Volume > Issue > Note List > Do Peaceniks Really Believe "Peace Is Patriotic"

Do Peaceniks Really Believe “Peace Is Patriotic”

In a New Oxford Note in our March issue, we commented in passing on the “Support Our Troops” decals and bumper strips. Among the peaceniks, we’ve seen “Peace Is Patriotic” bumper strips, even placards planted in front yards. But what does it mean? The conjunction of “patriotic” with “peace” sounds like a disconnect.

“Patriotic” means love of one’s country. Does loving one’s country mean one loves one’s country because it is peaceful? That’s quite a stretch. A patriot is above all one who will defend his country from an aggressor nation. If anything, to be patriotic is about war (a just war, we hope), not about peace. In the movie The Patriot, starring Mel Gibson, about the American Revolution, Gibson was initially unwilling to fight the British. But when he saw the brutality of the British, he fought, and he fought bravely. Gibson was a patriot, and the movie was aptly named The Patriot.

Enjoyed reading this?

READ MORE! REGISTER TODAY

SUBSCRIBE

You May Also Enjoy

Is Modern Man Too Healthy for Literature?

Americans do read — street signs, job applications, directions for installing video games, glossy magazines. But, sad to say, most Americans do not read literature.

A Man of Courage

Men are essentially the protectors, the warriors. And women are the nurturers, the nest builders. This fact hasn't changed for millennia, and it never will.

On the Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. By Christopher Marlowe.

Once Faustus takes possession of Mephistophilis as his servant, it becomes apparent that the Devil isn’t so much serving as manipulating him.