Walt Kelly’s Pogo. (November 11, 1953)
It’s Veterans Day: a day set aside for honoring veterans of the United States Armed Forces.
This year I’m observing what used to be called Armistice Day by summarizing how I feel about being an American: along with my view of patriotism, citizenship, and protecting folks in a less-than-ideal world.
Our Country
On the whole, I like being an American.
There. I’ve said it.
That doesn’t make me unyieldingly loyal to some political party, or convinced that everyone else threatens mom and apple pie, democracy, or whatever else I’ve been told is in dire danger.
That’s partly because I think that, although politics and politicians affect all of us, “America” is a very great deal more than this country’s national government.
I also am profoundly glad that so many folks over the last two and a half centuries have decided that serving in this country’s armed forces was a good idea.
The rest of us owe you our thanks, at the very least.
Patriotism and Making Sense
So, am I a ‘patriotic American’? Yes, and no: I talked about that last year.
I put links to some of what I’ve said about patriotism, politics, freedom of speech (even for folks who don’t agree), and acting as if what I believe matters at the end of this post.
The Church has a few things to say about patriotism, nationalism, and why one is a good idea while the other is not; including this —
“…While nationalism implies contempt or even hatred for other nations or cultures, patriotism is an appropriate particular — but not exclusive — love of and service to one’s country and people, as remote from cosmopolitanism as it is from cultural nationalism. Each culture aspires to the universal through the best it has to offer. Cultures are also called to purify themselves of their share in the legacy of sin, embodied in certain prejudices, customs and practices, to enrich themselves with the input of the faith and to «enrich the universal Church itself with new expressions and values» (Redemptoris Missio, 52 and Slavorum Apostoli, 21)….”
(“Towards a Pastoral Approach to Culture” , Pontifical Council for Culture (May 23, 1999)) [emphasis mine]
Basically, loving my country is a good idea. Letting that love slop over into something else is a bad idea and I shouldn’t do it.
2113 Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Jesus says, ‘You cannot serve God and mammon.'(Matthew 6:24)Many martyrs died for not adoring ‘the Beast’ (Cf. Revelation 13-14). refusing even to simulate such worship. Idolatry rejects the unique Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible with communion with God.(Cf. Gal 5:20; Eph 5:5)
(Catechism of the Catholic Church) [emphasis mine]
Love, Authority, Citizenship
It’s all right! There’s no fighting! The noise you hear is just my family celebrating!” (1902)
Love of neighbors should include actually doing something: not just having warm feelings.
Respecting legitimate authority matters. Within reason.
“2199 The fourth commandment is addressed expressly to children in their relationship to their father and mother, because this relationship is the most universal. It likewise concerns the ties of kinship between members of the extended family. It requires honor, affection, and gratitude toward elders and ancestors. Finally, it extends to the duties of pupils to teachers, employees to employers, subordinates to leaders, citizens to their country, and to those who administer or govern it. This commandment includes and presupposes the duties of parents, instructors, teachers, leaders, magistrates, those who govern, all who exercise authority over others or over a community of persons.”
2235 Those who exercise authority should do so as a service. ‘Whoever would be great among you must be your servant.’ The exercise of authority is measured morally in terms of its divine origin, its reasonable nature and its specific object. No one can command or establish what is contrary to the dignity of persons and the natural law.”
(quoting Matthew 20:26)“2239 It is the duty of citizens to contribute along with the civil authorities to the good of society in a spirit of truth, justice, solidarity, and freedom. the love and service of one’s country follow from the duty of gratitude and belong to the order of charity. Submission to legitimate authorities and service of the common good require citizens to fulfill their roles in the life of the political community.”
(Catechism of the Catholic Church) [emphasis mine]
“The Good of the Whole Human Family”
Some of this will sound “political”, but as I said: ethics matter. Even when they don’t support personal or political preferences.
“75. …Citizens must cultivate a generous and loyal spirit of patriotism, but without being narrow-minded. This means that they will always direct their attention to the good of the whole human family, united by the different ties which bind together races, people and nations….
“…76. It is very important, especially where a pluralistic society prevails, that there be a correct notion of the relationship between the political community and the Church, and a clear distinction between the tasks which Christians undertake, individually or as a group, on their own responsibility as citizens guided by the dictates of a Christian conscience, and the activities which, in union with their pastors, they carry out in the name of the Church.
“The Church, by reason of her role and competence, is not identified in any way with the political community nor bound to any political system. She is at once a sign and a safeguard of the transcendent character of the human person.
“The Church and the political community in their own fields are autonomous and independent from each other. Yet both, under different titles, are devoted to the personal and social vocation of the same men. The more that both foster sounder cooperation between themselves with due consideration for the circumstances of time and place, the more effective will their service be exercised for the good of all. For man’s horizons are not limited only to the temporal order; while living in the context of human history, he preserves intact his eternal vocation. … By preaching the truths of the Gospel, and bringing to bear on all fields of human endeavor the light of her doctrine and of a Christian witness, [the Church] respects and fosters the political freedom and responsibility of citizens….”
(“Gaudium et Spes” , Pope St. Paul VI (December 7, 1965) [emphasis mine]
Legitimate Defense
Although I don’t like war — it breaks things and kills people — I’d make a lousy pacifist.
Sometimes keeping people safe means doing more than uttering stern reproofs.
This is not a new idea.
“2263 The legitimate defense of persons and societies is not an exception to the prohibition against the murder of the innocent that constitutes intentional killing. ‘The act of self-defense can have a double effect: the preservation of one’s own life; and the killing of the aggressor. … The one is intended, the other is not.’
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, quoting “Summa Theologica”, , STh II-II,64,7, St. Thomas Aquinas) [emphasis mine]“…79. …Those too who devote themselves to the military service of their country should regard themselves as the agents of security and freedom of peoples. As long as they fulfill this role properly, they are making a genuine contribution to the establishment of peace.”
(“Gaudium et Spes” , Pope St. Paul VI (December 7, 1965) [emphasis mine]
I’ve talked about America, making sense, and acting as if ethics matter, before:
- “Veterans Day and Patriotism” (November 11, 2025)
- “Liberal? Conservative? Republican? Democrat? No: Catholic” (July 27, 2024)
- “Truth, Beauty, and the Evening News” (June 15, 2024)
- “Freedom of Speech: On the Whole, I Like It” (July 6, 2024)
- “War, Peace and a Civilization of Love” (November 12, 2022)
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