The Solution: A Rebirth of Patriotism
Peters, Charles
The Solution: A Rebirth of Patriotism by Charles Peters America is no longer a nation. It is a committee of lobbies. In Washington, the lobbies have taken over. Tax reform bills turn into...
...Everyone can take a moment each time a decision is being made by his group . and ask is this what is best for the country as a whole, is this what is best for us all...
...It was the single most successful small lobby of the sixties...
...It doesn’t seek to discriminate between what are wise or foolish expenditures...
...Then even more viciously it destroyed the patriotism of the poor who went to Vietnam and realized they had been suckers...
...And higher loyalties are out...
...Defense appropriations have less to do with real defense than with having something for everyone-a military base in some districts, airplane engine contracts in another...
...Large numbers of people from all classes volunteered for service in World Wars I and 11...
...As one who worked on the staff of the Peace Corps in the early sixties, I know many of our volunteers were motivated by patriotism-they were ashamed of the Ugly American and wanted to show the good side of their country to the world...
...They are not the kind of people who ever wanted to flaunt the flag, but they are the kind . who would like to recapture the quiet pride they once felt in it and the country it symbolizes...
...But Vietnam changed all of that...
...Both movements were completely justified...
...it merely says cut my taxes, make things easier for me...
...If you’re retired, think again about voluntary service, giving others the help you realize you will need in a few years...
...How can we have a rebirth of patriotism...
...And that is exactly what is being Answer to last month S puzzle: said by all the lobbies that imitate the NRA...
...For most of the twentieth century, patriotism has been strong in America...
...What the message really says is that the National Rifle Association doesn’t give a damn about the rest of the country as long as it gets what it wants...
...or “How naive can you be...
...Politicians no longer ask what is in the public interest, because they know no one else is asking...
...Its message to politicians was vote with us and we’ll support you, vote against us and we’ll oppose you even if you’re the nation’s wisest and most devoted statesmen...
...The message worked and began to be copied by more and more groups...
...If you’re in management, you can ask how important is your big salary, your fancy office, and all your perqs compared to being part of a company that is turning out the kind of products that could make “Made in the U.S.A...
...The Solution: A Rebirth of Patriotism by Charles Peters America is no longer a nation...
...Of course I know there are those whose response to what I have been trying to say will be something like, “Who are you kidding...
...The only current answer to all this is Charles Peters is editor-in-chief of The Washington Monthly...
...But they were constantly saying to the rest of the country: give our group its due...
...Tax reform bills turn into Christmas trees with gifts for every special interest...
...But I also know there are a lot of people who are fundamentally dissatisfied with the selfish life, who are ready to be reminded that they’re capable of something better...
...Proposition 13...
...Both won tremendous victories...
...And get involved in one of the political parties-remember that their point has always been to try to bring at least 51 per cent of us together...
...It would simply say there is something else we must take into account-the welfare of the nation...
...It is simple enough...
...Two other factors, roughly contemporaneous with Vietnam, also helped turn the American people toward concern for their group rather than concern for their nation-civil rights and women’s liberation...
...This patriotism would not preclude loyalties to smaller groups, like your family, your company, or your union...
...Even loyalty to a political party is being replaced by a narrower loyalty to one’s interest group, with political power shifting-as the two preceding articles explain-from the parties to the political action committees that represent special interests...
...Instead they’re giving each group what it wants, which means, among other things, ever more government spending and ever more inflation...
...If you’re young, think about doing your part by serving a few years in the armed forces-how long can we bear to let such service remain the responsibility of the poor?-or in the Peace Corps or VISTA...
...What can we do...
...First it killed the patriotism of the educated youth who resisted the war from the beginning...
...I think the example of the National Rifle Association also had a tremendous effect...
...If few are standing up for their party, not many more are speaking up for their country...
...Above all, don’t vote against your representative simply because you think he is wrong on abortion or farm price s u p p o r t s o r n a t u r a l gas deregulation...
...What we need instead of more Proposition 13s is a rebirth of patriotism-not of flag-flaunting, mycountryright-or-wrong jingoism, but of a loyalty to our national community that will cause each person to ask what is best for all of us at the same time he asks what is best for himself and his special group...
...Look at his whole record and ask if the totality of what he’s doing is in the national interest...
...If you’re a union member, ask do I really need the wage increase I’m asking for or can I give up part of it to help stop inflation, to help my company’s products remain competitive...
...But it doesn’t ask what is best for the country...
...mean what it did 30 years ago...
...The lesson of their success was not lost on others...
Vol. 10 • October 1978 • No. 7
