification with it. When these are exhibited in a reasonable degree and without ill thoughts about others and hostile actions towards them, that is patriotism; when they become unbridled and cause one to think ill of others and act badly towards them, that is nationalism. Conveniently enough, it usually turns out that we are patriots, while they are nationalists (see Billig 1995, 55–59).

There is yet another way of distinguishing patriotism and nationalism – one that is quite simple and begs no moral questions. We can put aside the political sense of “nation” that makes it identical with “country,” “state,” or “polity,” and the political or civic type of nationalism related to it. We need concern ourselves only with the other, ethnic or cultural sense of “nation,” and focus on ethnic or cultural nationalism. In order to do so, we do not have to spell out the relevant understanding of “nation”; it is enough to characterize it in terms of common ancestry, history, and a set of cultural traits. Both patriotism and nationalism involve love of, identification with, and special concern for a certain entity. In the case of patriotism, that entity is one’s patria , one’s country; in the case of nationalism, that entity is one’s natio , one’s nation (in the ethnic/cultural sense of the term). Thus patriotism and nationalism are understood as the same type of set of beliefs and attitudes, and distinguished in terms of their objects, rather than the strength of those beliefs and attitudes, or as sentiment vs. theory.

To be sure, there is much overlap between country and nation, and therefore between patriotism and nationalism; thus much that applies to one will also apply to the other. But when a country is not ethnically homogeneous, or when a nation lacks a country of its own, the two may part ways.

2. Normative issues

Patriotism has had a fair number of critics. The harshest among them have judged it deeply flawed in every important respect. In the 19 th century, Russian novelist and thinker Leo Tolstoy found patriotism both stupid and immoral. It is stupid because every patriot holds his own country to be the best of all whereas, obviously, only one country can qualify. It is immoral because it enjoins us to promote our country’s interests at the expense of all other countries and by any means, including war, and is thus at odds with the most basic rule of morality, which tells us not to do to others what we would not want them to do to us (Tolstoy 1987, 97). Recently, Tolstoy’s critique has been seconded by American political theorist George Kateb, who argues that patriotism is “a mistake twice over: it is typically a grave moral error and its source is typically a state of mental confusion” (Kateb 2000, 901). Patriotism is most importantly expressed in a readiness to die and to kill for one’s country. But a country “is not a discernible collection of discernible individuals”; it is rather “an abstraction … a compound of a few actual and many imaginary ingredients.” Specifically, in addition to being a delimited territory, “it is also constructed out of transmitted memories true and false; a history usually mostly falsely sanitized or falsely heroized; a sense of kinship of a largely invented purity; and social ties that are largely invisible or impersonal, indeed abstract …” Therefore patriotism is “a readiness to die and to kill for an abstraction … for what is largely a figment of the imagination” (907).

Some of these objections can easily be countered. Even if full-fledged patriotism does involve a belief in one’s country’s merits, it need not involve the belief that one’s country is better than all others. And the fact that a country is not a collection of “discernible individuals” and that the social ties among compatriots are “largely invisible or impersonal,” rather than palpable and face-to-face, does not show that it is unreal or imaginary. As Benedict Anderson, who coined the term “imagined community,” points out, “all communities larger than primordial villages of face-to-face contact … are imagined.” “Imagined community” is not the opposite of “real community,” but rather of community whose members have face-to-face relations (Anderson 1991, 6).

However, there is another, more plausible line of criticism of patriotism focusing on its intellectual, rather than moral credentials. Moreover, Tolstoy’s and Kateb’s arguments questioning the moral legitimacy of patriotic partiality and those highlighting the connection of patriotism with international tensions and war cannot be so easily refuted.

When asked “why do you love your country?” or “why are you loyal to it?”, a patriot is likely to take the question to mean “what is so good about your country that you should love it, or be loyal to it?” and then adduce what she believes to be its virtues and achievements. This suggests that patriotism can be judged from the standpoint of ethics of belief – a set of norms for evaluating our beliefs and other doxastic states. Simon Keller has examined patriotism from this point of view, and found it wanting.

Keller argues that whereas one’s love of and loyalty to a family member or a friend may coexist with a low estimate of the person’s qualities, patriotism involves endorsement of one’s country. If the patriot is to endorse her country, she must consider her beliefs about the country’s virtues and achievements to be based on some objectively valid standards of value and an unbiased examination of the country’s past and present record that leads to the conclusion that it lives up to those standards. However, the patriot’s loyalty is not focused on her country simply because it instantiates a set of virtues a country can have. If that were the case, and if a neighboring country turned out to have such virtues to an even higher degree, the patriot’s loyalty would be redirected accordingly. She is loyal to her country because that country, and only that country, is her country; hers is a loyalty “in the first instance.” Thus the patriot is motivated to think of the patria as blessed by all manner of virtues and achievements whether the evidence, interpreted objectively, warrants that or not. Accordingly, she forms beliefs about her country in ways different from the ways in which she forms beliefs about other countries. Moreover, she cannot admit this motivation while at the same time remaining a patriot. This leads her to hide from herself the true source of some of the beliefs involved. This is bad faith. Bad faith is bad; so is patriotism, as well as every identity, individual or collective, constituted, in part, by patriotic loyalty. This, in Keller’s view, amounts to “a clear presumptive case against patriotism’s being a virtue and for its being a vice” (Keller 2005, 587–88).

This portrayal does seem accurate as far as much patriotism as we know it is concerned. Yet Keller may be overstating his case as one against patriotism as such. When queried about one’s loyalty to one’s country, couldn’t one say: “This is my country, my home; I need no further reason to be loyal to it and show special concern for its well-being”? This might not be a very satisfactory answer; we might agree with J.B. Zimmermann that “the love for one’s country … is in many cases no more than the love of an ass for its stall” (quoted in Nathanson 1993, 3). But however egocentric, irrational, asinine, surely it qualifies as patriotism. (In a later statement of his argument (2007a, 80–81), Keller seems to be of two minds on this point.)

Many think of patriotism as a natural and appropriate expression of attachment to the country in which we were born and raised and of gratitude for the benefits of life on its soil, among its people, and under its laws. They also consider patriotism an important component of our identity. Some go further, and argue that patriotism is morally mandatory, or even that it is the core of morality. There is, however, a major tradition in moral philosophy which understands morality as essentially universal and impartial, and seems to rule out local, partial attachment and loyalty. Adherents of this tradition tend to think of patriotism as a type of group egoism , a morally arbitrary partiality to “one’s own” at odds with demands of universal justice and common human solidarity. A related objection is that patriotism is exclusive in invidious and dangerous ways. Love of one’s own country characteristically goes together with dislike of and hostility towards other countries. It tends to encourage militarism, and makes for international tension and conflict. Tolstoy’s and Kateb’s moral objections to patriotism, mentioned above, are in line with this position.

What, then, is the moral status of patriotism? The question does not admit of a single answer. We can distinguish five types of patriotism, and each needs to be judged on its merits.

2.2.1 Extreme patriotism

Machiavelli is famous (or infamous) for teaching princes that, human nature being what it is, if they propose to do their job well, they must be willing to break their promises, to deceive, dissemble, and use violence, sometimes in cruel ways and on a large scale, when political circumstances require such actions. This may or may not be relevant to the question of patriotism, depending on just what we take the point of princely rule to be. A less well known part of Machiavelli’s teaching, however, is relevant; for he sought to impart the same lesson to politicians and common citizens of a republic. “When the safety of one’s country wholly depends on the decision to be taken, no attention should be paid either to justice or injustice, to kindness or cruelty, or to its being praiseworthy or ignominious” (Machiavelli 1998 [1518], 515). The paramount interests of one’s country override any moral consideration with which they might come into conflict.

This type of patriotism is extreme, but by no means extremely rare. It is adopted much too often by politicians and common citizens alike when their country’s major interests are thought to be at stake. It is encapsulated in the saying “our country, right or wrong,” at least on the simplest and most obvious construal of this saying. Not much needs to be said about the moral standing of this type of patriotism, as it amounts to rejection of morality. “Our country, right or wrong ” cannot be right.

2.2.2 Robust patriotism

In his seminal lecture “Is Patriotism a Virtue?” Alasdair MacIntyre contrasts patriotism with the liberal commitment to certain universal values and principles. On the liberal view, where and from whom I learn the principles of morality is just as irrelevant to their contents and to my commitment to them, as where and from whom I learn the principles of mathematics is irrelevant to their contents and my adherence to them. For MacIntyre, where and from whom I learn my morality is of decisive importance both for my commitment to it and for its very contents.

There is no morality as such; morality is always the morality of a particular community. One can understand and internalize moral rules only “in and through the way of life of [one’s] community” (MacIntyre 1984, 8). Moral rules are justified in terms of certain goods they express and promote; but these goods, too, are always given as part and parcel of the way of life of a community. The individual becomes a moral agent only when informed as such by his community. He also lives and flourishes as one because he is sustained in his moral life by his community. “… I can only be a moral agent because we are moral agents … Detached from my community, I will be apt to lose my hold upon all genuine standards of judgment” (10–11).

If I can live and flourish as a moral agent only as a member of my community, while playing the role this membership involves, then my very identity is bound up with that of my community, its history, traditions, institutions, and aspirations. Therefore,

if I do not understand the enacted narrative of my own individual life as embedded in the history of my country … I will not understand what I owe to others or what others owe to me, for what crimes of my nation I am bound to make reparation, for what benefits to my nation I am bound to feel gratitude. Understanding what is owed to and by me and understanding the history of the communities of which I am a part is … one and the same thing. (16)

This leads MacIntyre to conclude that patriotism is not to be contrasted with morality; it is rather a central moral virtue, indeed the bedrock of morality.

The object of patriotic loyalty is one’s country and polity; but this does not mean that a patriot will support any government in power in her country. Here MacIntyre’s position is different from a popular version of patriotism that tends to conflate the two. The patriot’s allegiance, he says, is not to the status quo of power, but rather to “the nation conceived as a project ” (13). One can oppose one’s country’s government in the name of the country’s true character, history, and aspirations. To that extent, this type of patriotism is critical and rational. But at least some practices and projects of the patria , some of its “large interests,” must be beyond questioning and critical scrutiny. To that extent, MacIntyre grants that what he considers true patriotism is “a fundamentally irrational attitude” (13). But a more rational and therefore more constrained loyalty would be “emasculated,” rather than real patriotism.

This account of patriotism is exposed to several objections. One might question the communitarian foundations of MacIntyre’s case for patriotism: his view of the moral primacy of the community over the individual. One might find fault with the step from communitarianism to patriotism:

Even if his communitarian conception of morality were correct and even if the process of moral development ensured that group loyalty would emerge as a central virtue, no conclusion would follow about the importance of patriotism. The group to which our primary loyalty would be owed would be the group from which we had obtained our moral understanding. This need not be the community as a whole or any political unit, however. It could be one’s family, one’s town, one’s religion. The nation need not be the source of morality or the primary beneficiary of our loyalty. (Nathanson 1989, 549)

Yet another objection would focus on the fundamentally irrational character of robust patriotism: its insistence that “large interests” of the patria must be beyond questioning.

