Benjamin Franklin is often credited with saying, “Where liberty dwells, there is my country.”  Whether he said it or not, at first listen it would seem to be quite the patriotic sentiment of a great American.  But is it?

The origin of the English word patriot is the Greek, patris, which means “fatherland.”  Patriotism, as originally conceived, is a form of filial piety—i.e., love and respect for one’s parents.  The idea is that a patriotic citizen is one who loves his country like a parent and his fellow citizens like brothers and sisters.

Of course, most people wouldn’t declare that their family is whichever one is freest, or most honorable, or best—and only love them if they lived up to that ideal.  Our love for our family simply begins with the fact that it is ours—whether we’re born into it or adopted by it.  And if our family is imperfect—like all of them are—then out of love, we endeavor to make it better; we don’t go find a new family.

Don’t confuse patriotism for always thinking America is the best.  She may well be…but if America ceases to be so, if she is not what she ought to be—if our liberties are withdrawn, our virtue decays, and our influence wanes—is it time to go find a new country, or is that precisely when true patriotism, a love of country that makes us better, is needed most?  

I understand where Franklin is coming from, but perhaps the truly patriotic sentiment is more like, “Where my country is, there liberty dwells,” and not the other way around. 

Have a wonderful day.