“Patriotism no one thinks discreditable; nor does any one deny that war is the romance of history. But inordinate ambitions are the soul of every patriotism, and the possibility of violent death the soul of all romance.”
– William James, “The Moral Equivalent of War” 1910

Jim Wallis writes in God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It, “Nonviolence must address what’s happening to Jewish souls as well” (178). In this one simple statement Wallis recognizes something key to any movement which hopes to achieve pragmatic and deictic change; change must achieve a reformulation of ethos not only for those we wish to liberate from oppressive and tyrannical structures but also within the ethos of those who impose such structures. It is not enough to present a “better way” with substantial answers, but this new, “better way” must penetrate deep into cultural traditions reinforced through educational, political, and religious institutions (Wallis 149). To propose change is to insist the paradigm shift within the American identity. But in order to accomplish this significant change, it is not enough to propose only answers, but an intermediary self must be constructed to bridge the gap between whom we are and whom we hope to become.

Thus, Robert Jensen’s argument in his article “Saying Goodbye to Patriotism” touches briefly on the American ethos which says “. . . America is the greatest nation on earth” (6). Jensen suggests that American patriotism is a rejection of peace and justice and thus moving forward toward a truly internationalist society is to debunk the “American mythology about the nobility of our wars and their motivations” (Jensen 1). Jensen argues for the deconstruction of patriotism by suggesting the only two possible definitions, loyalty and dissent, both carry “. . . arrogant and self-indulgent assumptions” about the American identity which ultimately leads to a devaluation of foreign life, property, and culture and the values of America are not uniquely American (Jensen 3). Finally, Jensen
put[s] forward the radical proposition that we should care what the facts are. We should with the assumption that everything about the United States, like everything about any county, needs to be examined and assessed. That is what it means to be a moral person (5).

Essentially, what Jensen attacks in statements such as “America is the greatest nation on earth” and the word “patriotism,” is autonomy. Yet, his proposal, saying goodbye to traditional American Patriotism is incomplete. It is not as simple as wishing a fond farewell to the old self. We must have a vehicle which will transport us to the new. Jensen dismisses rather than transforms.

Jensen’s argument was adumbrated by Sacvan Bercovitch in 1975 with the publication of The Puritan Origins of the American Self. Bercovitch introduces the concept of “’Auto-machia,’ since it evokes both modern autonomy and medieval psychomachia (battle for man’s soul)” as he abstrusely describes the Augustinian dichotomy of opposing wills which, he believes, rests at center of the Puritan identity. Thus the Puritan’s goal in effacing self was to move to complete Imitatio, or imitation of Christ. Through imitatio saint-hood was achieved: an intermediate state of self. Thus the “Puritan vision” of self was affirmed through the “hermeneutics of the American landscape, and nowhere else is the Puritan concept of intermediate identity more strongly affirmed – where intermediacy . . . indicates not a historical limitation but a comprehensive prophetic selfhood” (Bercovitch 151). Thus, American patriotism is not simply rooted in assumption, but in the belief that land itself it the physical manifestation of God’s presence on earth and that the American is “A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the Lord . . .” (Isaiah 40:3 NIV). Yet we have seen the fulfillment of this intermediary construction. It is our current state.

Today, “atuo-machia,” or the American concept of self, is deeply ingrained in our culture. As autonomy and spiritual conflicts in our nation continue to grow, it is clear that the “drama of autonomous individualistic climbing divorces us from what from what character ethicists call the good, or the telos, or the lager human purpose of life” (Stassen, Gushee 56). Thus, to engage American patriotism, to propose “Character Ethics as a better way of reasoning” is “To counter the corrosive force of modern atomistic individualism” prophetically preached by Ralph Waldo Emerson during the 19th Century (Stassen, Gushee 56). It is Emerson’s natural theology which has led to a post-modernity which encourages the development of autonomous individuals and thereby rejects any moral standard. Post-modern autonomy encourages the severing of cultural, filial, religious, and moral connectedness that Christian or Kingdom ethics encourage, instill, and develop (Stassen, Gushee 56). It suggests intermediate self is not necessary because no evolution of self is necessary.

However, Glen Stassen and David Gushee’s purposed “Four Dimensions of Holistic Character Ethics” is, perhaps, an attempt to create the deictic change which addresses both the fault of the current American identity and the need intermediacy. “The Way of Reasoning Dimension” suggests that reason creates an ethical consistency which affirms virtues “aim[ing] toward discerning and doing what is good for our purpose in life as humans” (60). “The Way of Reasoning Dimension” emphasizes a life of servanthood which subverts post-modern autonomy. To serve the “other” is to begin unwrapping the American identity from the “mythology about ‘how good we are’” (Jensen 7). To adopt a persona of servanthood is to recognize self in the other and redefine self as “we” rather than “me.” Thus the Purtian tradition of self effacement is upheld in that we must “deny [ourselves], take up [our] cross and follow [Jesus]” daily for the good of humanity rather that achieving sainthood (Luke 9:23 NIV). Servanthood thus becomes one characteristic of the intermediate self.