MacIntyre concedes that “on occasion patriotism might require me to support and work for the success of some enterprise of my nation as crucial to its overall project … when the success of that enterprise would not be in the best interests of mankind” (14). If so, this type of patriotism would seem to involve the rejection of such basic moral notions as universal justice and common human solidarity.

Tolstoy and other critics have argued that patriotism is incompatible with these notions – that it is egoism writ large, an exclusive and ultimately aggressive concern for one’s country, and a major cause of international tensions and war. This is not a fair objection to patriotism as such. Patriotism is defined as a special concern for one’s country’s well-being, and that is not the same as an exclusive and aggressive concern for it. But the objection is pertinent, and has considerable force, when brought up against the type of patriotism advocated by MacIntyre. MacIntyre’s patriot may promote his country’s interests in a critical, and therefore non-exclusive way, over a range of issues. But when it comes to those “large interests” of his country that are beyond criticism and must be supported in an irrational way, his concern will inevitably become exclusive, and most likely aggressive too. If justice is understood in universal, rather than parochial terms, if common human solidarity counts as a weighty moral consideration, and if peace is of paramount importance and war is morally permissible only when it is just, then this kind of patriotism must be rejected.

2.2.3 Moderate patriotism

Rejecting robust patriotism does not entail adopting sweeping impartialism that acknowledges no special obligations, and allows no partiality, to “our own.” Nor does it entail adopting the more restricted, cosmopolitan position, that allows no partiality to our own country and compatriots. There is considerable middle ground between these extremes. Exploring this middle ground has led some philosophers to construct positions accommodating both the universal and the particular point of view – both the mandates of universal justice and claims of common humanity, and the concern for the patria and compatriots.

One such position is “patriotism compatible with liberal morality,” or “liberal patriotism” for short, advocated by Marcia Baron (1989). Baron argues that the conflict between impartiality and partiality is not quite as deep as it may seem. Morality allows for both types of considerations, as they pertain to different levels of moral deliberation. At one level, we are often justified in taking into account our particular commitments and attachments, including those to our country. At another level, we can and ought to reflect on such commitments and attachments from a universal, impartial point of view, to delineate their proper scope and determine their weight. We can conclude, for example, “that with respect to certain matters and within limits, it is good for an American to judge as an American, and to put American interests first” (Baron 1989, 272). In such a case, partiality and particular concerns are judged to be legitimate and indeed valuable from an impartial, universal point of view. This means that with respect to those matters and within the same limits, it is also good for a Cuban to judge as a Cuban and to put Cuban interests first, etc. Actually, this is how we think of our special obligations to, and preferences for, our family, friends, or local community; this kind of partiality is legitimate, and indeed valuable, not only for us but for anyone.

In MacIntyre’s view, the type of partiality in general, and patriotism in particular, that is at work only at one level of moral deliberation and against the background of impartiality at another, higher level, lacks content and weight. For Baron, on the other hand, MacIntyre’s strongly particularistic type of patriotism is irrational and morally hazardous. Baron also finds problematic the popular understanding of patriotism which focuses on the country’s might and its interests as determined by whatever government is in power. She emphasizes concern for the country’s cultural and moral excellence. By doing so, she argues, our patriotism will leave room for serious, even radical criticism of our country, and will not be a force for dissension and conflict in the international arena.

Another middle-of-the-road view is “moderate patriotism” propounded by Stephen Nathanson (1989, 1993). He, too, rejects the choice between MacIntyre’s robust patriotism and cosmopolitanism, and argues that impartiality required by morality allows for particular attachments and special obligations by distinguishing different levels of moral thinking. A good example is provided by the Ten Commandments, a major document of Western morality. The wording of the commandments is for the most part universal, impartial; but they also tell us “honor your father and your mother.”

The kind of patriotism defended by Nathanson and Baron is moderate in several distinct, but related respects. It is not unbridled: it does not enjoin the patriot to promote his country’s interests under any circumstances and by any means. It acknowledges the constraints morality imposes on the pursuit of our individual and collective goals. For instance, it may require the patriot to fight for his country, but only in so far as the war is, and remains, just. Adherents of both extreme and robust patriotism will consider themselves bound to fight for their country whether its cause be just or not. Extreme patriots will also fight for it in whatever way it takes to win. Whether adherents of MacIntyre’s robust patriotism, too, will do so is a moot point. If they do not, that will be because the morality of their own community places certain constraints on warfare, whether of a particularistic type (“a German officer does not execute POWs”), or by incorporating some universalistic moral precepts (“an officer does not execute POWs”).

Moderate patriotism is not exclusive. Its adherent will show special concern for his country and compatriots, but that will not prevent him from showing concern for other countries and their inhabitants. Moreover, this kind of patriotism allows for the possibility that under certain circumstances the concern for human beings in general will override the concern for one’s country and compatriots. Such patriotism is compatible with a decent degree of humanitarianism. By contrast, both extreme and robust patriotism give greater weight to the (substantial) interests of one’s country and compatriots than to those of other countries and their inhabitants whenever these interests come into conflict.

Finally, moderate patriotism is not uncritical, unconditional, or egocentric. For an adherent of this type of patriotism, it is not enough that the country is her country. She will also expect it to live up to certain standards and thereby deserve her support, devotion, and special concern for its well-being. When it fails to do so, she will withhold support. Adherents of both extreme and robust patriotism, on the other hand, love their country unconditionally, and stand by it whatever it does as long as its “safety” or its “large interests” more generally are concerned.

Baron and Nathanson have found a middle ground between sweeping cosmopolitanism that allows for no attachment and loyalty to one’s country and compatriots, and extreme or robust patriotism that rejects universal moral considerations (except those that have become part and parcel of one’s country’s morality). They have shown that the main objections usually advanced against patriotism as such apply only to its extreme or robust varieties, but not to its “liberal” or “moderate” versions. The latter type of patriotism need not conflict with impartial justice or common human solidarity. It will therefore be judged morally unobjectionable by all except some adherents of a strict type of cosmopolitanism .

However, both Baron and Nathanson fail to distinguish clearly between showing that their preferred type of patriotism is morally unobjectionable and showing that it is morally required or virtuous, and sometimes seem to be assuming that by showing the former, they are also showing the latter. Yet there is a gap between the two claims, and the latter, stronger case for moderate patriotism still needs to be made.

2.2.4 Deflated patriotism

What is the case for the claim that moderate patriotism is morally mandatory – that we have a duty of special concern for the well-being of our country and compatriots, similar to special duties to family or friends?

Gratitude is probably the most popular among the grounds adduced for patriotic duty. Echoing Socrates in Plato’s Crito (51c-51d), Maurizio Viroli writes: “… We have a moral obligation towards our country because we are indebted to it. We owe our country our life, our education, our language, and, in the most fortunate cases, our liberty. If we want to be moral persons, we must return what we have received, at least in part, by serving the common good” (Viroli 1995, 9).

Both Socrates and Viroli are exaggerating the benefits bestowed on us by our country; surely any gratitude owed for being born or brought up is owed to parents, rather than patria . But there are important benefits we have received from our country; the argument is that we are bound to show gratitude for them, and that the appropriate way to do so is to show special concern for the well-being of the country and compatriots.

One worry here is that considerations of gratitude normally arise in interpersonal relations. We also speak of gratitude to large and impersonal entities – our school, profession, or even our country – but that seems to be an abbreviated way of referring to gratitude to particular persons who have acted on behalf of these entities. A debt of gratitude is not incurred by any benefit received. If a benefit is conferred inadvertently, or advisedly but for the wrong reason (e.g. for the sake of the benefactor’s public image), gratitude will be misplaced. We owe a moral debt of gratitude (rather than the mere “thank you” of good manners) only to those who confer benefits on us deliberately and for the right reason, namely out of concern for our own good. And we cannot talk with confidence about the reasons a large and complex group or institution has for its actions.

Perhaps we can think of compatriots as an aggregate of individuals. Do we owe them a debt of gratitude for the benefits of life among them? Again, it depends on the reason for their law-abiding behavior and social cooperation generally. But there is no single reason common to all or even most of them. Some do their part without giving much thought to the reasons for doing so; others believe that doing so is, in the long run, the most prudent policy; still others act out of altruistic motives. Only the last group – surely a tiny minority – would be a proper object of our gratitude.

Moreover, gratitude is appropriate only for a benefit conferred freely, as a gift, and not as a quid pro quo . But most of the benefits we receive from our country are of the latter sort: benefits we have paid for by our own law-abiding behavior in general, and through taxation in particular.

The benefits one has received from her country might be considered relevant to the duty of patriotism in a different way: as raising the issue of fairness . One’s country is not a land inhabited by strangers to whom we owe nothing beyond what we owe to any other human being. It is rather a common enterprise that produces and distributes a wide range of benefits. These benefits are made possible by cooperation of those who live in the country, participate in the enterprise, owe and render allegiance to the polity. The rules that regulate the cooperation and determine the distribution of burdens and benefits enjoin, among other things, special concern for the well-being of compatriots which is not due to outsiders. As Richard Dagger puts it:

Compatriots take priority because we owe it to them as a matter of reciprocity. Everyone, compatriot or not, has a claim to our respect and concern … but those who join with us in cooperative enterprises have a claim to special recognition. Their cooperation enables us to enjoy the benefits of the enterprise, and fairness demands that we reciprocate. … We must accord our fellow citizens a special status, a priority over those who stand outside the special relationship constituted by the political enterprise. […] [Our fellow citizens] have a claim on us … that extends to include the notion that compatriots take priority. (Dagger 1985, 446, 443)

This argument conflates the issue of patriotism with that of political obligation , and the notion of a patriot with that of a citizen. Unlike informal cooperation among tenants in a building, for instance, cooperation on the scale of a country is regulated by a set of laws. To do one’s part within such a cooperative enterprise is just to obey the laws, to act as a citizen. Whether we have a moral duty to obey the laws of our country is one of the central issues in modern political philosophy, discussed under the heading of political obligation. One major account of political obligation is that of fairness. If successful, that account shows that we do have a moral duty to abide by the laws of our country, to act as citizens, and that this duty is one of fairness. To fail to abide by one’s country’s laws is to fail to reciprocate, to take advantage of compatriots, to act unfairly towards them. But whereas a patriot is also a citizen, a citizen is not necessarily a patriot. Patriotism involves special concern for the patria and compatriots, a concern that goes beyond what the laws obligate one to do, beyond what one does as a citizen; that is, beyond what one ought, in fairness , to do. Failing to show that concern, however, cannot be unfair – except on the question-begging assumption that, in addition to state law, cooperation on this scale is also based on, and regulated by, a moral rule enjoining special concern for the well-being of the country and compatriots. Dagger asserts that the claim our compatriots have on us “extends to include” such concern, but provides no argument in support of this extension.

