Faith, Grace, and Hope

There is a lot of current conversation using the words patriotism and nationalism as though they were interchangeable phrases or concepts. Historically, they have not been interchangeable and I would argue they’re not today either.  Patriotism and nationalism differ in the areas of unity vs. uniformity, reflection, and expectation around improvement. They both reflect a love of country and a pride in home and aspects of history. One is more willing to embrace truth-telling than the other.  With regard to unity vs. uniformity, nationalism seeks the latter. Most nationalist movements have a concept of the “ideal” citizen in terms of race, religion, and/or political ideology. In the beginning of most nationalist movements, this is the “quiet” part. Leaders of the movement don’t necessarily specify these preferred expressions because they need everyone to be “all in” in order to achieve power. Eventually, though, the truth will out. Look to who speaks for the group most often and ...