I spent last semester studying in Belgium. In the days immediately following my arrival, a few… I spent last semester studying in Belgium. In the days immediately following my arrival, a few observable differences were already apparent. The citizens were warm and welcoming, but in stark contrast to everyday life in the United States, I saw virtually no displays of national pride.

Not one house was adorned with a Belgian flag. There were no bumper stickers proclaiming that the driver was “Proud to be a Belgian!” There were no prayers for God to bless Belgium left and right as I had become so accustomed to seeing in the States.

(On a side note: I do hope God blesses the people of Iran, North Korea and Iraq as well as us. He wouldn’t sit right with me as the benevolent Almighty otherwise.)

Either way, it was all very strange, and refreshing.

Not that there is anything wrong with flag waving and patriotism, though I have always thought it best left to sporting events and other such inconsequential things. In affairs of importance, a thorough exploration of the issues and reason always sounded more appealing as guides to a conclusion rather than the knee-jerk emotional response of affection for a homeland.

As English author Gilbert K. Chesterton once wrote, “‘My country, right or wrong’ is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying ‘My mother, drunk or sober.'”

The problem with fervent patriotism, generations ago and again today, has always been its relationship to nationalism.

They’re close — first cousins, at least.

And it is why I have become practically allergic to the word “patriotism” in today’s political arena.

The daily evoking of all things American — or not sufficiently American — in every speech and quote terrifies me. It is a sad day when Max Cleland’s devotion to his country is challenged.

To politicize national loyalties is to tread upon dangerous waters. See the Great War, Hitler, Mussolini and Milosevic for proof. And there is hardly a thing more treacherous than patriotism mixed with a climate of fear, which is particularly relevant to our current state of affairs.

Soccer moms have been transformed into security moms, while the appropriate masculine response is “bomb them!” without regards to who “they” are, as we’ve seen in the example of Iraq.

How else do we find ourselves stuck there and still insist that it was terrorism we sought out to fight?

Neither patriotism nor necessity took us down that road. But our representatives’ fears of appearing unpatriotic when voting at such tender times, and our widespread alarm and panic as people appear more likely reasons today.

However, we have showcased that we possess unmatched political and military capacity to pursue preventive “security” if our resolve is to do so, even when such pursuits are hasty and stand in forceful opposition to the vast majority of the world.

Many in Belgium and elsewhere would characterize this sort of policy-making as nationalistic and not just innocently patriotic. It is why our power to act unilaterally terrifies not only those who feel threatened, but also the same Western nations that most resemble us.

“Boycott France.” “Employ torture, but keep us safe.” “Abandon the United Nations.” “A vote for Kerry is a vote for Bin Laden.” “The Democrats are getting our troops killed.” “Our way is the best, and only.”

Those aren’t patriots speaking, but nationalists.

Nationalists support and promote America and America only. The details of its conduct are unimportant. Patriots support and promote cultural understanding, diplomacy, human rights and freedom of discussion, even when America fails to.

The sentiments are that if you oppose the invasion, you oppose the troops. Is it really so treacherous to assert that no, we do not wish any of our youth to die, especially for a mistake?

National allegiance is not a blank check for the administration in power to eagerly pursue regime change in sovereign countries.

So I don’t subscribe to the reasoning of those who say, “It’s my country, right or wrong.”

I’m not indifferent as to which course we take.

Don’t misunderstand me. Let us take out the American flags today, tomorrow and the day after; walk together as a country united behind them. But in our march forward, let us never make the mistake of waving them with such enthusiasm that we allow ourselves to be veiled by the red, white and blue of our flags so that the path ahead becomes obscured.

Pedja would like to wave an American flag at a sporting event. E-mail him an invitation to one at [email protected].