Unfortunately, our history has abundant examples of patriotism

The statesman Vic Snyder once spoke with sobering clarity: “Unfortunately, our history has abundant examples of patriotism being used to hurt those who express views in disagreement with that of the majority.” His words strike like a bell of warning, for they remind us that even virtues can be twisted into instruments of harm. Patriotism, noble in its true form, becomes dangerous when wielded as a weapon against those who dare to dissent. What should unite a people in love of country has too often been turned into a cudgel to silence conscience, to suppress truth, and to punish those who refuse to bow before the crowd.

The ancients taught that every virtue, when corrupted, turns into its own shadow. Patriotism, when pure, is the devotion to a nation’s highest ideals: justice, liberty, unity, and sacrifice. But when it is distorted by fear or pride, it becomes jingoism, and when joined with anger against those who disagree, it turns into persecution. Thus, Snyder points us to the darker side of history, where love of country was claimed by some not to protect, but to oppress. The voice of the majority, unchecked by wisdom, too often drowned the voice of the lone prophet or the courageous dissenter.

Consider the story of World War I in the United States. In that era, patriotic fervor surged so high that those who questioned the war were branded traitors. The Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 punished citizens who merely spoke against the government’s policies. Men like Eugene V. Debs, who urged peace, were imprisoned for words alone. Here was patriotism, corrupted and sharpened into a blade, cutting down not foreign enemies but fellow citizens. The very freedom the soldiers fought for abroad was denied to the people at home. This is the peril Snyder warns of—the use of patriotism not as a shield of unity, but as a spear of division.

This misuse of patriotism echoes across many lands and ages. In Rome, dissenters were exiled or slain in the name of loyalty to the empire. In times of revolution, those who raised questions were branded enemies of the cause. Even in modern times, voices seeking peace, justice, or reform have been shouted down, accused of weakness or treachery. But history, when judged by the long passage of years, has often vindicated the dissenters, proving that their courage was not betrayal, but fidelity to deeper truths.

The lesson is plain: patriotism is not obedience to the majority, but fidelity to principle. True love of country is not measured by how loudly one echoes the crowd, but by how faithfully one seeks the nation’s good, even when the crowd turns hostile. To confuse loyalty with conformity is to chain the mind; to weaponize patriotism against dissent is to wound the very soul of freedom. The prophets and reformers of every age have shown that the truest patriots are often those accused of disloyalty in their own time.

Therefore, let each generation take heed. Do not be quick to condemn those whose voices differ from your own. Ask whether their words spring from selfishness or from conscience. Test their motives with wisdom, not with anger. For often, the dissenting voice is the one that keeps the nation from falling into ruin. A people who punish all disagreement betray their own future, for they silence the very voices that might save them.

Practically, this means cultivating both courage and humility. Courage to speak your truth, even when it is unpopular. Humility to listen to others, even when they challenge what you hold dear. Defend your homeland not by silencing others, but by strengthening the freedom that allows truth to emerge. In this way, patriotism remains pure, serving as a bond of unity rather than a weapon of division.

Thus, remember Snyder’s warning as a teaching for all time: patriotism, when corrupted, can wound its own children. Do not let love of country become an excuse for cruelty, nor allow the majority to trample the few. Instead, let your patriotism be noble—honoring freedom, protecting dissent, and guarding the nation’s ideals with both firmness and compassion. For only in this balance can a people truly endure.