The Moral Equivalent of War

Jun 19, 2008 Posted by Reilly Goodwin

“Patriotic pride and ambition in their military form are, after all, only specifications of a more general competitive passion. They are its first form, but that is no reason for supposing them to be its last form.”
-William James, 1906

Capitalizing on the political unity and patriotism that arises immediately following a national disaster, crisis or war is typically easy; the bigger challenge arises when we try to prolong this sense of national unity.  In the absence of a national threat what do we as Americans unite around? It seems that if there is no immediate war-like threat, we as Americans loose this patriotism.  In the words of The Righteous Brothers we begin to lose “that loving feeling”   The question is how can we foster “that loving feeling,” that feeling of social unity, in the absence of a threat?

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National Service, William James, political unity (all tags)

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