Question

What does this quote mean? "Unless our conception of patriotism is progressive, it cannot hope to embody the real affection and the real interest of the nation." @History

Answer 1

Pogressivism, broadly defined -- there have been many movements calling themselve "progressive" and many people call themselves "progressive," because it sounds so nice -- is the belief that the ideas and particular constraints that seemed good yesterday are less important to constructing the future than the wishes and beliefs of today. This is founded on the idea that history "progresses" and that what worked well for people last year need not necessarily work well next year. People change, over time, because societies as well as individuals learn and grow and adapt.

There are, of course, many other people who think this is a load of hooey. But that's the idea.

Now, if you believe this general idea, then you believe that *all* concepts and attitudes reflective of the nation as a whole must adapt, over time, in order to continue to be optimal for the nation (because the nation is changing). Hence, "patriotism," as a concept, and in terms of the demands it makes on individual citizens and the benefits it can be expected to provide, must change over time -- cannot have the same meaning in 2011 for the United States, say, as it did in 1944, or 1911, or 1787.

If it does not -- then, the quote says, it will do two things: (1) it will no longer address the real (i.e. current) interest of the nation, but only (at best) the interests it had some time ago, which are different. (2) It will no longer make people feel satisfied and happy about their society, i.e. it will no longer engage their affection and interest, because even if it engaged the affection of their parents or grandparents, the people are different now, and respond differently and think differently than an older generation did.