Thinking through patriotism

John Pierson: In the first days [at my school] ... the seniors were having a very different experience than seventh-graders. There was an incredible zeal that engulfed our campus for a few days. Right out of the chute, there was a certain discomfort for some people before it had even gone to a dissenting camp and a supporting camp; there were those who wanted to process their emotions more slowly, who felt uncomfortable doing so.

I know I was quite struck to see our students respond. For example, the Friday following the attack was red, white, and blue day at the school, and all the students came dressed in red, white, and blue. On the one hand, it was quite moving, and on the other, I couldn't help thinking that a few weeks later was going to be our version of a homecoming week, Spirit Week. The Friday of that week is blue and gold day, the school colors, and all students come dressed in blue and gold. I couldn't help wondering how many of the students were caught up in patriotism in a way that was not at all dissimilar from the Spirit Week....

In looking at the school as a microcosm, I was wondering how many of [the students] were doing it because they'd been told that the next day was red, white, and blue day. They weren't terribly sure why they were doing it, they just knew it was the thing to do.

John Pierson: There were discussions at a number of levels. The first round started sporadically, informally, as the news broke. Students wanted to know what we thought, wanted to know what to do next. That led into a series of more-focused discussions in classrooms. Then there was the third tier of that: Our school has "sound off," which is an open invitation for a student to take the microphone at any assembly and speak on a particular issue. For the next week to 10 days, there were a number of those addresses taking a variety of sides on a variety of issues.

James Fraser: If you look at the run-up to World War I and World War II, increasingly, patriotism meant shut up about dissent, don't ask questions ... and then in the aftermath, the Red scare. What it meant to be a good American got narrowed dramatically, and the whole notion that part of being a good American is somebody who speaks out,... that was really made unacceptable in the name of patriotism. So, there was certainly in the back of my mind the question, are we running up that hill again, and if so, I want to be more part of stopping it than of supporting it.

Carolyn Marvin: What's interesting is the fact that the White House or the president said there ought to be limits to jingoistic mentality,... the Supreme Court said by a very narrow margin it will be legal to burn flags, it said by a very narrow margin that compulsory pledges of allegiance will not be required. It was not the government in the late 19th century that brought patriotic practices into the schools, but popular, voluntary groups that put pressure on schools.

Chau Hua: I don't really see jingoistic patriotism as being problematic. I think if anything, seeing the flag is an ideal, and not necessarily just the triumph of our country. I think being patriotic includes knowing why you're patriotic, expressing that when you feel it's needed, and questioning it as well.... I don't think my patriotism has necessarily waned [since the bombing started]. I don't necessarily advocate nor condemn the actions, but I still stand behind the ideal of our country. I understand, yes, we've committed egregious mistakes in the history of our nation, but I'm proud that we have the democracy and the unity that I value in freedom. Patriotism means taking the good with the bad, and questioning and disagreeing.

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