But patriotism,

But patriotism, however much it may be
debased, is still patriotism ; and although it
might be exaggeration to contend that the
more debased patriotism becomes, the more
patriotic it is reputed to be, it is on the other
hand certainly true that a pure and rational
patriotism is generally vituperated as a kind ot
treason. As usual, irreconcilable meanings lurk
behind the convenient word. Many of the
feelings and purposes sanctified by it are wholly
brutish, and one can think of many modern
exemplifications of Dr. Johnson's rather sum-
mary dictum that patriotism is the last refuge
of a scoundrel. But apart irom these despicable
hypocrisies there is plenty of sincere and honest
patriotism which, though turned to base uses,
is potentially an inexhaustible source of strength
to the general good of the country and the
world. Love of country is a mainspring of
civic virtue. Its strong stream may easily be
diverted to the work of ruin and devastation.
So long as love of country has not achieved a
rational form capable of being universalised, it
is unstably poised between a positive and
negative condition, and since the influences
which are exerted upon it are for the most
part deliberately destructive, it too becomes a
force of destruction. Actual patriotism is akin
to actual democracy, just as ideal patriotism
and ideal democracy reinforce each other. The
mere love of country and the mere acquisition
of equality are not enough. We may, as we
do, love the fields and the hills and the speech
of England profoundly ; but the motion of love
itself is to seek the condition of its own
duration. To endure, it must attach itself to
a moral being, whether a person or an ideal.
Therefore a lasting patriotism depends upon
the attachment of a moral and ideal significance
to the conception of country. If this condition
is satisfied, patriotism becomes a completely
sufficient motive for mankind. Within democ-
racy, it must take the form of a passion for
ideal democracy, which, if it could be largely
felt and generally maintained, would for ever
secure the peace of the world.


The evolution of an intellectual (1920) 　by JOHN MIDDLETON MURRY
https://archive.org/details/evolutionofintel00murruoft
https://archive.org/stream/evolutionofintel00murruoft/evolutionofintel00murruoft_djvu.txt