Second, Stassen and Gushee attempt to give readers a “right conception of God” in the “Basic Conventions Dimension” of character ethics. Through this ethical dimension Stassen and Gushee suggest that the “secularizing dualism,” the “gospel of Jesus has no relevance in the world, so all our ethics in world should come from secular sources,” is creating resentment and opposition to justice in our world. Thus the church must become a united force through an interconnected community of believers. (Stassen, Gushee 61). Once these changes, among others, occur the communal and international vision of Jensen, Wallis, Stassen and Gushee becomes a potentiality. Allowing Christian ethics back into the public square means reconstructing the American worldview on the foundation of “well-conceived theological conviction, fundamentally the vision of the reign of God” (Stassen, Gushee 63). In doing so, it becomes possible to claim victory in the “struggle to save ourselves” and the “struggle to save the lives of vulnerable people around the world” (Jensen 8). Thus, at the core of the intermediate self is the need to reassert the evangelical doctrine of sola scirptura. We must have a “clear mental apprehension of His perfections revealed in Holy Scripture” (Pink 6).

Third, we must recognize where our loyalties lie. As Stassen and Gushee illustrate in the “Passions/Loyalties Dimension”, passions are deeply related to our loyalties and interest (63). All forms of patriotism are vested interests in that lands from which we come are deeply connected to the formation of our identity; thus, our difficulty in “saying goodbye to patriotism.” Stassen and Gushee suggest that “We can change our emotions by changing our habits, by encouraging other emotions, or by understanding the causal history of our emotions” (63). But William James suggest in “Pluralism, Pragmatism, and Instrumental Truth,” shifts in truth cannot occur unless an internal mediation between the old and new systems occurs resulting in a new truth” (www.des.emory.edu). Thus, “understanding the causal history” or current ideological American self means beginning the mediation between who we are and the Christocentric self we want to be. This intermediary self must become “sartor resartus” distinguishing between the clothes of American Imperialism and the clothes of Christian justice (Bercovitch 174).

Finally, “The Perception Dimension” suggests that perception shapes ethical action (Stassen, Gushee 65). If Holistic Character Ethics is to effect change in the American ethos, than we must have a clear and defined perception of the context of our actions. We can no longer “speak of ‘them’ being evil and ‘us’ being good, that evil is all out there and that in the warfare between good and evil others are either with us or against us” (Wallis 143). This is “bad theology” as Wallis posits. Good theology, as Stassen and Gushee suggest, is “incarnational discipleship” (65). Incarnational discipleship venerates the humanity of the “other” and sees beyond the ill-conceived notions of other as “evil.” Stassen and Gushee suggest one central area or perception is authority. “What people assume about the powers and authorities of their time and place has a powerful effect on their perception of the context of moral action” (66). Wallis gives insight to this statement by suggesting that Bush saw his presidency as a God ordained event and therefore, much like the monarchs of the medieval age, his actions are justifiable. However, we need to be realistic about what God ordains and “test the spirits . . . because many false prophets have gone our into the world” (I John 4:1 NIV). By using biblical allusion in such a way that scripture is “. . . employed in ways quite different from their original meaning,” our vision is veiled and a right conception of God, justice, America, and the self is lost (Wallis 142). The intermediate self must be purely objective.

Bercovitch’s perspective of the American self sheds light on aspect of patriotism which Jensen glosses over, which Wallis recognizes but has no “better way” of dealing with, and which Stassen and Gushee offer alternatives to, but no pragmatic intermediary with which to bridge the gap. To confront the “American myth” is to attack an embattled notion nationalism which is deep seeded in the fervent religiosity of self and not simply undoing the public understanding of international, economic, and military policy. To institute true “kingdom ethics,” as Stassen and Gushee would have it, necessitates the undoing of centuries of natural theology which has made the American landscape our god. Debunking patriotism is not as simple as acquiescing to authority of the United Nations.

To undo American patriotism is to insist on a paradigm shift within the American ethos. Jensen is right to suggest that we must deal with facts but not merely facts of policy but also facts of self. Stassen and Gushee are right in suggesting that our post-modern, autonomous society rejects all moral standards. Wallis is right to suggest that our leaders use our mythology to mislead and dissuade us from truth. Yet, we cannot simply leap to the end result. The ideal of the communal, cosmopolitan, international society which Jensen, Wallis, Stassen, and Gushee hope to create will be slow in coming. So, instead of saying “goodbye to patriotism,” which, in essence, is saying goodbye to me, we should be saying hello to a much older self founded solely in the principles of “all men are created equal” as our intermediate. This self must adhere to infallible, inerrant, inspired word of God and the principles of the Constitution. We must attempt to give these ideals pragmatic, objective applications remembering that everyone is from somewhere and generally “wouldn’t stand for no knockin’ the place” (O’Henry 13).

Works Cited:

Bandura, Albert. “Pluralism, Pragmatism, and Instrumental Truth.” William James. Emory U, Sept. 2009. Web. 9 July 2010.

Bercovitch, Sacvan. The Puritan Origins of the American Self. London: Yale UP, 1975. Print.

James, William. “The Moral Equivalent of War.” The Best American Essays of the Century. Ed. Joyce Carol Oates. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2000. Print.

Jensen, Robert. “Saying Goodbye to Patriotism.” Witness Magazine March 2002: 16-20. Fuller Online. Web. 21 June 2010.

Life Application Study Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991. Print.

Pink, Arthur W. The Attributes of God. Blacksburg: Wilder Publications, 2008. Print.

Stassen, Glen Harold, and David P. Gushee. Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2003. Print.

Sydney, William. The Complete Works of O’Henry. New York: Doubleday, Page and Co., 1927. Print.

Wallis, Jim. God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It. New York: Harper One, 2005. Print.