Some philosophers seek to ground patriotic duty in its good consequences (see the entry on consequentialism ). The duty of special concern for the well-being of our country and compatriots, just like other duties, universal and special, is justified by the good consequences of its adoption. Special duties mediate our fundamental, universal duties and make possible their most effective discharge. They establish a division of moral labor, necessary because our capacity of doing good is limited by our resources and circumstances. Each of us can normally be of greater assistance to those who are in some way close to us than to those who are not. By attending first to “our own,” we at the same time promote the good of humanity in the best way possible.

Patriots will find this account of their love of and loyalty to their country alien to what they feel patriotism is all about. It presents the duty of special concern for the well-being of one’s country and compatriots as a device for assigning to individuals some universal duties. Patriotic duty owes its moral force to the moral force of those universal duties. But if so, then, as a proponent of this understanding of patriotism concedes, “it turns out that ‘our fellow countrymen’ are not so very special after all” (Goodin 1988, 679). They merely happen to be the beneficiaries of the most effective way of putting into practice our concern for human beings in general. The special relationship between the patriot and the patria and compatriots – the relationship of love and identification – has been dissolved.

There is also a view of patriotic duty that, in contrast to the consequentialist account, does not dissolve, but rather highlight this relationship. That is the view of patriotism as an associative duty (see the entry on special obligations , section 4). It is based on an understanding of special relationships as intrinsically valuable and involving duties of special concern for the well-being of those we are related to. Such duties are not means of creating or maintaining those relationships, but rather their part and parcel, and can only be understood, and justified, as such, just as those relationships can only be understood as involving the special duties pertaining to them (while involving much else besides). For instance, one who denies that she has an obligation of special concern for the well-being of her friend shows that she no longer perceives and treats the person concerned as a friend, that (as far as she is concerned) the friendship is gone. One who denies that people in general have a duty of special concern for the well-being of their friends shows that she does not understand what friendship is.

Andrew Mason has offered an argument for the duty of special concern for the well-being of compatriots based on the value embodied in our relationship to compatriots, that of common citizenship. By “citizenship” he does not mean mere legal status, but takes the term in a moral sense, which involves equal standing. Citizenship in this sense is an intrinsically valuable relationship, and grounds certain special duties fellow citizens have to one another. Now citizenship obviously has considerable instrumental value; but how is it valuable in itself?

Citizenship has intrinsic value because in virtue of being a citizen a person is a member of a collective body in which they enjoy equal status with its other members and are thereby provided with recognition. This collective body exercises significant control over its members’ conditions of existence (a degree of control which none of its members individually possesses). It offers them the opportunity to contribute to the cultural environment in which its laws and policies are determined, and opportunities to participate directly and indirectly in the formation of these laws and policies. (Mason 1997, 442)

Mason goes on to claim:

Part of what it is to be a citizen is to incur special obligations: these obligations give content to what it is to be committed or loyal fellow citizen and are justified by the good of the wider relationship to which they contribute. In particular, citizens have an obligation to each other to participate fully in public life and an obligation to give priority to the needs of fellow citizens. (442)

The first of these two special duties can be put aside, as it is not specific to patriotism, but rather pertains to citizenship. It is the second that is at issue. If we indeed have a duty of special concern towards compatriots, and if that is an associative duty, that is because our association with them is intrinsically valuable and bound up with this duty. The claim about the intrinsic value of our association might be thought a moot point. But even if it were conceded, one might still resist the claim concerning the alleged duty. If someone were to deny that she has a duty of special concern for the well-being of her country and compatriots, beyond what the laws of her country mandate and beyond the concern she has for humans and humanity, would she thereby cease to be a citizen (in the sense involving equal standing)? If she were to deny that citizens generally have such an obligation, would that betray lack of understanding of what citizenship (in the relevant sense) is? If she came across two strangers in a life-threatening situation and could only save one, would she have a prima facie moral duty to save the one who was a compatriot? Mason’s position commits him to answering “yes” in each case, but all three claims are implausible (Primoratz 2009).

All the main arguments for the claim that patriotism is a duty, then, are exposed to serious objections. Unless a new, more convincing case for patriotism can be made, we have no good reason to think that patriotism is a moral duty.

If not a duty, is patriotism morally valuable? Someone showing concern for the well-being of others well beyond the degree of concern for others required of all of us is considered a morally better person than the rest of us (other things equal), an example of supererogatory virtue. Patriotism is a special concern for the well-being of one’s country and compatriots, a concern beyond what we owe other people and communities. Isn’t a patriot, then, a morally better person than the rest of us (other things equal)? Isn’t patriotism a supererogatory virtue?

One standard example of such virtue is the type of concern for those in an extreme plight shown by the late Mother Theresa, or by Doctors Without Borders. But they are exemplars of moral virtue for the same reason that makes a more modest degree of concern for others a moral duty falling on all of us. The same moral value, sympathy for and assistance to people in need, grounds a certain degree of concern for others as a general moral duty and explains why a significantly higher degree of such concern is a moral ideal. This explanation, however, does not apply in the case of patriotism. Patriotism is not but another extension of the duty of concern for others; it is a special concern for my country because it is my country, for my compatriots because they are my compatriots. Unlike Mother Theresa and Doctors Without Borders, whose concern is for all destitute, sick, dying persons they can reach, the concern of the patriot is by definition selective; and the selection is performed by the word “my.” But the word “my” cannot, by itself, play the critical role in an argument showing that a certain stance is morally valuable. If it could, other types of partialism, such as tribalism, racism, or sexism, would by the same token prove morally valuable too.

If patriotism is neither a moral duty nor a supererogatory virtue, then all its moral pretensions have been deflated. It has no positive moral significance. There is nothing to be said for it, morally speaking. We all have various preferences for places and people, tend to identify with many groups, large and small, to think of them as in some sense ours, and to show a degree of special concern for their members. But however important in other respects these preferences, identifications, and concerns might be, they lack positive moral import. They are morally permissible as long as they are kept within certain limits, but morally indifferent in themselves. The same is true of patriotism (Primoratz 2002).

2.2.5 Ethical patriotism

All four types of patriotism reviewed so far seek to defend and promote what might be termed the worldly, i.e. non-moral, interests of the patria : its political stability, military power, riches, influence in the international arena, and cultural vibrancy. They differ with regard to the lengths to which these interests will be promoted: adherents of extreme and robust patriotism will ultimately go to any length, whereas those whose patriotism is moderate or deflated will respect the limits universal moral considerations set to this pursuit. Marcia Baron also calls for expanding patriotic concern for the flourishing of one’s country to include its “moral flourishing” (see 2.2.3 above).

Thus Baron’s position is half-way between the usual, worldly kind of patriotism, and what might be described as its distinctively ethical type. The latter would put aside the country’s well-being in a mundane, non-moral sense, and would focus instead on its distinctively moral well-being, its moral identity and integrity. A patriot of this sort would not express his love for the patria by seeking to husband the country’s resources and preserve its natural beauty and its historical heritage, or make it rich, powerful, culturally preeminent, or influential on the world scene. Instead, he would seek to make sure that the country lives up to moral requirements and promotes moral values, both at home and internationally. He would work for a just and humane society at home, and seek to ensure that the country acts justly beyond its borders, and shows common human solidarity towards those in need, however distant and unfamiliar. He would also be concerned with the country’s past moral record and its implications for the present. He would support projects exploring the dark chapters of the country’s history, acknowledging the wrongs perpetrated in the past and responding to them in appropriate ways, whether by offering apologies or making amends, and by making sure such wrongs are not perpetrated again.

A patriot of this, distinctively ethical type, would want to see justice done, rights respected, human solidarity at work at any time and in any place. But her patriotism would be at work in a concern that her country be guided by these moral principles and values which is more sustained and more deeply felt than her concern that these principles and values should be put into practice generally. She would consider her own moral identity as bound up with that of her country, and the moral record of the patria as hers too. Unlike a patriot of the more worldly type, she might not feel great pride in her country’s worldly merits and achievements. She would be proud of the country’s moral record, when it inspires pride. But her patriotism would be expressed, above all, in a critical approach to her country and compatriots: she would feel entitled, and indeed called, to submit them to critical moral scrutiny, and to do so qua patriot.

While we have no moral reason to be patriots of the more usual, mundane kind, we do have reason to show special concern for our own country’s moral well-being. As a rule, when someone is wronged, someone else benefits from that. When a country maintains an unjust or inhumane practice, or enacts and enforces an unjust or inhumane law or policy, at least some, and sometimes many of its citizens reap benefits from it. Sometimes such a practice, legislation or policy affects people beyond the country’s borders; in such cases, the population as a whole may benefit. The responsibility for the injustice or lack of basic human solidarity lies with those who make the decisions and those who implement them. It also lies with those who give support to such decisions and their implementation. But some responsibility in this connection may also devolve on those who have no part in the making of the decisions or in their implementation, nor even provide support, but accept the benefits such a practice, law or policy generates.

A degree of complicity may also accrue to those who have no part in designing or putting into effect immoral practices, laws or policies, do not support them or benefit from them, but do benefit in various ways from being citizens of the country. One may derive significant psychological benefit from membership in and identification with a society or polity: from the sense of belonging, support and security such membership and identification afford. If one accepts such benefits, while knowing about the immoral practices, laws or policies at issue, or having no excuse for not knowing about them, that, too, may be seen as implicating him in those wrongs. To be sure, he makes no causal contribution to those wrongdoings, has no control over their course, and does not accept benefits from them. But in accepting benefits from his association with the wrongdoers, he may be seen as underwriting those wrongs and joining the class of those properly blamed. His complicity is lesser and the blame to be laid at his door is lesser too – but he still bears some moral responsibility and deserves some moral blame on that account. He cannot say in good faith: “Those wrongs have nothing to do with me. I am in no way implicated in them.”

If this is correct, we have reason to develop and exercise a special concern for the moral identity and integrity of our country. By doing so, we will be attending to an important aspect of our own moral identity and integrity. While patriotism of the more usual, worldly kind is neither morally required nor virtuous, but at best morally permitted, ethical patriotism can, under certain fairly common circumstances, be a moral duty (Primoratz 2006).

While moral philosophers debate the standing of patriotism as an instance of the problem of reconciling universal moral considerations with particular attachments and loyalties, political theorists are primarily interested in patriotism as an ethos of the well-ordered polity and an antidote to nationalism. Since the rise of the nation-state, it has been widely held that some form of nationalism is indispensable as a pre-political basis of the unity of the state that makes for solidarity among citizens and provides them with motivation to participate in public life and make sacrifices for the common good. As Roger Scruton put it, “for a liberal state to be secure, the citizens must understand the national interest as something other than the interest of the state . Only the first can evoke in them the sacrificial spirit upon which the second depends” (Scruton 1990, 319). But in the course of the 20 th century nationalism was deeply compromised. That has led political theorists to look for alternatives. Some have argued that an emphatically political patriotism could perform the unifying function of nationalism while avoiding its perils. This “new patriotism” puts aside, or at least de-emphasizes, pre-political ties such as common ancestry, language, or culture, and enjoins love of, and loyalty to, one’s political community, its laws and institutions, and the rights and liberties they make possible.

