Superpatriotism

by Michael Parenti

Superpatriots, writes Michael Parenti, are those people who place national pride and American supremacy above every other public consideration, those who follow leaders uncritically, especially in their war policies abroad. Superpatriotism is the nationalistic hype propagated by officialdom, the media, and various flag-waving groups. Parenti demonstrates how superpatriotism attaches itself to religion, sports, the military, the schools and big business. He questions whether its top politico-economic propagators are themselves really patriotic, given how they evade taxes, export our jobs, pollute our land and plunder the public treasury. With incisive probing and a humorous touch, Parenti addresses such urgent questions What does it mean to love one’s country? Why is it so important to be Number One? What determines America’s “greatness?” He examines how US leaders and the corporate media fan the flames of fear to win support for huge arms budgets, global aggrandizement and the suppression of political dissent at home and abroad. Finally, he poses an alternative to superpatriotism, arguing that the real patriots are those who care enough to educate themselves about our country’s history and its present plight. He reminds us that it is not “anti-American” to criticize unjust social conditions at home or oppose global policies pursued by our rulers. Rather it is our democratic right and patriotic duty to do so. Michael Parenti is one of the nation’s leading progressive political analysts. An internationally known writer and speaker, he is the author of 17 books, including Democracy for the Few (seventh ed.) and The Assassination of Julius A People’s History of Ancient Rome . He has also published over 250 articles in scholarly journals, political periodicals, popular magazines and nationally known newspapers. He lives in Berkeley, CA.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Theory, Economics, American, The United States Of America

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

Michael John Parenti, Ph.D. (Yale University) is an American political scientist, academic historian and cultural critic who writes on scholarly and popular subjects. He has taught at universities as well as run for political office. Parenti is well known for his Marxist writings and lectures. He is a notable intellectual of the American Left and he is most known for his criticism of capitalism and American foreign policy.

Reviews

[Jus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 2004 in the wake of both the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Michael Parenti’s Superpatriotism addresses the hyper-nationalist mentality that continues to plague the American psyche. Dripping with classic Parenti sarcasm and wit, this book is ever more relevant in a "post-Trump" era.

The book opens with Parenti asking a simple question: “What does it mean to love one’s country? Do we love every street and lane, every hill and dale in America?” Is it the people we love? Certainly not, as the discrimination against Black Americans, Muslims, undocumented immigrants, and countless other minorities continue to persist in the communities that consider themselves the most patriotic. Is it the freedom our country provides us? Then why are the superpatriots the first to decry progressive political protests even though they are supposedly protected under the First Amendment? Is it the culture? While there are many aspects of American culture we can celebrate (e.g. the Jazz Age), superpatriots are the first to support tax cuts for the arts, education, and the humanities. Is it because America is a land of opportunity, where one is free to pursue “The American Dream” through upward mobility? Of course not! Anyone who has access to the internet knows that social class mobility has been stagnant, if not declined, since the introduction of Reaganomics! These contradictions lead Parenti to conclude that what superpatriots actually love is the abstract American essence, rather than any tangible concept.

Dedicating a chapter each to the military, sports, and religion – Parenti explores how the three are intertwined with superpatriotism. Is it not strange the uniforms of NBL incorporated a backwards American flag (identical to the flags on military uniforms) in response to entering the Gulf War? Is it not strange that our prayer of a national anthem – which includes the militaristic lyrics “the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air” – is sung before every major sports event? Not only is participation in the hymn mandatory, but refraining is seen as an act of desecration. When Colin Kaepernick protested against police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem – he was denounced as treasonous, a traitor, a terrorist. It should not be lost on us that these insults are the vocabulary of the military! There are many other disturbing parallels between the three, but I will let you discover them yourselves.

Surprisingly, Parenti does not conclude the book completely denouncing patriotism. The final chapter explores what it means to be a real patriot, and how being one is imperative to current movements. This country is historically rich with progressive social movements – the abolitionist movement, the fight for civil rights, the end of child labor! Through the eyes of Parenti, he argues that the “pantheon of the real patriots” consists of those who fought in these movements and countless others. Real patriots educate themselves about the true history of this country, questioning the propaganda they have been force-fed since birth. Real patriots denounce racists, sexists, capitalists, and anyone else who obstructs the path to achieving social justice. Real patriots believe a better future is possible – one that serves the interests of the people and not the bourgeoisie.

