The Left and patriotism

[Volokh, Eugene]

	My guess is that, no matter how some people might bluster, most
Texans today think of themselves as Americans first and Texans second.
Nonetheless, even if it's the other way around, they can remain
patriotic Americans -- until they call for Texan secession.  Then, no
matter how honorable and patriotically Texan they may be, it will be
hard for them to call themselves patriotic Americans.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu 
> [mailto:conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Mark Tushnet
> Sent: Friday, January 27, 2006 2:25 PM
> To: Volokh, Eugene
> Cc: conlawprof at lists.ucla.edu
> Subject: Re: The Left and patriotism
> 
> 
> Hmm -- in some discussions of federalism in the United States, 
> the point is made that some of those who defend federalism 
> identify themselves in the first instance as citizens of their states 
> (Texans being the usual example, though I once got that 
> identification from someone in Indiana) and secondarily as 
> citizens of the United States.  And, it might be that one implication 
> of the "split the atom of sovereignty" line in Justice Kennedy's 
> opinion in Term Limits is that, for some, the division leaves state 
> sovereignty -- and, in the present context, state identification -- 
> the larger fraction.
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Volokh, Eugene" <VOLOKH at law.ucla.edu>
> Date: Friday, January 27, 2006 4:43 pm
> Subject: The Left and patriotism
> 
> > 	Many on the Left quite properly bristle when others suggest
> that
> > they're unpatriotic.  In fact, I think that the great majority of 
> > Democrats -- and certainly of Blue-state residents -- are quite 
> > patriotic.  One can oppose aspects of our Constitution and still
> be
> > patriotic.  Certainly defending the Constitution against what one
> sees
> > (rightly or wrongly) as governmental overreaching may reflect
> great
> > patriotism.  It is this reality of American patriotism 
> that, I think, 
> > makes discussion of secession so weirdly counterfactual, as if
> we were
> > talking about the state-centric nation of 150 years ago, a nation
> > rivenby a moral atrocity of the magnitude of slavery, or a nation 
> > ready to
> > descend into civil war such as Yugoslavia.
> > 
> > 	Yet if any Democratic, liberal, or left-wing 
> organization endorsed, 
> > or even spoke positively, of secession, it seems to
> me 
> > that it
> > would be very hard for the organization's members to credibly
> complain
> > when they are called unpatriotic (at least when the patrie
> involved is
> > America).  Patriotism, it seems to me, generally involves
> (among many
> > other things) some degree of emotional commitment to the
> nation. This
> > ought not be complete emotional commitment above all else;
> surely one
> > should also have the moral sense to see when the nation is
> doing 
> > wrong,or even when the nation needs to be dissolved.  But
> shouldn't 
> > it be
> > enough emotional commitment to overcome the annoyances of
> 6 years' 
> > worthof perceived mistake and misgovernment, the displeasure
> at 
> > seeing your
> > tax money go to other states, and even strong disagreement
> with the
> > views of many of your countrymen?
> > 
> > 	Of course, if one lacks this commitment, and thinks 
> that it really 
> > would be better if California, Oregon, and Washington
> went 
> > theirown way, one can certainly be a morally wonderful person.
> One 
> > can even
> > be a California patriot.  It's just that I doubt that one can still
> > saythat one is much of an American patriot -- or can even see 
> an 
> > accusationof lack of patriotism as a pejorative, much less as
> unfair.
> > 
> > 	Eugene
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