In view of the disastrous record of national socialism, it is not surprising that German thinkers in particular should be suspicious of patriotism as long as it has not been dissociated from nationalism. As early as 1959, political theorist Dolf Sternberger called for a new understanding of the concept of fatherland. “The fatherland is the ‘republic,’ which we create for ourselves. The fatherland is the constitution, to which we give life. The fatherland is the freedom which we truly enjoy only when we ourselves promote it, make use of it, and stand guard over it” (Sternberger 1990, 12). In 1979, on the 30 th anniversary of the Federal Republic, he coined the term “constitutional patriotism” ( Verfassungspatriotismus ) to describe the loyalty to the patria understood in these terms (13–16). The term was later adopted by Jürgen Habermas in the context of a case for overcoming pre-political, i.e. national and cultural, loyalties in public life, and supplanting them with a new, postnational, purely political identity embodied in the laws and institutions of a free and democratic state. Habermas argues that this identity, expressed in and reinforced by constitutional patriotism, can provide a solid foundation for such a state, given the ethnic and cultural heterogeneity characteristic of most countries in western Europe. It can also facilitate further European integration, and provide an antidote to the “chauvinism of affluence” tempting these countries (Habermas 1990).

Constitutional patriotism is the most widely discussed, but not the sole variety of “new patriotism.” Another is “covenanted patriotism” advocated by John H. Schaar as appropriate for countries whose population is much too ethnically and culturally heterogeneous to allow for “natural patriotism.” Schaar’s paradigmatic example is the United States, whose citizens “were bonded together not by blood or religion, not by tradition or territory, not by the walls and traditions of a city, but by a political idea … by a covenant, by dedication to a set of principles and by an exchange of promises to uphold and advance certain commitments” (Schaar 1981, 291). Still another variety is the “patriotism of liberty” propounded by Maurizio Viroli, who calls for a return to what patriotism used to be before it was harnessed in the service of the nation-state and submerged in nationalism: love of the laws and institutions of one’s polity and the common liberty they make possible (Viroli 1995).

This new, emphatically political version of patriotism has been met with both sympathy and skepticism. Those sympathetic to it have been discussing the prospects of a European constitutional patriotism (see Müller 2007, 93–139). Skeptics have argued that patriotism disconnected from all pre-political attachments and identities can generate only much too thin a sense of identity and much too weak a motivation for political participation – that, thus understood, “patriotism is not enough” (Canovan 2000).

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communitarianism | consequentialism | cosmopolitanism | egoism | impartiality | loyalty | nationalism | obligations: special | political obligation | responsibility: collective

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Thanks to Simon Keller, Stephen Nathanson, and Thomas Pogge for helpful comments on a draft of this article.

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Essay on Patriotism

Students are often asked to write an essay on Patriotism in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Patriotism

Understanding patriotism.

Patriotism is a strong emotional attachment to one’s country. It’s about loving your homeland, its culture, traditions, and values. It’s not just about waving flags on national holidays, but respecting the nation’s laws and working for its betterment.

Importance of Patriotism

Patriotism is important because it fosters unity and helps in nation-building. It encourages citizens to contribute positively to their country’s prosperity. A patriotic person will always strive for the welfare of their nation.

Patriotism Vs Nationalism

While patriotism is about love for one’s country, nationalism can sometimes lead to a sense of superiority over other nations. It’s important to maintain a balance and respect all nations equally.

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250 Words Essay on Patriotism

Patriotism, often perceived as an intense emotion, is the feeling of love and devotion towards one’s country. It is a bond that connects citizens, transcending their individual differences, and unifying them under a shared identity. However, patriotism is not merely an emotion; it is a value that guides actions and behaviors.

The Essence of Patriotism

At its core, patriotism is about responsibility. It compels individuals to contribute to the well-being of their nation. This could range from voting and obeying laws to serving in the military or volunteering for community service. It fosters a sense of community, encouraging citizens to work for the collective good rather than personal gain.

Patriotism vs Nationalism

While patriotism is a unifying force, it’s crucial to distinguish it from nationalism. Nationalism, when extreme, can lead to xenophobia and intolerance, as it involves placing one’s country’s interests above all others. On the other hand, patriotism is about appreciating one’s country while respecting the sovereignty and value of other nations.

The Role of Patriotism in Democracy

In a democratic society, patriotism plays a vital role. It instills a sense of civic duty, ensuring citizens participate actively in the democratic process. Moreover, it encourages critical thinking, as true patriots question and challenge their government’s actions to ensure they align with the nation’s best interests.

In conclusion, patriotism is a complex and multifaceted concept. It is more than just love for one’s country; it’s about responsibility, respect, and active participation in civic life. It’s a force that, when harnessed correctly, can lead to a stronger, more inclusive society.

500 Words Essay on Patriotism

The concept of patriotism.

Patriotism, in its simplest form, can be defined as the love and devotion one feels for their homeland. However, the concept extends beyond mere emotional attachment and encompasses a broad spectrum of thoughts, actions, and commitments. It’s a complex amalgam of pride, gratitude, and a sense of duty. This essay aims to delve into the multifaceted notion of patriotism and how it shapes our society.

Patriotism and National Identity

Patriotism is intrinsically linked to national identity. It is a force that binds a diverse group of individuals into a cohesive whole, fostering a sense of unity and shared purpose. It is the thread that weaves the social fabric and gives a nation its unique character. Patriotism fuels the collective consciousness of a nation’s people, inspiring them to work towards the common good and uphold the values that define their nationhood.

Critical Patriotism

However, patriotism should not be equated with blind nationalism or jingoism. It must be understood as a nuanced sentiment that balances pride in one’s country with a critical perspective. This approach, often referred to as ‘critical patriotism’, encourages individuals to question and challenge their government’s actions when they seem unjust or contrary to the nation’s values. It underscores the importance of active citizenship and the role of dissent in a democratic society.

Patriotism and Global Responsibility

In the era of globalization, the concept of patriotism has evolved to accommodate a broader, more inclusive perspective. It is no longer limited to one’s loyalty towards their nation but extends to a sense of responsibility towards the global community. This form of ‘global patriotism’ recognizes the interconnectedness of our world and the shared challenges we face, such as climate change, poverty, and inequality. It promotes international cooperation and solidarity, emphasizing that patriotism and cosmopolitanism are not mutually exclusive.

The Role of Education in Nurturing Patriotism

Education plays a crucial role in nurturing patriotism. It is through education that young minds are introduced to their nation’s history, culture, and values. However, the goal of education should not be to instill a narrow, uncritical form of patriotism. Instead, it should aim to foster a form of patriotism that encourages critical thinking, social responsibility, and global awareness. This approach can help create a generation of patriots who are not only proud of their heritage but are also committed to their nation’s progress and the betterment of the global community.

In conclusion, patriotism is a complex and multifaceted concept that goes beyond mere emotional attachment to one’s country. It is about embracing one’s national identity, questioning and challenging injustices, recognizing our global responsibilities, and striving for the common good. As we navigate the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century, let us strive to cultivate a form of patriotism that is inclusive, critical, and globally aware.

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Essay on Patriotism for Students in 1000 Words

In this post, you will read an Essay on Patriotism for students in 1000 Words. It includes ideology behind patriotism, its importance, history, and about how it works?

So, let’s start the Essay on Patriotism …

Table of Contents

Introduction (Essay on Patriotism)

Patriotism can be defined as the quality of becoming patriotic. Patriotic is someone who has respect, loyalty, and devotion towards his nation and robust support for the homeland.

Patriots were known for their country’s love and affection, and feel very proud to be the citizens. We have such a sense of solidarity with other people. We can be culturally, politically, or historically linked to one’s homeland onto the basis of that same ideal and many other things.

Ideology behind patriotism

A Patriotic person is always on his own country’s side or supports his leaders when they deserve it. They are committed to their nation, care about their security, hold their country’s interest at their goal, and will always want their stability, development, and growth. People have an emotional relationship with their country and so this attachment is often referred to as national sentiment and national pride.

Patriotism was firmly related to a collection of nationalist ideals and is often even used synonymously. But perhaps the key difference between these two concepts would be that the patriot felt proud of his heritage at what it does, and no matter what it does; the nationalist makes it feel proud of his nation. Therefore patriotism creates a feeling of duty while patriotism establishes a sense of arrogance and ignorance, which may even lead to chaos.

Although several people think patriotism has to do with laying somebody’s life for their country, that’s more than that. It implies defending the country in every possible way, working for their battlement or willingness to protect their own lives whenever necessary.

Importance of patriotism

Having patriotism is quite essential for either the country’s independence and our freedom fighters were the most exceptional example of that. While a nationalist has stipulated his life in their country’s sake, in reality, he becomes immortal. They were worshipped mostly by their peasants and honored throughout the world.

Today they have suffered great hardships for their country and even sometimes have sacrificed a lot of everything for freedom. By self-sacrifice, they receive an immortalized name. Thus many patriots win the hearts and minds of their countrymen after potentially losing many things, including their lives.

History of patriotism in India

In the past, particularly during the most British rule over India, several people have fought for their country or even sacrificed their lives for it. Yet there are several people who continue to fight for their country with the same dedication and are ready to lay down their lives to protect their homeland against intruders or invaders.

Indian revolutionaries were packed with feelings and patriotism and have never thought about their life. As such, they selflessly operated for the country. Also now, many people serve our country in whatever form they can, in absolute commitment.

How does patriotism work?

However, that spirit of patriotism is slowly waning these days since today’s youth are not feeling as deeply about their country when new generation people would feel.

Both the parents and teachers need to make efforts to instill the spirit for patriotism throughout the generations to come. We must encourage patriotism sentiment, as when the country’s youths must love the country, feel connected to it, and make an effort or work to make it a stronger nation.

Several educational organizations, except on 15th August as well as 26th January, organize classes, events, and activities. By this time, the sense of patriotism seemed to overtake the whole country. But in fact, this isn’t true patriotism.

Such an environment needs to be developed not only on these crucial dates but also in general. Only then should these feelings become permanently instilled in every citizenry’s heart. A nation in which the youth love this country and are motivated to socially and economically change its condition will have a better chance of growing and developing.

For our country, we should have respect, affection, and a sense of community, and at the same time, we should not hate certain countries. To prevent the conflicts here between two nations from breaking out, we not only should love our country and also have reverence for other countries.

Our flag was not only a piece of cloth with colors on it, although it is a symbol of pride, liberty, devotion, and is colored by the blood of those that have died in protection. And so when a person realizes they can become a true patriot, they encourage those behind him to work to create a powerful, better, and prosperous country.