[Randall Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

“If the test of patriotism comes only by reflexively falling into lockstep behind the leader whenever the flag is waved, then what we have is a formula for dictatorship, not democracy.” In school, we were freely taught about the darker side of history of others (Hitler, Stalin, and Mao’s crimes) but never the darker side of our own history, where superpatriots have a self-enforced blind spot. Michael says, the self-appointed job of superpatriots is to repress heterodoxy. US superpatriots “would starve Athens for an ever-stronger Sparta.”

Michael says our country is #1 in wealth and military might, but notice that that wealth is only the wealth of a very few. Military might is simply kill capacity, and coming from the land that pretends to idolize Jesus, reveling in one’s capacity for violence seems counter-productive if not hypocritical. Do Luxembourg’s residents hang their heads in shame because their country doesn’t invest in kill capacity? Do US residents ever pause to wonder what are the COSTS of US endless war? A cost for us that includes the largest public debt of any other country, and largest prison population, but hey, we’re great at factory farms, killing off family farms, GMOS, peddling big pharma products, and anthems at sports events. We are number one for CEO pay and income inequality. We used to make stuff, proudly Made in America, but now mostly we manufacture hubris. I don’t know if US made hubris has a shelf life, but history has shown it’s easily repackaged and easily resold. So, this book takes a novel approach of asking, why not look at the price tag of our US full spectrum dominance shenanigans.

All of occupied Iraq sure had a good laugh when the US code-named its illegal occupation there “Operation Enduring Freedom.” Ah, the enduring freedom to ALWAYS miss their lost loved ones, miss buildings now destroyed, miss cultural artifacts looted, wax nostalgic about steady electrical service and clean water availability and the freedom to endure humiliation at all checkpoints. I picture cheery Iraqi musicals back then with hits like “Thanks for the Sanctions”, “I didn’t need a Family Anyway”, “Who knew I was Colored” and “Don’t Shoot the Oud Player.”

Patriotism = Flag + US Kill Capacity: Key to this continuing is that “opposition to defense spending is (always) portrayed as unpatriotic.” If any other part of the US government misplaced billions of dollars, there would be public outcry & investigation, but when the Pentagon loses billions, the press does its Hogan’s Heroes Sergeant Schultz “I see Nothing” schtick, et voila. Poof… Mussolini reminds us that “patriarchy and militarism are essential components of reactionary patriotism”. Boys with Toys.

Who can forget Ronald Reagan, “the conqueror of Grenada”? Such personal courage. “After Grenada was liberated by Reagan it’s unemployment rate skyrocketed.” All new health and education projects were wiped out. “Public service were privatized or abolished.” Golf courses replaced farm cooperatives – Achievement Unlocked – Grenada forced open to US neoliberal capital penetration, while neighboring islands all received the same message if they dared copy Grenada’s “care for one’s own people” template. Same thing after the US invaded Panama in 1989 – Panamanian unemployment homelessness, corruption all skyrocketed. As sage Gomer Pyle once summed it up, “Surprise Surprise, Surprise”.

Remember how superpatriots like to brag that we lost Vietnam by fighting with “one hand behind our back”? What weapon is in that other hand? The only unused weapon left is nuclear. We don’t like losing - but if our opponents and their families are all dead, then we win. The job of each US President for decades has been to is to feel “he has a divine mandate to reshape the world through violent means.”

Christianity Creating the Dark Ages: all the finest pagan libraries were burned, considered heretical by Jesus proselytes. Gone were the corpus pagan works “in philosophy, literature, history, astronomy, science, and the arts, ushering in more than a thousand oppressive years of ignorant and intolerant theocracy.” It was no joy ride before Christianity: “Start with the Old Testament itself, with its asseveration that the Israelites were God’s Chosen People as they leveled whole cities of heathens and non-believers. Indeed, there is no bloodier compendium of nationalist carnage and messianic atrocity than the Old Testament.” Italy has two Civilization markers: first the Roman Empire and then the power of the Vatican.

“The (America) love-it-or-leave-it mindset …refuses to see anything wrong.” Yet any sports team with that mindset would soon stop winning. If you think we made a mistake on our last failed play, Brady, then leave this team forever! This is fine only if we want a sports team or nation that won’t learn from mistakes. “The expression ‘love it or leave it’ means love America ‘as it is’.” This though “the American way is to criticize and debate openly.” It’s pretty funny when superpatriots tell us about how in some countries you can’t speak your mind, then glare when you exercise that same American right in front of them. To them, Michael says, “it seems we ‘abuse’ our rights by simply using them.”

