Patriotism Country Loyalty One's Drunk Felten People Agree

In his 2011 book, Loyalty, journalist Eric Felten discusses the reasons why people have "loyalty to" (commitment to, usually with a willingness to help and defend) their country, their family, and their friends. Most of us would probably agree that we should be loyal to our family and our close friends, even though we may not be able to explain exactly why we should be loyal. But "when it comes to" (when we begin to discuss) loyalty to one's country, there is often disagreement about what that should "consist of" (include).

The word often "associated with" (connected to) loyalty to one's country is "patriotism." Some people think that patriotism is the belief that one's own country is superior to or better than any other country. But, as Felten points out, this isn't the only way to define "patriotism," and certainly not the best one. According to Felten, patriotism "correctly understood" (defined in the right way) is similar to the loyalty you have to a member of your family. As British writer G.K. Chesterton once wrote, the idea behind someone saying, "my country, right or wrong" (that is, I will be loyal to my country regardless of what it does) is the same as saying, "my mother, drunk or sober." (To be drunk means to have drunk too much alcohol; to be sober is when your body has no alcohol or drugs in it.)

Being loyal, in other words, doesn't mean you agree with everything your family (or country) does. It means simply that you will continue to support them and be willing to take action to change them if they make mistakes. You will not just "abandon" (leave) them when "times get tough" (the situation becomes difficult).

A "mistaken" (wrong) sense of patriotism has been used in many cases for "bad ends" (purposes), and for that reason it has sometimes been associated with an "excessive" (too much), even dangerous loyalty and "attachment" (sense of closeness) to one's country. But it doesn't have to be that way, argues Felten. We can celebrate what makes our countries different without saying that those differences make us better than everyone else. We can love our country, in other words, simply because it is ours.