A true patriot

He seems to be a true patriot that can give away his career and everything for his country. Its country’s future hinges upon its rulers. Whether the rulers seem to be real patriots, they think of a country’s interests as well as the people.

They continue to do this for the nation’s better. A nationalist puts the importance of the land before his own. He is trying to lead people to such a proper way of living. He was kind, compassionate, genuine, and honest.

A fake patriot

But certain false patriots do exist. They’re just fond of taking undue advantage of this situation. They were men of neither faith nor character. We don’t have a high sensitivity to motivation and sacrifice. They were selfish. We live on our own in such a small world. These people represent the nation’s enemies.

Patriot’s rewards

The true patriot works for his mother country and dies. Throughout life and again after the death, he’s respected and loved. That kind of nationalist is everlasting. Among these people are modern-day Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru , Subhash Chandra Bose , and many others. Maharana Pratap, Shivaji, and others have been among many of the Ancients.

The bottom line

A nationalist must think not only of national interest but from the international community as well. He has to climb above emotions at home. He has to believe the human race’s welfare. Mahatma Gandhi aptly says,

“My patriotism requires the public good of mankind.”

I hope you like this Essay on Patriotism for students.

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How to Teach Patriotism and Respect

"Ok class, I want to hear it today! Please stand for the pledge of allegiance." I look around the room as some students are facing the flag, hand over heart, reciting the words of the pledge. Others, I note, are only standing because I demanded it -- not reciting, and seemingly not caring. "Gosh Mr. Johnson, you sound like a social studies teacher!" is the response when I tell the students nearly every day that they live in the greatest nation on the earth and they should show respect and be grateful.

As I understand it, one of the main purposes of school is to educate the students about their government so they can be responsible voters. For example, objective five from the Texas Education Code, chapter four states: Educators will prepare students to be thoughtful, active citizens who have an appreciation for the basic values of our state and national heritage and who can understand and productively function in a free enterprise society.

San Antonio, being a military town, has numerous monuments and reminders of patriotic events. The sacrifice of our soldiers in behalf of our freedoms is a common theme in advertisements, billboards, and commercials. Yet, I am worried that the message is not getting across to the younger generation. How do you teach respect and patriotism?

For the most part, elementary students do what you tell them to do. More importantly, they will do what you do mimicking even your zeal and earnestness. But for some middle school students, it is like they forget all the things they did in elementary school. Ok, I'm blowing off steam here: I know it is not fair to say that just because the students fail to stand up straight, fail to recite the pledge, fail to look at the flag, and show a general lack of enthusiasm about the process doesn't necessarily mean that they do not respect the flag or the country. But if it looks like a duck... . Anyway, if the students did not recite the pledge appropriately, I frequently gave them the opportunity to do it correctly once again. They got the message of what I wanted, but did they really take it to heart?

It is Each Teacher's Duty to Teach Patriotism

Is it the system causing this problem? Routinely the pledge is part of the announcements broadcast over the intercom. Right after the pledge, according to law here in Texas, the students get a moment of silence to pray or think or reflect, then the daily announcements and inspirational thoughts. Most keep quiet, few do anything but stand there. I know I pray silently in those moments that the day will go smoothly and my learning plans will work. In some schools, the pledge is left up to the individual classroom teacher. While giving the teacher's control and responsibility of this important duty is important, pressures of the day, or lack of conviction on the part of the teacher can cause that in some classes the pledge may not be done on a regular basis if at all.

I would not maintain that the pledge of allegiance is the basis of patriotism, but I would say that it is an opportunity to show it and perhaps for some, to plant a seed. As a child I vaguely remember learning about the pledge and what each word means. I remember singing every day, "God Bless America." I remember learning the national anthem in class. Do they do that still? When do they teach about the flag and the pledge? Certainly, they do not teach it enough.

Show and Share Patriotism in Class

In this age of political unrest, where citizens and even politicians show little respect to the flag and the nation, it is easy to become cynical and bitter. We must be careful because our attitudes as teachers are picked up by students in the comments we make about our nation. Even if we really believe what we are saying, we do not have the right to inculcate a captive audience of children with our personal views. Our country and the system has its faults, but we do live in the greatest country, not because of its greatness, but because of its freedom, even the freedom to fail.

Each teacher should find ways to show their own patriotism. Find good things to say about our country and our country's heroes. With a little effort teachers can create class projects that allow students to learn patriotism from local veterans and local and national history.

Patriotism is Something to Live By

Ultimately, patriotism is not the tear in our eye when we recite the pledge, or how straight we stand, but true patriotism is demonstrated in the way we live. Perhaps, the best lesson on patriotism is from a graduation speech about the commitment to change for the better given at the University of Texas at Austin by General William McRaven. He shares ten things he learned from his experience as a navy seal that have changed his life and made the world a better place. From simply showing pride in making our bed every day to being committed to never accepting less than our best performance; these are the things that honor all those that have sacrificed their lives so we can enjoy the freedom to live and do as we please to find success and happiness in this life.

The American ideal of being the best is not just the basis of patriotism it is the basis of education. Please share in the comments section below your success in raising the level of patriotism in your classes.

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Introduction

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• Published: October 1997
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While nationalism is an attachment to the ethnic, cultural, and spiritual homogeneity of a nation, patriotism refers to the love of the republic and the political institutions that sustain it. The language of patriotism avoids the dangers of intolerance inherent in a nationalistic conception of civic virtue by appealing to the non‐exclusive love of common liberty that is nevertheless rooted in the concrete culture and history of a particular people. The project of the book will be to explore the possibilities of political patriotism as an alternative to the rhetoric of nationalism through a historical interpretation of the evolution of patriotism.

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Home — Essay Samples — Government & Politics — Patriotism — The True Meaning of Patriotism

The True Meaning of Patriotism

• Categories: Patriotism

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Words: 910 |

Published: Sep 1, 2020

Words: 910 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Table of contents

What i learned, works cited.

• Anderson, B. (1991). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. Verso.
• Bellah, R. N. (1991). The broken covenant: American civil religion in time of trial. University of Chicago Press.
• Hobsbawm, E. J. (1992). Nations and nationalism since 1780: Programme, myth, reality. Cambridge University Press.
• Iglesias, F. P. (2003). American Patriots: The Story of Blacks in the Military from the Revolution to Desert Storm. Random House.
• Ignatieff, M. (2005). American exceptionalism and human rights. Princeton University Press.
• Primoratz, I. (2002). Patriotism. Ethics, 112(1), 87-120.
• Schudson, M. (1998). The good citizen: A history of American civic life. Harvard University Press.
• Smith, A. D. (2010). Nationalism: Theory, ideology, history. John Wiley & Sons.
• Tamir, Y. (2019). Nationalism and the moral psychology of community. Cambridge University Press.
• Viroli, M. (1995). For love of country: An essay on patriotism and nationalism. Oxford University Press.

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100 Patriotism Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Patriotism is a deep love and devotion for one's country. It is the feeling of pride and loyalty towards the nation, its history, culture, and values. Writing an essay on patriotism can be a great way to express your love for your country and explore different aspects of what it means to be a patriot.

Here are 100 patriotism essay topic ideas and examples to help you get started:

• The importance of patriotism in a nation's development
• How can patriotism inspire positive change in society?
• Exploring the history of patriotism in your country
• The role of patriotism in times of crisis
• Patriotism vs. nationalism: understanding the difference
• The impact of patriotism on individual identity
• How can patriotism promote unity and solidarity among citizens?
• The relationship between patriotism and democracy
• Celebrating national holidays as an expression of patriotism
• The role of patriotism in shaping national policies and laws
• The connection between patriotism and military service
• Patriotism in times of war: a double-edged sword
• The influence of patriotism on national symbols and emblems
• The role of education in fostering a sense of patriotism
• Patriotism in popular culture: movies, music, and literature
• The role of patriotism in preserving national heritage and traditions
• Patriotism and globalization: challenges and opportunities
• The impact of social media on patriotic sentiments
• Patriotism and diversity: celebrating different cultures within a nation
• The relationship between patriotism and civic engagement
• The role of patriotism in promoting environmental conservation
• Patriotism and economic development: how they are interconnected
• Exploring the concept of cosmopolitan patriotism
• The influence of patriotism on international relations
• Patriotism and human rights: can they coexist?
• The role of patriotism in shaping national identity
• The impact of patriotism on individual freedoms and rights
• Patriotism and political ideology: a complex relationship
• The connection between patriotism and social justice
• Patriotism and dissent: can they go hand in hand?
• The role of patriotism in times of political turmoil
• Patriotism and immigration: navigating conflicting loyalties
• The impact of patriotism on public discourse and debate
• Patriotism and extremism: drawing the line between love and hate
• Exploring the dark side of patriotism: xenophobia and exclusion
• The role of patriotism in shaping public opinion and attitudes
• Patriotism and memory: how history shapes our sense of identity
• The impact of patriotism on national security and defense
• Patriotism and education: teaching children to love their country
• The role of patriotism in promoting social cohesion and harmony
• Patriotism and cultural heritage: preserving traditions for future generations
• The influence of patriotism on national pride and self-esteem
• Patriotism and social responsibility: how can citizens give back to their country?
• The role of patriotism in promoting peace and reconciliation
• Exploring the connection between patriotism and sports
• The impact of patriotism on tourism and national branding
• Patriotism and technology: how digital platforms shape our sense of identity
• The role of patriotism in promoting democracy and human rights
• Patriotism and leadership: how can politicians inspire a sense of national pride?
• The influence of patriotism on public policy and decision-making
• Patriotism and the media: how news outlets shape our sense of loyalty
• The role of patriotism in promoting cultural exchange and understanding
• Patriotism and religion: navigating the intersection of faith and love for country
• The impact of patriotism on mental health and well-being
• Patriotism and social activism: how can citizens advocate for change?
• The role of patriotism in shaping national narratives and myths
• Patriotism and public service: the importance of giving back to your community
• Exploring the connection between patriotism and art
• The impact of patriotism on economic growth and prosperity
• Patriotism and technology: how can innovations bring citizens together?
• The role of patriotism in promoting environmental sustainability
• Patriotism and social media: can digital platforms foster a sense of national pride?
• The influence of patriotism on cultural diplomacy and soft power
• Patriotism and globalization: how can love for country coexist with a global mindset?
• The role of patriotism in promoting intergenerational dialogue and understanding
• Patriotism and civic engagement: how can citizens get involved in their communities?
• The impact of patriotism on public health and well-being
• Patriotism and diplomacy: how can love for country shape international relations?
• Exploring the connection between patriotism and philanthropy
• The role of patriotism in promoting social justice and equality
• Patriotism and technology: how can digital innovations foster a sense of national identity?

In conclusion, patriotism is a complex and multifaceted concept that can be explored in various ways through essays. These 100 patriotism essay topic ideas and examples can help you delve into different aspects of love for country and its implications on society, politics, culture, and individual identity. Whether you choose to focus on historical perspectives, contemporary issues, or personal reflections, writing about patriotism can be a powerful way to engage with your country's past, present, and future.