America’s name was purloined from Amerigo Vespucci, “a despicable slaver and plunderer, every bit as ruthless as Columbus.” Asked to explain the US, news columnist Jon Carroll summed it up with, “We lie cheat and steal and murder. Any assumption that God conferred on us a special blessing is not backed up by facts. We fail to sign international treaties, and we reserve the right to violate such treaties whenever we feel like it. Is that because God speaks to our leaders as he speaks to no others?” US presidents can’t declare war, only Congress can do that, but listen to George Bush Sr. speaking in 1990: “I don’t care if I get one vote in Congress. We’re going in.” As Mel Brooks said, It’s Good to Be King. As John Foster Dulles eloquently said, “There must be the portrayal of external menace.” Because of oppressive laws During WWI, “about a thousand people were sentenced to prison for denouncing the war as a ‘rich man’s venture’ some for as much as thirty years.”

Note that in our movies and popular culture how “good guys and their enemies never get together to negotiate a peaceful settlement.” Did you know that Thomas Friedman wrote, “France is becoming our enemy” because France didn’t support our dipshit war in Iraq. I think Thomas was livid that Saddam had copied Thomas’s moustache without attribution, and it really hurt (even though they both had Tom Selleck/Ned Flanders moustaches). Western European workers get 30 days of vacation annually, while US workers get only ten days. In the US in 2002, the cost of street crime was $18 billion while cost of white-collar crime was $250 billion.

“Sooner or later Americans (will) rediscover that they cannot live on flag-waving alone.” Two-thirds of Americans in a poll agreed with the comment “The US plays the role of world policeman more than it should.” The military is having lots of problems recruiting with a poll of young people in 2000 with 64% saying they would never consider the military. The Right hates the New Deal because it had the power (and used it) to help the people while keeping away parasitic investors now known as Republicans.

American Chicken Hawks Exposed: funny how superpatriots Bush II, Cheney, Karl Rove, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, John Ashcroft, Elliot Abrams, John Bolton, Douglas Feith, Trent Lott, Tom DeLay, Dick Amey, George Will, William Kristol, and Rush Limbaugh, were all draft dodgers. The sadistic joys of sending OTHER people’s kids to fight wars they intentionally created. This mindset led Bush II to slash $2 billion from the Veterans Affair budget. Hey, it’s your fault you got hurt. “The Bush administration even ordered officials to stop publicizing health benefits available to veterans.” Is this the new textbook definition of ‘supporting’ our troops? Instead, to make our endless wars kinder, the Pentagon changed the name for “body bags” to “transfer tubes.” The perfect thoughtful consolation for bereaved parents. As you can see, super patriots may be big on loving their country, but not those who die for it.

Colluding with Nazis: The following US companies happily supported the Third Reich: “Du Pont, Ford, General Motors, Texaco, General Electric, General Electric, Union Carbide, Westinghouse, Goodrich, Standard Oil of New Jersey, JP Morgan, IBM and ITT. Prescott Bush (father and grandfather to two US Presidents) “made huge profits off Auschwitz slave labor” - imagine our media telling you that. IBM supplied Germany “the technology needed to identify, enslave and exterminate millions of European Jews and other victims.” I still have the Nazi clipboard my dad found in an IBM installation in Germany. Even FDR got in the act when he “gave an order not to bomb US corporate properties in Germany.” The allies leveled Cologne but left the Ford factory there unscathed. After WWII, “ITT collected $27 million from the US government for damages inflicted on its German plants inflicted by Allied bombings.” Not to be outdone, GM got $33 million for damages, and Ford got a bunch too. Michael asks, “If this is patriotism, then what is treason?”

Quick, name ANY country who has invaded more countries in the past 100 years than the US? Name ANY country who EVEN came close. I’ll wait for you here. Apparently, the self-proclaimed job of the US is to force all countries into a “global system of neoliberal corporate domination.” World domination through finance (or read Michael Hudson who is top dawg on this subject).

Nine-Eleven: One month before 9/11, “one FBI agent wrote about a plan afoot to crash into the twin towers, that report was ignored.” Also, one month before the attacks, Israeli intelligence briefed the CIA and FBI on a big operation being planned and included the names of four of the 9/11 hijackers, and not ONE person was arrested. In the year before 9/11 the US military scrambled fighter planes 67+ times when they saw suspicious aircraft activity. Yet on 9/11, the shit hit the fan for two hours during which “not a single US fighter plane took flight.” Let super patriots explain away ANY of these things.

