A couple of years ago singer Lilly Allen proclaimed that she was “ashamed to be British” because of Britain’s slow processing of visas for Afghani minors trying to enter the country without parents. Ms. Allen stated,
“It just seems that at three different intervals in this young boy’s life, the English in particular have put you in danger.
“Bombed your country, put you in the hands of the Taliban and now we’re putting you at risk, risking your life to get into our country. I apologise on behalf of my country. I’m sorry for what we’ve put you through.”
Now, we’re not going to talk about the fact that Ms. Allen is mistaken on two counts and probably unfair in her assessment of her third accusation. (British troops have not been bombing Afghanistan indiscriminately and, in fact, British troops were risking lives to bait terrorists to fire on them in order to fight them because the rules of engagement would not allow them to fire on known terrorists unless under fire themselves. Also, the British had nothing to do with the Taliban taking over Afghanistan. And Britain and France are trying to provide safety to children from a war torn country despite the mountain of bureaucratic hassle that accompanies refugee children entering the country without parents. But then a bleeding heart and celebrity status are frequently used as substitutes for ethical reasoning and historical knowledge.) What we’re going to talk about is her willingness to condemn her country for a single problem… in order to make herself look better.
Condemning one’s country has become en Vogue for celebrities (actress Carey Mulligan has also joined in as well.) Those who were alive during the Vietnam War likely remember Jane Fonda’s trip to Vietnam wherein she condemned American soldiers who were being tortured for years in North Vietnamese prison camps as “war criminals” and made pals with the North Vietnamese army that had committed such atrocities as the Dak Son and Hue Massacres. Concurrent with this is the implication that being patriotic means ignoring all the bad things about your country.
But that brings me to my point: Who gets to be patriotic? By Ms. Allen’s, Ms. Mulligan’s and Ms. Fonda’s (former) reckoning, it seems we should hang our heads in shame over the Vietnam War and Britain’s immigration bureaucracy. Ms. Allen and Ms. Mulligan seem ready to throw out the fact that their nation outlawed slavery before the US and saved thousands children from the gas chambers and fire pits of the Holocaust with the Kindertransport. And while there were serious fundamental problems with the American engagement in Vietnam, the United States provided a home for millions of people fleeing oppression and has been a nation free from tyranny and with strong rule of law.
So who gets to be patriotic and proud of their country? Afghanistan? Well, Afghanistan was governed by the brutal and backward Taliban for years, so they have atrocities in their history. How about Vietnam? Well no matter which way you slice that country, crimes against humanity we’re committed and both the North and South Vietnamese took part. And if you dig through any other nation’s history, you’ll find violence and abuse. And you’ll also find great things too. Afghanistan has a long and rich history and culture and has been at the crossroads of many great civilizations. Vietnam has a culture that is over 2,000 years old with beautiful art and music. Those are things that the people of those countries should be and are proud of, but they still want to make their countries better. And we should be no different. Patriotism does not mean living in an illusion about your nation’s past or present. It means celebrating the good things, addressing the bad things and improving them.