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Essay on Patriotism in English for Children and Students

Table of Contents

Essay on Patriotism: Patriotism can be defined as one’s love and loyalty for his country. Many people dedicate their lives to serving their nation. These people are referred to as patriots. The feeling of patriotism brings people closer. It must be promoted for the betterment of the country as well as the people residing there. Patriotism means having love and devotion for one’s country. Those who are true patriots work towards building their nation in whichever way they can. Here are essays on Patriotism of varying lengths to help you with the topic in your exam. You can select any Patriotism essay as per your interest:

Long and Short Essay on Patriotism in English

Patriotism is the deep affection, dedication, and backing for one’s own nation. A patriot is someone who deeply cares for their country and is ready to do anything to help it. It’s important for each of us to have this sentiment within us. In the past, before our country gained independence, there were true patriots who also happened to be our freedom fighters, and they courageously fought for our nation’s liberty.

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Short Essay on Patriotism 200 words

Patriotism is putting the interest of one’s country first, working for its development and sacrificing for it if need. Many people think that patriotism is all about laying one’s life for his/ her country but it does not necessarily mean that. It means living for the betterment of the country, serving it in every possible way and willing to sacrifice one’s life whenever there is a need.

Many people in the past have served their countries and even laid their lives for it. Many people still continue to serve their country with as much devotion. Indian freedom fighters were filled with the feeling of patriotism. They did not care about themselves and worked selflessly for the nation. Even today, many people are dedicated towards serving the nation in whatever way they can. However, the feeling of patriotism is slowly fading. The youth today does not feel as strongly for his country as people of the earlier generations felt.

The elderly people must make an effort to instill the feeling of patriotism in their children. Institutions such as schools and colleges must also promote the same. The youth of the country must love and respect the country and work towards building it strong.

Short Essay on Patriotism 300 words

Patriotism is the feeling of love and respect for one’s country. Patriots are known to love their country unconditionally and are proud of it. Every country in the world has its set of patriots – people who are ready to do anything for their country. However, the spirit of patriotism seems to be fading these days owing to the growing competition in every field as well as the changing lifestyle of people.

The Feeling of Patriotism must be Instilled

In the past, particularly during the British reign, many people came forward to instill the feeling of patriotism among their fellow countrymen. Patriots held meetings, gave lectures and used various other means to inspire the people around them. In the same way, a feeling of patriotism must be instilled in the young generation today too. This must be done when they are still young. Schools and colleges must take initiative to instill children with a feeling of love and respect for their country. Many institutions host functions and organize events on 15 th August and 26 th January. Patriotic songs are sung and a feeling of patriotism seems to engulf the entire nation around that time. But is this real patriotism? No! Such an atmosphere must be created in general and not just around these special dates. It is then that such a feeling will be instilled in the heart of every citizen forever.

A nation where the youth loves the country and is driven towards improving its condition socially and economically would certainly grow better.

A true patriot is the one who works hard for the betterment of his country. He contributes his bit towards improving the condition of his country in whatever way he can. A true patriot does not only work towards building his nation but also inspires those around him to do so.

Long Essay on Patriotism 400 words

The feeling of patriotism means having the feeling of immense love for ones country. There have been a number of patriots in our country in the past and there are many present today. However, the feeling of patriotism among the people of India could especially be seen during the British reign.

Famous Indian Patriots

Here is a look at some of the true patriots during the British reign:

• Shaheed Bhagat Singh

Bhagat Singh is known to be a true patriot. He was driven towards freeing our country from the clutches of the British government. He participated in various freedom struggles and began a revolution. He was so dedicated towards his mission that he did not think twice before sacrificing his life for his motherland. He proved to be an inspiration for numerous citizens.

• Subhash Chandra Bose

Subhash Chandra Bose, better known as Netaji, took active part in India’s freedom struggle. He was known for his strong ideologies. Besides being a part of various freedom movements to drive the British out of the country, Bose also promoted Hindu-Muslim unity.

• Bal Ganga Dhar Tilak

Bal Ganga Dhar Tilak was infused with the feeling of patriotism. His saying, “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it” showed how determined he was in freeing the country from the tyranny of the British rulers. He condemned the British government for its brutal treatment. He demanded right to self government for the people of India.

• Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi

His contribution towards India’s freedom struggle is known to all. He led the maximum number of freedom movements against the British. He was a perfect example of “simple living high thinking”. He dreamt of India’s freedom and worked hard towards achieving the same in his own unique way.

• Sarojni Naidu

Sarojini Naidu, a famous singer of her times, was also a patriot at heart. She participated in the freedom struggle and contributed her bit towards freeing the country from the British rule. She played a vital role in the Civil Disobedience Movement because of which she even got arrested along with other prominent freedom fighters. She was also arrested during the Quit India movement but this did not dither her feeling of patriotism for her country.

The citizens of India must be inspired to serve the country in whatever way they can. The government, schools and other institutions must take initiative to enlighten the spirit of patriotism among the citizens.

Long Essay on Patriotism 500 words

“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it” said Mark Twain. Patriotism is all about loving and respecting ones country and working towards its betterment. People must join hands with the government and other institutions to work in this direction.

Patriotism is Fading with Time

Patriotism is fading with the passage of time. It is hardly seen in the younger generation these days. This is because people these days have become too engrossed in their own lives. They are also becoming more and more selfish. A selfish person is one who always thinks about himself and keeps his interests above everything and everyone around him. On the other hand, patriotism is all about loving one’s own country selflessly. A person who is too engrossed in himself and gives immense importance to himself and his needs can never be a patriot. The growing competition these days has also contributed a lot to it.

Each individual is busy making money to make his life more and more comfortable and better than those around him. There is hardly any room to think about anything else in such a scenario. Love for the country and serving the country is almost a forgotten concept these days. Instead of working towards the betterment of one’s country and contributing in its development the youth today is migrating to other countries in search of better lifestyle. If the mindset of people had been same around 100 years back, they would have never united and fought for the freedom of the country. They would have only looked for their own selfish motifs in that situation.

True Patriot Vs. False Patriot

While many people claimed to be patriots during the British reign few among them were false patriots who took advantage of the situation to further their own selfish motives. Even today there are many people who truly love and respect their country while some only pretend to do so. A true patriot is one who is dedicated towards serving his nation. He puts the interest of his country and countrymen first and is willing to sacrifice everything for the betterment of his country. On the other hand, false patriot is one who claims to love his country and shows that he is a patriot while in public. However, he does so for his own gain and does not actually possess these feelings.

Patriotism Vs. Nationalism

The terms nationalism and patriotism are often used interchangeably. However, there is a difference between the two. Patriotism means being proud of one’s nation for its positive points and working towards its betterment. On the other hand, nationalism means being proud of one’s nation regardless of its positive and negative points. While patriotism is good, nationalism is considered irrational and spiteful.

Patriotism is inborn in some while it can be instilled in the others. The feeling of patriotism is required for the betterment and development of a country. It also brings people of a country closer and helps them experience the love and joy of sharing and caring.

Long Essay on Patriotism 600 words

Patriotism is one of the purest feelings in the world. A patriot feels selflessly for his country. He keeps his country’s interests and well-being above his own. He is ready to sacrifice for his country without thinking twice.

Patriotism is a Virtue Everyone Must Possess

Our country is also referred to as our motherland and we must love it the way we love our mother. Those who feel the same love and devotion for their country as they feel for their mother and family are known to be true patriots. Patriotism is a virtue that every individual must possess. A country full of patriots certainly makes a better place to live compared to the one where people are fighting with each other in the name of religion, caste, creed and other issues. A place where people have collective interests and mission would certainly have lesser conflicts. Here is why everyone must possess the virtue of patriotism:

• Nation Building

When everyone is dedicated towards building the nation strong in every aspect, there is no way that country wouldn’t grow and develop. Patriots put the nation’s interest above their own and work with devotion for its betterment.

• Maintaining Peace and Harmony

A good nation is one where peace and harmony is maintained at all times. People have a feeling of brotherhood and help and support each other. The feeling of patriotism is known to promote the feeling of brotherhood among one’s countrymen.

• Working for a Common Goal

Patriots work for a common goal and that is for the betterment of their country. When everyone is driven towards a common goal or mission there is no way it cannot be achieved.

• No Selfish Motives

Patriots work selflessly for their country without any individual interest. If everyone possesses the feeling of patriotism and does not think about gratifying his/ her individual interest, there will be benefits certainly to the country.

• No corruption

If political leaders have a feeling of patriotism, they will work for the country unlike the present scenario where in those in power are busy making money for themselves rather than working for the upliftment of the country. Similarly, if the government officials and other citizens of the country are determined towards serving the nation rather than making quick money or getting quick services for themselves, the level of corruption will fall.

Patriotism Must Not Turn Into Chauvinism

Being patriotic is a great virtue. We must love and respect our country and serve it in whatever way we can. The positive points of possessing feeling of patriotism shared above show how it can help the country prosper and grow. However, some people take this love for their country to the next level. Excess love for one’s country and believing that your country is superior and important is termed as chauvinism. As excess of everything is bad so is excess love for one’s country. Chauvinists’ strong belief in their country’s ideologies and irrational belief of superiority of its own people creates a feeling of hatred for others. This often instigates conflicts and war amid countries thereby disrupting peace and harmony.

There have been several instances in the past wherein chauvinism has resulted in unnecessary conflicts turning into riots. There is a very thin line between patriotism and chauvinism. While patriotism is healthy, chauvinism is fanatic and irrational. People must ensure that their devotion and love towards their country does not turn into chauvinism over the time.

Love for one’s native land is the purest form of love. A person who is ready to sacrifice his own interests for his/ her country deserves a salute. Each country in the world needs more and more people who possess this feeling.

Essay on Patriotism FAQs

What is patriotism in an essay.

Patriotism in an essay means writing about love and loyalty to one's country.

What is important patriotism?

Important patriotism is about caring for your country, showing respect, and being proud of its values and history.

Why one should be patriotic in 5 sentences?

Being patriotic is essential because it fosters unity, defends freedom, honors sacrifices, promotes peace, and strengthens a sense of belonging.

What is patriotism class 9?

In class 9, patriotism is often taught as the love and devotion towards one's own nation.

Why is patriotism important in English?

Patriotism is important in English as it helps express feelings of love and loyalty towards one's country.

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Essay on Patriotism

Patriotism can be defined as love and loyalty towards our country.

Many people dedicate their lives to serve their country, these people are called patriots, and the spirit of patriotism brings people closer.

It should be promoted for the upright of the country as well as the people living there.

Essay on Patriotism 200 words:

Patriotism is first in the interest of one’s country, to work for its development and to sacrifice for it when needed.

Many people think that patriotism is to die for their country, but that is not what it means.

It means living for the good of the country, dedicating it in every possible way and sacrificing the life of a person whenever needed.