Nine Eleven Response: Michelle Obama’s hugging partner George Bush first declares a war on terrorism (pretending you can declare war on a tactic instead of a person or country without the world laughing). Second, Bush announces International Law won’t restrain him; and thanks to that, it wouldn’t restrain Obama, Trump, or Biden either. He withdraws the US from the ABM Treaty (seeking peace is for sissies if your team is hell-bent on threats, and full spectrum dominance). Bush then removes the US signature from establishing the International Criminal Court. Bush then says he will attack preemptively any country he likes. Attacking preemptively = War Crime in case you STILL care about war crimes and morality when our Presidents don’t.

To end terrorism first, as Noam says, stop participating in it. Try not to do stuff to other countries that will make your country more hated. Like the US invading Iraq, Afghanistan, Panama, Grenada, Vietnam, Haiti, Mexico, Philippines, yadda yadda… Those that bombed the World Trade Center in 1993, said it was done because of our extreme support for Israel and “dictator countries” in the Middle East. Bin Laden said, “If we do not get security, the Americans will not be secure either.” In 1989, Jimmy Carter said he saw in Lebanon how US support for its bombing by Israel made it so “we became a kind of Satan in the minds of those who are deeply resentful.” Occupation dramatically increases unemployment and water and electricity issues whether its occupation of Western Sahara, Kashmir, Gaza, or during the Iraq War. But if you are happily a rogue state like the US or Israel, who cares about the welfare of those you occupy? It’s Good to Be King. Haters Gonna Hate. Zzzz…

Should anyone really piss us off, we have 8,000 strategic nuclear weapons and 22,000 tactical ones ready before we return to the real world of non-rogue states, to diplomacy, and listening instead of telling. Great Book, I learned a lot. In fact, I’ve never read anything by Michael Parenti that wasn’t great. Good show again. Check out all his books.

[Thomas Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 2004, this short and impassioned polemic rages against the rise in right-wing narratives of nationalism, strength and prosperity that had come to a head by the eve of Bush II's re-election. Parenti is in full choir-preaching mode, sure, but it's immensely satisfying to have a 160-page laundry list of "patriotic" crimes, failures, fallacies and hypocrisy. There are some frustrating parts - he fails to connect the dots between, say, the Christian narratives of American superiority and the burgeoning "prosperity gospel" of right-wing evagelism. But overall it's a short, fun and empowering book, written for an audience who at the time would have been in dire need of the catharsis.

[Public Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a stunning indictment! Parenti is a true iconoclast, and boy does he ever slaughter some sacred cows in this slim volume. The author boldly questions the definition of American patriotism - and you may not like some of his harsh conclusions. Very smart and well-reasoned.

[J.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Democracy is not about trust; it is about distrust. It is about accountability, exposure, open debate, critical challenge, and popular input and feedback from the citizenry. It is about responsible government. We have to get our fellow Americans to trust their leaders less and themselves more, trust their own questions and suspicions, and their own desire to know what is going on" -pg 81.


This book is a good starter on the subject, and brings up a batch of good points, this, above, being one of my favorites. It is dangerous to be a blind patriot, and never questioning, never criticising even those that, at face value we would support and agree with.

I read the entire thing in one evening, so its a quick read, and the book is stuck in the time it was written (Bush #2), but it was a nice reminder of what is at stake if we blindly follow what is commonly attributed as "patriotism".

what is a patriot to you?

[Brennen Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good at questioning what really makes someone patriotic. It is patriotic to support the ruling classes war mongering and refusal to invest in this countries middle and lower classes? Or it it more patriotic to criticize those in power for their refusal to protect this countries people and environment because of profit margins?

All of Micheal Parenti’s books end up being enlightening in one way or another.

[Mitchell Tousley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parenti does an excellent job laying out the issues with “superpatriots” and picking apart the assumptions they operate under. Having grown up in the 2000s, I definitely absorbed a lot of these superpatriotic beliefs uncritically. The author presents a lot of information (that can be admittedly challenging to learn for the first time) in a clear and concise way. Between the collusion between American business and the Nazis, the grip our military has had and continues to have around the world, and how poorly the US treats those who serve in its armed forces, Parenti demonstrates how hollow many plutocrats’ claims of patriotism actually are. He concludes with an encouraging and invigorating description of what real patriotism looks like, which was a nice way to end and otherwise very critical text.

