[The following is an editorial by one of our esteemed members.  The SCV is a non-political organization dedicated to preserving and defending the heritage and honor of the Confederate soldier.  The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the SCV or the DeKalb Rifles.  We gladly provide this forum for our members opinions and will defend to the death their constitutional right to express them.] 

Patriotism vs. Nationalism

by Dale Crawford

Patriotism - Love and loyal support for one's country or affiliation.

Nationalism - Extreme patriotism.  A form of socialism that advocates government ownership and control of everything.

Patriotism and nationalism run parallel for a certain distance.  Then they are separated by the insertion of common sense.  Patriotism requires a somewhat straight line.  Sure, we all err from time to time.  But we must constantly evaluate our position in relation to the current situation.

And in no way am I advocating a soft flexible stance.  Quite the contrary, but there is a line that separates right from wrong.  To be patriotic we must stay on the right side of that divider.  And again, I did not advocate jumping ship at the first opportunity.  For the patriot will stay the course as long as it is just.  When it becomes unjust, it takes more backbone to stand for what is right.

The nationalist will follow wherever his affiliation leads him.  Just look at what we have running for President of the United States this year.  And we have people from both parties wholly supporting their nominees.

I am going to take you into some territory where you did not expect.  Let's go back to David and Saul.  Saul is nationalistic.  His nationalism has carried him into extreme left filed.  It has come to the point where he is leading a huge army in pursuit of David.  He and his army are determined to kill David even though they have no reason.  Saul's son Jonathan helps David because he realizes that truth is more important than following his nationalistic father.

Now David had the opportunity to kill Saul twice.  Both times, he left a message loud and clear to Saul that he could have assassinated him.  He recognized the error and evil of Saul's way.  Yet, he would not take the life of the king picked by God.

Now, let's talk about Daniel.  King Darius was a nationalist for he was pushed into a corner by his henchmen.  He recognized right, but followed blindly.  Daniel was patriotic to God and the truth.  This is a good example of it taking more backbone to be patriotic than nationalistic.

Now think back to the time of Jesus.  Like Daniel, Jesus was patriotic to God and the truth.  The Pharisees were nationalistic to the study of the Law.  They were so obsessed with the law that they did not see the big picture.  They did not heed the prophets and refused to see the truth staring them right in the face, so they failed to recognize the coming of Christ.

Now we wil change from Bible history to American history.  In the "War of Northern Aggression" we, as a whole, were patriotic, they were nationalistic.  We were right.  They were wrong.  We, the southern people had laid the foundation for the American government.  But when that government became twisted, we could no longer support nor tolerate it.

So, we set out and formed a new nation and government.  Sure, we put a few tweaks and improvements here and there.  But basically, it was almost a carbon copy of the former.  We were loyal to our government because it was a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Meanwhile, the Yankees were nationalists.  Their government had fallen into the hands of a select few with special interests.  Yet, aso many blindly followed them.  They stretched the laws, twisted and even abandoned the Constitution.

They were nationalistic when they forced years of reconstruction on the South.  But it was a good thing that old wounds were partially healed by time.  For the Southern soldier has been the backbone of the military in every war since.

When we separate patriotism from nationalism in World War II, we like to thing that we were patriotic, while the Axis powers were nationalistic.  We recognize that the great depression helped Hitler to power.  But while Hitler was centralizing everything and bringing it under total control, let's analyze our situation here.  We elected a man to four terms as President of the United States.  A man who referred to the Constitution as "a horse and buggy document".  A man who openly experimented with communism (example: The Skyline Farms and other such colonies).  A man whose wife was a supporter of communism.  This should remind you to keep your guard up.  For part of the people blindsided by this was what would become known as our "Greatest Generation".

One of our biggest present day dangers is political correctness this is another effort to reconstruct the people, re-channel and re-program their thinking.  We have a responsibility to be loyal and patriotic to our country.  And we will stay that course to the end.

In separating the two, remember every nation that has ever been conquered has fallen from within.

If we continue to stand as a nation, we must return to some of the morals and values of our forefathers.  We must abolish political correctness and return to calling a spade a spade.  We must understand that separation of church and state has been turned around 180 degrees.  You will not find separation of church and state in the constitution simply because it isn't there.  Where it comes from is a response from Jefferson to a Baptist preacher assuring him that the government will not interfere with the church.  Our forefathers did recognize the God of the Bible as being supreme.  Anyone that doubts that should read the Declaration of Independence or George Washington's inaugural address or his Thanksgiving Proclamation which was requested by congress.  The reason it is not addressed more in the constitution is because it was left up to the individual states.  And every one of the 50 state constitutions recognize the God of the Bible.  And of the 13 state constitutions that immediately followed the U.S. Constitution, most required that candidates for public office be Christians or of the Christian faith.  We must restore a system of checks and balances in our government; stop these court rulings that go into left field with no foundation, eliminate political corruption and stop blindly following a political party whose agenda doesn't reflect our values.  We must stop giving our blessings when corporations of all sizes are swallowed up by corporate giants.  Stop price gouging by the petroleum companies and other corporate giants.  Today, we need a Nehemiah to speak up for us.