In the past, many people have served their countries and even laid down their lives for it. Many people still serve their country with equal reverence.

Indian freedom fighters were full of patriotic spirit, did not care for themselves and worked selflessly for the nation.

Even today, many people are dedicated to serving the nation in whatever way they can, however, the spirit of patriotism is slowly fading.

The youth of today do not feel as strongly for their country as those of previous generations.

Elderly people should try to impart a sense of patriotism in their children, Institutions like schools and colleges should also promote the same spirit.

The youth of the country should love and respect the country and work towards strengthening it.

Patriotism Essay 300 words:

Patriotism is a feeling of love and respect for a country, patriots love their country unconditionally and are proud of it.

There is a group of patriots in every country of the world – people who are willing to do anything for their country.

However, due to the increasing competition in every field and the changing lifestyle of the people, the spirit of patriotism is disappearing these days.

In the past, especially during the British reign, many people came forward to instill a sense of patriotism among their fellow countrymen.

Patriots held meetings, gave lectures and used various other means to inspire those around them.

Similarly, patriotism should be instilled in today’s younger generation, and this should be done while they are still young.

Schools and colleges should take the initiative to invite children with a sense of love and respect for their country.

Many institutes organize ceremonies and programs on 15 August and 26 January.

Patriotic songs are sung and the spirit of patriotism surrounds the entire country at that time.

But is it real patriotism?

No! Such an environment should be created in general and not around these particular dates, then that such a feeling will be born in the heart of every citizen forever.

A nation where the youth loves the country and is motivated to improve their position socially and economically.

Conclusion for Patriotism Essay:

A true patriot is one who works hard for the good of his country contribute to improving the condition of their country.

A true patriot not only works towards building his nation but also inspires those around him to do so.

Essay on Patriotism 400 words:

The spirit of patriotism means a feeling of boundless love for our country. Our country has had many patriots in the past and many still exist today.

However, the spirit of patriotism was particularly visible among the people of India during British rule.

Famous Indian Patriots:

Look at some of the true patriots during British rule:

Shaheed Bhagat Singh:

Bhagat Singh is known as a true patriot, he was certainly to free our country from the clutches of the British government.

He participated in various freedom struggles and started a revolution and he was so dedicated to his mission that he did not think twice before sacrificing his life for his motherland.

He proved to be an inspiration to many citizens.

Subhash Chandra Bose:

Subhash Chandra Bose, popularly known as Netaji, took an active part in India’s freedom struggle, he was known for his strong ideologies.

Apart from being part of various independence movements to drive the British out of the country, Bose also promoted Hindu-Muslim unity.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi:

His contribution to India’s freedom struggle is well known, he led the maximum independence movements against the British.

He was a perfect example of “simple living, high thinking”. He dreamed of India’s independence and worked hard to achieve it in his own unique way.

Sarojini Naidu:

Famous singer Sarojini Naidu of her time was also a patriot of heart, he participated in the freedom struggle and contributed to liberate the country from British rule.

He played an important role in the Civil Disobedience Movement, which led to his arrest along with other prominent freedom fighters.

He was also arrested during the Quit India movement but his patriotic feelings were not suppressed.

Conclusion:

Citizens of India should be motivated to serve the country.

The government, schools and other institutions should take initiative to develop the spirit of patriotism among the citizens.

Patriotism Essay 500 words:

Mark Twain said, “Patriotism is supporting your country and your government all the time.” Patriotism is about giving love and respect to all and working for its betterment.

People have to join hands with the government and other institutions to work in this direction.

Patriotism fades over time:

Patriotism is fading with the passage of time, this is rarely seen in the younger generation these days.

This is because these days’ people have become very engrossed in their own lives, they are also becoming selfish.

A selfish person is one who always thinks of himself and puts his interests above all and on the other hand, patriotism is all about loving a country selflessly.

A person who is very engrossed in himself and gives great importance to himself and his needs, can never be a patriot.

These days increased competition has also contributed a lot to it.

Everyone is busy earning money to make their lives more comfortable and better than those around them.

There is hardly area to think of anything else in such a scenario. Love for the country and serving the country is almost forgotten these days.

Instead of working towards the betterment of one country and contributing to its development, the youth of today are moving to other countries in search of a better lifestyle.

If such a mentality exists in the minds of those who were around 100 years ago, they would never have unitedly fought for the freedom of the country.

They only looked for their own selfish motifs in that situation.

True Patriots vs. False Patriots:

While many claimed that the British were patriots during his reign, some of them were false patriots who took advantage of the situation to pursue their selfish motives.

Even today, there are many people who truly love and respect their country, while some pretend to do so.

A true patriot is one who is dedicated to serving his nation, he puts the interests of his country and countrymen first and is willing to sacrifice everything for the good of his country.

On the other hand, a false patriot is one who claims to love his country and shows that he is publicly patriotic.

However, he does so for his own benefit and does not really possess these feelings.

Patriotism vs. Nationalism:

The terms nationalism and patriotism are often used interchangeably.

Patriotism means working towards your positive points and your betterment.

On the other hand, nationalism means being proud of one’s nation regardless of its positive and negative points.

While patriotism is good, nationalism is considered irrational and fickle.

Patriotism is natural in some people while in others it can developed. A sense of patriotism is required for the well-being and development of a country.

It also brings people of a country closer and helps them to experience the love and joy of sharing and caring.

Essay on Patriotism 600 words:

Patriotism is one of the purest feelings in the world, patriot feels selfless for his country.

He puts the interests and welfare of his country above his own. He is willing to sacrifice twice for his country without thinking twice.

Patriotism is a quality that everyone should consider, our country is also known as our motherland and we should love our mother as we love her.

Those who feel as much love and dedication for their country as they feel for their mother and family are true patriots.

Patriotism is a quality that every person should possess.

A country full of patriots definitely makes a place better than one where people are fighting each other in the name of religion, caste, creed and other issues.

In a place where people have collective interests and the mission will definitely be less conflicting.

All should have Patriotic Qualities:

Nation-building: When everyone is dedicated to making the nation strong in every aspect, there is no way that the country will not develop.

The patriots kept the interest of the country above themselves and worked for its good.

Maintaining peace and harmony: A good nation is one where peace and harmony is maintained at all times.

People have a sense of brotherhood and help and support each other, the spirit of patriotism is known to promote a sense of brotherhood among a countryman.

Working for a common goal: Patriots work for a common goal and this is for the betterment of their country.

When everyone is motivated to a common goal or mission, there is no way that cannot be achieved.

Selfless: Patriots work selflessly for their country without any personal interest.

If everyone has a sense of patriotism and does not think about their personal interest, the country will definitely benefit.

There should not be corruption: If political leaders have a sense of patriotism, they will work contrary to the current scenario for the country, where those in power are busy making money for themselves instead of working for the upliftment of the country.

Similarly, if government officials and other citizens of the country are determined to serve the nation instead of making quick money or receiving quick services for themselves, the level of corruption will be erased.

Patriotism should not be develop in a college: being a patriot is a great quality, we should love our country and respect it.

The positive points of the above patriotic spirit show how it can help the country to prosper and develop.

However, some people take this love for their country to the next level, true love for a country and believing that your country is superior and important is called truism.

Various beliefs in the ideologies of our country and irrational beliefs in the superiority of its people create feelings of hatred towards others.

It often promotes conflict and war between countries thereby disrupting peace and harmony.

There have been many instances in the past where disorder has turned unnecessary conflicts into riots.

There is a very reedy line between patriotism and anarchism. While patriotism is healthy, conservatism is stingy and irrational.

RELATED ESSAYS:

NATIONAL INTEGRATION | MAHATMA GANDHI ESSAY | SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE ESSAY

Love is the purest form of love for one’s birthplace.

A person who is willing to sacrifice his interests for his country is entitled to a salute, every country in the world needs more and more people who possess this spirit.

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Diversity, yes. Diversity statements, no.

“I am a scholar on the left committed to struggles for social justice,” says Randall Kennedy, a prominent Harvard Law School professor whose teaching and writing has focused on civil rights, race relations, and the intersection of racial conflict and the law. Kennedy, who once clerked for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, has written numerous books on various aspects of race in American life, including a history of the N-word . He is a Black man who was born in the Jim Crow South and grew up in a household where, in his words , “tales of racial oppression and racial resistance were staples of conversation.” 

But Kennedy’s longtime interest in undoing wrongful discrimination and prejudice based on race has not made him a supporter of the diversity/equity/inclusion, or DEI, ideology that has entrenched itself in higher education and much of corporate America. Far from it. Writing in The Harvard Crimson last week , this storied scholar of race and justice denounced mandatory DEI statements as coercive ideological loyalty oaths that ought to have no place in higher education. 

At many colleges , including Harvard, applicants for teaching positions must include a so-called diversity statement setting forth their commitment to DEI and how they intend to promote it in their work. But requiring prospective instructors to pledge their dedication to a specific ideology — let alone one as tendentious, controversial, and politicized as the DEI worldview — is an egregious assault on academic freedom, free speech, and the right to hold heterodox views on issues of public concern. 

In a story last year on how diversity statements had become de rigueur on many campuses, The Economist described the approach at the University of California, Berkeley, where search committees were given formal guidance on how to evaluate diversity statements submitted by job candidates. The instructions “say that any candidate who does not discuss gender or race must be awarded low marks,” The Economist reported. Low marks are also to be given to any “earnest classical liberal” who expresses an intention to ignore students’ racial, sexual, ethnic, and other demographic backgrounds and to “treat everyone the same.”

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Such demands for conformity — kiss the DEI ring or forget about getting a job here — appall Kennedy. “Candidates for academic positions at Harvard should not be asked to support ideological commitments,” he wrote in his Crimson essay. “Imagine the howl of protest … if a school at Harvard asked a candidate for a faculty position to submit a statement of their orientation towards capitalism, or patriotism, or Making America Great Again with a clear expectation of allegiance.” 

Kennedy’s aversion echoes that of another prominent Harvard scholar. Steven Pinker, a professor of psychology and a noted public intellectual, decried mandatory diversity statements in a Globe op-ed last December . By requiring applicants to genuflect to a particular way of thinking about race, identity, and victimhood, diversity statements “purge the next generation of scholars of anyone who isn’t a woke ideologue or a skilled liar.” 

DEI policies on campus and the infrastructure created to perpetuate them — including mandatory diversity statements — fly under a false flag. Instead of diversity, they promote a rigid ideological uniformity . Instead of equity, they advocate inequity in the treatment of political minorities. And far from being inclusive, they support the exclusion of opinions disfavored by the left. Besides, there is a strong case to be made that they amount to enforced speech and viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment and are therefore unconstitutional , at least at public universities. 

In some corners of academia, the tide has begun to turn. At the University of North Carolina , Texas A&M University , Ohio State University , and all 26 public colleges and universities in Georgia , mandatory diversity statements have recently been uprooted. But at Harvard and other bastions of progressive orthodoxy , there is still work to be done. 