[Andrea Sissons · Rating 1 out of 5]

Forced to read in a college course by a self described “unrepentant socialist” with no patience for opinions of non-socialists. Worst text book I’ve ever been forced to read. Full of negativity, misplaced anger, hate and self loathing. Goes hand in hand with the collectivist handbooks like Rules for Radicals or Communist Manifesto and the collectivist idea that you are entitled to something you didn’t earn. Author doesn’t see the irony in his supposed “anti-fascist” opinions, when he shows so much disdain for a free country like America and freedom loving Americans. He is clearly a whiny collectivist with a crybaby perspective… another pseudo-intellectual elitist who can’t produce anything so he tears down those who can produce. Don’t waste your time or money.

[Justin Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

What does it mean to be patriotic? Is it a love for a nation’s people and culture or an uncritical acquiescence to its leaders? Can patriotism be a force for progress or an instrument of regression?

Michael Parenti, in his book Superpatriotism (2004), explores all these questions about patriotism, how “superpatriotism” arises as a monster from the contradictions of the nation-state, and how we might develop a patriotism that is dedicated to peace and social justice.

Parenti defines superpatriotism as a “readiness to follow national leaders unquestioningly in their dealings with other countries, especially in confrontations involving military force.” He uses the historical examples of the Vietnam and Iraq Wars as instances when superpatriotism was used to stifle criticism of said conflicts and inculcate an obedience in the body politic. He also has an insightful chapter on sports and their reinforcement of superpatriotism through a glorification of violence and militarism. Superpatriotism is also anathema to knowledge, especially of history, which properly studied would show the US as a nation based on the immiseration of native peoples and the subjugation of Africans for economic development.

In Parenti’s view, superpatriots don’t care about the millions of poor and unemployed in America. They don’t care about the veterans of America’s costly wars, whose lives are shattered by injuries and insufficient social services. They don’t care about the rights of other peoples in other nations, especially when deemed enemies of the US. All they care about is America’s right to dominate the world and force it to follow its dictates.

But there is another form of patriotism, one that doesn’t ignore the injustices of one’s nation. It is a patriotism that celebrates the kindness, diversity, and courage of its people. It is one that acknowledges the dark aspects of history while learning from its illuminating periods, from the abolitionist movement of the nineteenth century to the anti-war and civil rights movements of the twentieth. This is the patriotism that Parenti eloquently advocates for, capping off one of his best books of political theory.

[Pushon Bhattacharya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tremendous evisceration of the innumerable dickhead politicians and fatuous media pundits that claim that America is the best country in the world when it actually fucking sucks. These people claim to be patriots, yet they're loyal only to the almighty dollar.

[Roberto Yoed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fifteenth book from Parenti.

While most of this work is a big fragment from another Parenti's book ('Land of Idols'), there are some updates about US imperialism and critique of ideology.

Good, but nothing extraordinary.

[Sam S · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's quite funny and an interesting time capsule when read 20+ years after publishing. Parenti even aligns with Trump on some topics like NATO, though not for the same reasons, making this book an all the more revealing look at how US politics has changed, and how it has not.

[Luís Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

(read in Bang Nam Chuet, Thailand)

[Reid Belew · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

Really good critique of nationalism, and Parenti is just a great stylist.

[Howdy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If it’s going to feel like ‘04 all over again, I’m gonna read like it. Still horrifically relevant.

[Adam Schendel · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In contrast to the superpatriots, there are the real patriots who care enough about their country to want to improve it. They know that democracy is not just the ability to hold elections. Democracy must also serve the needs and interests of the demos, the people. Real patriots educate themselves about the real history of their country and are not satisfied with the flag-waving promotional fluff that passes for history. They find different things in our past to be proud of than do superpatriots, such as the struggle for enfranchisement, the abolitionist movement, the peace movement, the elimination of child labor, and the struggle for collective bargaining, the eight-hour day, occupational safety, and racial justice and gender equality."

-Michael Parenti

[sologdin · Rating 2 out of 5]

a polemic, certainly. 'superpatriotism' is really just fascism. (author adopts a non-leftwing set of concepts in referring without irony to 'plutocrats,' however.)

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as 'Democracy for the Few,' but Parenti makes some great points.

[Shailon · Rating 5 out of 5]

love, love, love. I need to go to a parenti talk before he isn't alive anymore. What a ingenious man