Patriotism for Critical Thinkers

By John Zehring

John Zehring grew up in the Philadelphia area in the shadow of early American and colonial history, which influenced his sense of and devotion to being an American. As a clergyman and an educator, he recognizes the powerful need to think critically about our patriotism. His goal as a writer is to encourage readers to weigh information evaluatively about the data they receive, whether from the podium, the pulpit, the internet, social media, the TV, family or friends.

Zehring writes “I long to interweave patriotism with critical thinking. Blind patriotism is inadequate and can sometimes become ugly. The masses who followed Adolph Hitler or Joseph Stalin were patriotic, and whose who did not follow were considered unpatriotic, often to their misfortune. I truly want to be patriotic. I listen to The Sound of Music’s ‘Edelweiss, Edelweiss, Bless my homeland forever’ and I long to sing that kind of national loyalty about the United States of America. I am happy to place my hand over my heart to pledge allegiance for our Republic to continue to try its best to provide, protect and promote liberty and justice for all, as long as “all” means no exceptions – even and especially those on the margins of our society, those most in need, those most misunderstood, disliked, bullied, victimized, and those hungering and thirsting for a safe land of the free where they can trust that they will be treated well.”

As was eloquently stated by Alexis de Tocqueville “America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” Every time we see an American flag, may it arouse in us the heartfelt pledge to pray for and to labor for our nation to be good. May those who think critically about patriotism recognize that our goal is not to make America great, but to make America good.

“Patriotism for Critical Thinkers” takes a dozen essays Zehring wrote for “The Christian Citizen,” with their permission, and combines them into this work.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Zehring
• Release date: Jul 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005240387

John Zehring

John Zehring has served United Church of Christ congregations as Senior Pastor in Massachusetts (Andover), Rhode Island (Kingston), and Maine (Augusta) and as an Interim Pastor in Massachusetts (Arlington, Harvard). Prior to parish ministry, he served in higher education, primarily in development and institutional advancement. He worked as a dean of students, director of career planning and placement, adjunct professor of public speaking and as a vice president at a seminary and at a college. He is the author of more than sixty books and is a regular writer for The Christian Citizen, an American Baptist social justice publication. He has taught Public Speaking, Creative Writing, Educational Psychology and Church Administration. John was the founding editor of the publication Seminary Development News, a publication for seminary presidents, vice presidents and trustees (published by the Association of Theological Schools, funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment). He graduated from Eastern University and holds graduate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, Rider University, and the Earlham School of Religion. He is listed in Marquis' WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA and is a recipient of their Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. John and his wife Donna live in two places, in central Massachusetts and by the sea in Maine.

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Patriotism for Critical Thinkers

John Zehring

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Thank you for downloading this eBook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

Copyright 2020 John Zehring

Essays are reprinted with permission of The Christian Citizen, a publication of American Baptist Home Mission Societies.

Contents

Introduction

Make America ‘good’ again

Martin Luther King Jr. Day: A good day to think about patriotism

The day they hid the Liberty Bell

Is the universe still on the side of justice?

In God we trust

Our call to carry on unfinished work

Give the king your justice, O God

The value of compromise

Recreating Jesus

Good shall overcome

Allegiance to the flag – a reflection on Flag Day

My Country ‘Tis of Thee

About the Author

Books by John Zehring

Introduction

I have written for a few years for The Christian Citizen, an American Baptist social justice publication. Looking over the list of more than thirty articles I’ve written for them, Patriotism popped out as an obvious theme. Maybe it’s because I grew up in the Philadelphia area. As a child, I was bussed to Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the Betsy Ross House. My first date with my wife was to Valley Forge. Numerous colonial houses and inns bear plaques proclaiming that George Washington visited or slept there. A former pastor of my childhood church is credited with inspiring the motto In God We Trust on our money. How could all that not influence my sense of and devotion to being an American?

Another theme that popped out from my list is the need for critical thinking. As a teacher, a goal was to educate students to weigh information evaluatively. Martin Luther King, Jr. said The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.

As a pastor, a goal was to encourage parishioners to think critically about matters of faith and religion – not to become a critical person but to become a critical thinker. The essence of critical thinking centers not on answering questions but on questioning answers: probing, analyzing, and evaluating. Thinking critically does not mean the same as criticism. Thinking critically means not simply accepting information at face value in a non-evaluating way. It means questioning the source and the source’s motives, agenda, purpose, slant, or biases. We all have a bias. Even the writers of the gospels and epistles did. An unthinking faith can result in an inadequate or even a dangerous religion.

When I taught public speaking at a university, there were different types of speeches which students were assigned to deliver in class. There were informational speeches, special occasion speeches like introductions or presentations, and persuasive speeches. Students would be bumped up one grade if they could deliver a compelling persuasive speech about a topic which was opposite of their personal values or beliefs, without anyone detecting the ruse. The point was to learn the dynamics, techniques and style of speaking to persuade. But first, the class was instructed about how to think evaluatively about the information they received, whether from the podium, the pulpit, the internet, social media, the TV, family or friends.

I long to interweave patriotism with critical thinking. Blind patriotism is inadequate and can sometimes become ugly. The masses who followed Adolph Hitler or Joseph Stalin were patriotic, and whose who did not follow were considered unpatriotic, often to their misfortune. I truly want to be patriotic. I listen to The Sound of Music’s Edelweiss, Edelweiss, Bless my homeland forever and I long to sing that kind of national loyalty about the United States of America. I love the patriotism of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said