“It would be hard to overstate the degree to which many academics at Harvard and beyond feel intense and growing resentment against the DEI enterprise,” declared Kennedy. Compulsory diversity statements and what they represent, he wrote, “make me wince. The practice of demanding them ought to be abandoned.”

This is an excerpt from  Arguable , a Globe Opinion newsletter from columnist Jeff Jacoby.  Sign up to get Arguable in your inbox each week .

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Maureen Dowd

Donald Trump’s Insatiable Bloodlust

By Maureen Dowd

Opinion Columnist, writing from Washington.

An earthquake. An eclipse. A bridge collapse. A freak blizzard. A biblical flood. Donald Trump leading in battleground states.

Apocalyptic vibes are stirred by Trump’s violent rhetoric and talk of blood baths.

If he’s not elected, he bellowed in Ohio, there will be a blood bath in the auto industry. At his Michigan rally on Tuesday, he said there would be a blood bath at the border, speaking from a lectern with a banner reading, “Stop Biden’s border blood bath.” He has warned that, without him in the Oval, there will be an “Oppenheimer”-like doomsday; we will lose World War III, and America will be devastated by “weapons the likes of which nobody has ever seen before.”

“And the only thing standing between you and its obliteration is me,” Trump has said.

An unspoken Trump threat is that there will be a blood bath again in Washington, like Jan. 6, if he doesn’t win.

That is why he calls the criminals who stormed the Capitol “hostages” and “unbelievable patriots.” He starts some rallies with a dystopian remix of the national anthem, sung by the “J6 Prison Choir,” and his own reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance.

The bloody-minded Trump luxuriates in the language of tyrants.

In “Macbeth,” Shakespeare uses blood imagery to chart the creation of a tyrant. Those words echo in Washington as Ralph Fiennes stars in a thrilling Simon Godwin production of “Macbeth” for the Shakespeare Theater Company, opening Tuesday.

“The raw power grab that excites Lady Macbeth and incites her husband to regicide feels especially pertinent now, when the dangers of autocracy loom over political discussions,” Peter Marks wrote in The Washington Post about the production with Fiennes and Indira Varma (the lead Sand Snake in “Game of Thrones”).

Trump’s raw power grab after his 2020 loss might have failed, but he’s inflaming his base with language straight out of Macbeth’s trip to hell.

“Blood will have blood,” as Macbeth says. One of the witches, the weird sisters, urges him, “Be bloody, bold and resolute.”

Another weird sister, Marjorie Taylor Greene, is predicting end times. “God is sending America strong signs to tell us to repent,” she tweeted on Friday. “Earthquakes and eclipses and many more things to come. I pray that our country listens.”

Like Macbeth, Trump crossed a line and won’t turn back. The Irish say, “You may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb.” Macbeth killed his king, then said: “I am in blood. Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er.”

The Washington Post’s Josh Dawsey reported that since Trump put his daughter-in-law in charge of the Republican National Committee, prospective employees are asked if they think the election was stolen. Republicans once burbled on about patriotism and defending America. Now denying democracy is a litmus test for employment in the Formerly Grand Old Party.

My Irish immigrant father lived through the cruel “No Irish need apply” era. I’m distraught that our mosaic may shatter.

But Trump embraces Hitleresque phrases to stir racial hatred. He has talked about immigrants “poisoning the blood of our country.” Last month he called migrants “animals,” saying, “I don’t know if you call them ‘people,’ in some cases. They’re not people, in my opinion.”

Trump’s obsession with bloodlines was instilled by his father, the son of a German immigrant. He thinks there is good blood and bad blood, superior blood and inferior blood. Fred Trump taught his son that their family’s success was genetic, reminiscent of Hitler’s creepy faith in eugenics.

“The family subscribes to a racehorse theory of human development,” the Trump biographer Michael D’Antonio told PBS. “They believe that there are superior people and that if you put together the genes of a superior woman and a superior man, you get a superior offspring.”

Trump has been talking about this as far back as an “Oprah” show in 1988. The “gene believer” brought it up in a 2020 speech in Minnesota denouncing refugees.

“A lot of it is about the genes, isn’t it, don’t you believe?” he told the crowd about their pioneer lineage, adding: “The racehorse theory, you think we’re so different? You have good genes in Minnesota.”

As Stephen Greenblatt writes in “Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics,” usurpers don’t ascend to the throne without complicity. Republican enablers do all they can to cozy up to their would-be dictator, even introducing a bill to rename Dulles Airport for Trump. Democrats responded by introducing a bill to name a prison in Florida for Trump.

“Why, in some circumstances, does evidence of mendacity, crudeness or cruelty serve not as a fatal disadvantage but as an allure, attracting ardent followers?” Greenblatt asked. “Why do otherwise proud and self-respecting people submit to the sheer effrontery of the tyrant, his sense that he can get away with saying and doing anything he likes, his spectacular indecency?”

Like Macbeth’s castle, the Trump campaign has, as Lady Macbeth put it, “the smell of blood,” and “all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten” it.

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Maureen Dowd is an Opinion columnist for The Times. She won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary. @ MaureenDowd • Facebook

Md. leaders seek Baltimore bridge money Biden promised on Capitol Hill

Delegation’s lone republican joins the lobbying effort; buttigieg says he expects to recoup the bridge replacement costs: ‘the federal taxpayer will be made whole’.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) launched an in-person lobbying effort in Congress on Tuesday, aiming to fulfill President Biden’s vow to replace Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge.

He will return to further press his case later this week, as more than 12,000 tons of steel and concrete from the wreckage still blocks the main shipping channel for the Port of Baltimore and strangles a key economic artery for the region .

“I’m going to Capitol Hill because I want to meet with them face-to-face and have them hear from me and the delegation directly as to why this is so important, not just to the state of Maryland, but why this is so important to the country,” Moore said in an interview.

“I want to be able to spend time with members of Congress to explain to them that in this moment, they have a responsibility — a patriotic responsibility — to make sure that we can get the bridge rebuilt,” he said.

Moore’s in-person lobbying is part of a multipronged effort that involves the Biden administration and all 10 members of the Maryland congressional delegation, including its lone Republican, Rep. Andy Harris.

Funding could face obstacles from some congressional Republicans, even though such aid has been approved on a bipartisan basis in the past. The conservative Freedom Caucus to which Harris belongs, for example , conditioned federal aid on several factors, including cutting the federal budget elsewhere, limiting how the money could be spent, and tying it to the Biden administration’s policies on liquefied natural gas export terminals.

“Tragedy knows no partisanship,” Harris said during a rare appearance with the nine Democrats who represent Maryland with him. “It wasn’t a Republican tragedy, it wasn’t a Democrat tragedy. And the solution won’t be a partisan solution.”

The cost to rebuild the 1.6-mile span could exceed $1 billion , though leaders were reluctant to put a price tag on it Tuesday. And some members hope federal help will go even further.

The federal government already sent Maryland $60 million in emergency aid and repurposed an existing $8 million federal grant to aid economic recovery.

A massive container ship, the Dali, lost propulsion and veered into one of the bridge’s main supports two weeks ago. Six construction workers tasked with filling potholes were on the bridge when it collapsed about 1:30 a.m.

So far, the bodies of three victims — Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes , 35; Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera , 26; and Maynor Suazo Sandoval , 38 — have been recovered from the Patapsco River , authorities said. Three others are still missing, and federal and state leaders reiterated Tuesday that finding the bodies is the top priority.

The federal government, through the Army Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard, is paying for the recovery of the workers and to remove the jumbled steel and concrete superstructure of the bridge.

The steel trusses sitting atop the Dali weigh 5,000 tons, the equivalent of 12 fully fueled Air Force One jets, Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon, who is overseeing the Army Corps operation, said at Tuesday’s news conference. An additional 9,000 tons of steel and 3,000 tons of concrete are blocking the shipping channel, he said. In the past two weeks, 51 divers have been in the water to help.

The Army Corps of Engineers aims to open a “limited access” shipping channel to the Port of Baltimore by the end of the month that will accommodate 80 percent of the cargo that flows into the Port of Baltimore. Pilots who will operate ships cruising through the salvage area will be specially trained at a facility in Vicksburg, Miss., later this week, Spellmon said.

“We have to start moving more and heavier debris to find the missing workers and also to reopen this strategic port for the nation,” Spellmon said.

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) convened the closed-door meeting Tuesday morning that included the governor, the delegation and Biden administration officials from the Office of Management and Budget, Transportation Department, Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers.

He said afterward that he will introduce legislation “very soon” aimed at covering the full cost of the bridge, though future appropriations will be needed to replenish the fund used for the bridge. Other members of the delegation suggested that Maryland could need additional federal resources to support workers who could lose their jobs or see their wages cut because of the bridge collapse.

Harris did not answer questions about whether he will help lobby for those additional resources.

Cardin repeatedly sought to allay concerns that the government was footing the bill for a man-made accident. He said that the state’s leaders will seek insurance and other liability payments from those responsible for the accident, which is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. Attorneys for the companies that own and manage the Dali argued in legal filings in federal court that they were not to blame for what happened, and they asked a judge to excuse the companies from any liability or to cap damages at $43 million, which is the cost of the vessel minus damage and salvage.

Cardin argued that recovering money from those responsible was critical and that those funds will go to reimburse the taxpayers.

“We will not delay as liability is established,” he said Tuesday.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg agreed, saying that “it is our expectation that the federal taxpayer will be made whole, but we do not want that to get in the way.”

Several congressional Republicans have signaled a willingness to help. Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) on Monday said that he was in favor of approving additional federal aid but that it was a “fair question” to try to resolve insurance liability for the bridge’s collapse before Congress acts.

“I think healthy skepticism is fine. We need to look into this and make sure that the taxpayers’ money is spent wisely,” Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) said. “But I think the overall sentiment in the Senate would be that we need to do what we need to be back up and functioning. This can happen any place throughout the country, in each state, and there is a limit to what local or regional folks can do, the state can do.”

Later Tuesday, Moore signed into law legislation that will increase the state’s $430 in weekly unemployment benefits for those workers, and allow eligible participants to not claim those payments on their state taxes for the next two years. The legislation also provides scholarships for the children of the men killed when the bridge collapsed.

State nonprofit groups and businesses — including the Baltimore Orioles and Ravens — have donated millions of dollars to support the families of the six workers killed during the bridge collapse, first responders, and employers and workers affected by the disaster.

But Maryland workers could need additional help, said Rep. David Trone (D), who is running for the Senate in the May 14 primary.

“We’ve got to keep thinking about those that have lost wages,” he said. “Our longshoremen, our small-business men … guess what? $430 a week in unemployment ain’t gonna cut it. A special fund by the state, maybe $600 a week, that’s not gonna cover it. They’ve still got mortgages to meet, food to put on the table, so we need an all-of-government effort not to just let that slip through the cracks.”

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