blind nationalism

Since I spent 25 years as an Army Guardsman, people assume I’m a passionate patriot. I think I’m a patriot, but it sometimes surprises people that I don’t share their passion.

You see, most people who’ve never served see soldiers either as jackbooted fascist thugs or heroes. The truth is, there are some of both, but most of us are neither. Most of us are just decent people trying to do a hard job as well as we can. But, much as I love the Army and love America, I also know that many soldiers and some Americans are unprincipled jerks.

There’s danger in reacting as the Judeans did when Jeremiah prophesied of the exile to Babylon. Jeremiah 26:8-9 tells us, “But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, ‘You must die! Why do you prophesy in the Lord's name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?’" Pointing out ugly truths where they exist isn’t disloyal, especially if they’re God’s truths.

Sometimes we’re the ones who are wrong. Sometimes we really act like self-centered imperialists dictating our terms to smaller countries who need us. Sometimes we support despots and tyrants. Sometimes we really believe things like “America First,” this idea that the purpose of American might is to make Americans rich and safe and who cares about the rest of the world.

Most of the soldiers I knew didn’t think that way. Most believe that the strongest kid on the block should be the one to protect the little kids and deal with the bullies. Most wonder why we didn’t do something about the genocide in Rwanda a decade ago. Most wonder how we can permit our Afghan allies to commit sex crimes against children in order not to rock the boat. Most think that sometimes America could do with a little less when we already have so much more than everyone else. And most have seen firsthand that sometimes we do the wrong thing.

I think in that way my soldier friends and I are closer to Jeremiah than the Judeans who wanted to kill him. We love our homeland, but our patriotism is tempered with the realization that we can’t just give blind support and approval to our cops and soldiers and candidates. And what’s good for us shouldn’t be the only basis for making choices.

I’m praying again for the courage to speak what I see as truth. The current definition of what will “make America great again” doesn’t match what I see in scripture. The argument to vote for the lesser of two evils doesn’t either – where in the Bible is that justification ever used? I’m baffled that so many Christians deny the reality of God’s words or argue that they need to be bent to fit the real world.

Much as I love my country, I really want to avoid being that prophet who tells the people what their itching ears want to hear.