Jingoism

Jingoism (Appeal to Patriotism)

Description:

The argument attempts to persuade by calling on ones community spirit, specifically on ones love of country. Alternatively, the argument may attempt to refute a position by calling it treasonous or unpatriotic.

Examples:

         "The war in Iraq is clearly justified. Support our troops!"

         "Questioning the president's tax cut is tantamount to treason."

Discussion:

The English lexicographer Samuel Johnson once remarked, "Patriotism is the last resort of scoundrels." Indeed, appeals to patriotic pride were used during the 20th century to legitimize some of the most unspeakable crimes in human history. Flag waving and the use of other symbols of national pride in place of reasoning is an old tradition in America as well, and we should not imagine that we are immune to the evil that the appeal to such strong emotions can cause.

Patriotic pride is a powerful and ennobling emotion. Like any emotion rooted fundamentally in love, it takes us outside of ourselves. When moved by such emotions we transcend our narrow personal interests and become part of something large and meaningful. We realize that there are some things worth dying for. What things? Well, perhaps different patriots are moved by different ideals, but modern democracies have in common this ideal (from John Locke), that the legitimate basis of government resides in the consent of the governed. That idea, replacing the old notion of the divine right of kings, is one that American patriots died for in 1776. French patriots died for it a few years later, and around the world that idea has toppled dictators and broken the chains of injustice. No ideal has more profoundly shaped the course of history and made the world a better place to live. When an idea is that important, there is no illogic in asking for some sacrifice - even the ultimate sacrifice - on its behalf. Ideas matter, and the ideas that define our civic identity matter more than most.

But, of course, this creates an opportunity for bad reasoning. An argument commits the fallacy of Jingoism when it makes reference to the noble ideals that define our civic identity, but does so only symbolically, making no real connection between the ideals and the actual actions or opinions defended by appeal to them. For example, the so-called "Patriot Act" is named specifically to evoke feelings of patriotism, which for most Americans is associated with such ideals as "freedom" and "equal protection under the law," yet the content of the act actually increases the power of law enforcement agents to spy on citizens without their knowledge or consent and to engage in discriminatory practices in the treatment of suspects. Some such strengthening of the powers of law enforcement agents may be justified - a debate that must be conducted elsewhere - but should more properly be called the Investigative Powers Act in any case. The disconnect between the name of the law and its actual content is darkly ironic, but it perfectly illustrates the lack of relevant connection that distinguishes genuine patriotic appeals (calling for sacrifice on behalf of noble ideals) from mere jingoism.

Classification: A Fallacy of Irrelevance (a deductive fallacy of soundness with a falsehood in the major premiss) in the Emotional Appeals family.

Source: The term "jingoism" dates from 1878. It was first used to describe the excessive (and misguided) patriotism of British politicians who wanted Britain to enter the Russo-Turkish war (on the side of the Turks). The word comes from a popular song of the time, written by G. H. MacDermott, which included the following chorus:

          We don't want to fight but by jingo if we do...

          We've got the ships, we've got the men, and got the money too!

This was not, of course, the first time, or the last time, that appeals to patriotic fervor have been used to promote an ill-advised entry into an unnecessary war.

Reference: This entry is an archived copy of an article by Bruce Thompson as retrieved from http://www.cuyamaca.edu on Jul 8, 2007 19:56:33 GMT. The page may have changed since that time. Click here for the current page.