The notion of government as national embodiment is a very american one

During a recent Spanish lesson, my teacher accused the U.S. Government of only intervening in foreign affairs when there was oil, trade routes, or territory to be gained. I was taken aback. She knew that I was American. How could she say that to my face?

But in a subsequent lesson, she called the Mexican Government impotent and corrupt. Suddenly, her slight towards my government didn’t feel so personal when she disparaged her own with the same nonchalance.

I have observed other non-Americans who are at the same time disapproving of their governments and fiercely patriotic. But for some reason, the American sentiment is that denouncing our government wholesale is traitorous. It is as if our concepts of government and nation are intertwined.

Perhaps our sense of government as an embodiment of the nation is a result of a belief that our elections are (mostly) fair. If we elect our politicians, they are representations of our population. When we disagree with them, we see it also as a disagreement with the people that elected them, our fellow Americans.

It follows that in countries that are not democracies or that face widespread corruption, the citizens would find it necessary to divorce their sense of self from their concepts of government. At the same time, their people are connected by culture, history, language, values, etc., which leads to a sense of nationalism. In short, it makes sense that their patriotism is more associated with the population than the government.

Even in other democracies, it is often recognized that patriotism is bigger than support for government. For example, Swedes rarely display the Swedish flag outside sporting events. Ukrainians observe Victory Day to celebrate the departure from their Soviet past. For most Germans, national pride centers around their good beer, progressive immigration policies, and commitment to environmental sustainability.

I don’t believe one attitude is better than the other. But I think that the non-American perspective is a good reminder that we can be critical of our government and still be proud of our country. Even if we vote for a candidate, we may not agree with all of their decisions. Accountability is something that our country prides itself on. And scrutiny comes from a place of concern for the country’s well being. As they say dissent is, in of itself, patriotic.