When we talk about patriotism in America, we tend to mean one
form: the version captured in shared celebrations like the national anthem and
the Pledge of Allegiance. But as Ben Railton argues, that celebratory
patriotism is just one of four distinct forms: celebratory, the communal
expression of an idealized America; mythic, the creation of national myths that
exclude certain communities; active, acts of service and sacrifice for the
nation; and critical, arguments for how the nation has fallen short of its
ideals that seek to move us toward that more perfect union. In Of Thee I Sing,
Railton defines those four forms of American patriotism, using the four verses
of “America the Beautiful” as examples of each type, and traces them across our
histories.
Ben
Railton is Professor of English and American Studies at Fitchburg State
University. He's the author of six books, most recently Of Thee I Sing:
The Contested History of American Patriotism (2021). He also writes
the daily AmericanStudier blog, contributes the bimonthly Considering History
column to the Saturday Evening Post, and is an active public
scholarly tweeter.