Patriotism and Public Service

Citizenship, patriotism, and public service: these words define the arena of ethical conduct beyond the level of family and friends. Society functions well when its citizens are active participants, volunteering for public duties and taking responsibility to solve problems in their neighborhoods and communities.

Particularly in a democracy, which is government “of the people and by the people,” an attitude of public service is the defining characteristic of good citizens. In times of peril, love of country calls forth sacrifice.

Patriots are proud to offer themselves—their lives if necessary—in the service of their country. The biblical Esther pleads for her people at the risk of her life to save them from destruction. The Psalmist poignantly expresses love of the land in his lament “By the waters of Babylon.”

We include a medieval Korean poem that pledges absolute loyalty to the sovereign; it is familiar to Unificationists who have adapted it as a hymn of dedication to God’s will.

Here we supplement scripture with memorable words by modern patriots who set the example of sacrifice and dedication to their nations’ welfare and who led their people to victory in the face of tyranny.

Among the heroes in that pantheon, Father Moon pays particular tribute to Yu Gwansoon, a young Korean girl whose death at the hands of the Japanese police inaugurated the Korean independence movement.

Father Moon teaches that a nation has three aspects: people, land and sovereignty.

In a number of scripture passages, the requirement of submission to government authority even includes counsel to patiently endure tyrants for the sake of the order and public safety their regimes maintain.

However, Father Moon links loyalty and respect for the ruler with the prophetic duty to admonish and guide him to rule according to God’s will.

Father Moon teaches that love of country is one stage on the ladder of public love that begins with love of family and ends with love of humanity, the universe and God (see below, World Citizenship). He views these loves as in alignment, not in conflict, and tells parents to inculcate patriotism in the young.

The Duty of Citizens to Serve Their Country

There is not one of us but has his appointed position, and we are verily ranged in ranks [for service]. Qur’an 37.164-65

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. Isaiah 58.12

Among the actions and good deeds for which a believer will continue to receive reward after his death are knowledge which he taught and spread, a good son whom he left behind, or a copy of the Qur’an which he left as a legacy, or a mosque which he built, or a house which he built for the traveler, or a stream which he caused to flow, or a contribution which he gave from his property when he was alive and well, for which he will continue to receive reward after his death. Hadith of Ibn Majah (Islam)

Strive constantly to serve the welfare of the world; by devotion to selfless work one attains the supreme goal in life. Do your work with the welfare of others always in mind… The ignorant work for their own profit, Arjuna; the wise work for the welfare of the world, without thought to themselves. Bhagavad Gita 3.23-25 (Hinduism)

If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost. Aristotle, Politics (Hellenism)

When you cease to contribute, you begin to die. Eleanor Roosevelt

And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
When you belong to a nation, you must know how to love all its citizens. (1:336, December 30, 1956)

What kind of person is a patriot? A patriot wants his country to flourish. He would rather that his country not have any problems to be concerned about. But since he has a loving mind towards his country, when he sees a problem, he takes full responsibility for dealing with it. (161:133, January 18, 1987)

People who silently do public duties and serve their community and nation become its owners, wherever they may go. (5:16, November 9, 1958)

Be ready to do the most painful, unpleasant work. When you see the filthiest place in your neighborhood, think, “I should be cleaning it up.” (284:154, August 1, 1993)

Take on the most difficult task for your nation, take on the most difficult task for your church; and take on the most difficult task for the world: If you don’t go this way willingly, you remain as a servant and cannot reach the realm of an adopted son. You have to be willing to digest all these tasks with joy. (113:111, May 1, 1981)

Individuals should not take advantage of their nation; on the contrary, individuals should willingly let their nation take advantage of them, offering themselves for their nation’s benefit. That is our duty as citizens. We should encourage all the people of our nation to take this direction. (24:20-21, June 22, 1969)

We must eliminate the basis of evil—including greed, decadence, distrust and false love—from society at every level—family, community, nation, world and universe—through practicing sacrifice, service, honesty, and true love centering on God. (167:100, June 30, 1987)

A Patriot’s Sacrifice for King, People, and Country

I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country. Nathan Hale

Though this frame should die and die, though I die a hundred times, My bleached bones all turn to dust, my very soul exist or not— What can change the undivided heart that glows with faith toward my lord?7 Chong Mongju, Tan Shim Ga (Confucianism)

The name of peace is sweet, and the thing itself is beneficial, but there is a great difference between peace and servitude. Peace is free- dom in tranquility; servitude is the worst of all evils, to be resisted not only by war, but even by death. Marcus Tullius Cicero8 (Hellenism)

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! Patrick Henry

Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour.” Sir Winston Churchill

By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our lyres. For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy! Psalm 137.1-6

Mordecai told him… the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews… and charged Esther to go to the king to make suppli- cation to him and entreat him for her people… Then Esther… [sent] a message to Mordecai, saying, “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law; all alike are to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter that he may live. And I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.” And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. Then Mordecai told them to return answer to Esther, “Think not that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.” Esther 4.7-16

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
A nation needs patriots. Patriotism—love of country—is the tow-line that moves a nation forward. A patriot cannot abandon his nation; even if he leaves, he vows to return one day.

So strong is that tow-line that, for the sake of the suffering people of his land, a patriot will spurn personal success and does not mind enduring hardships. The power of love makes this possible. (175:204, April 17, 1988)

Out of love for their land and their nation, patriots fought against all conditions of oppression. They hoped for the day of victory and had unshakable faith that such a day would surely come. That is how they could resist the oppressors and carry on their struggle. (5:321, March 1, 1959)

Why do the Korean people revere Yu Gwansoon as a patriot? Was she merely a young girl who died miserably at the hands of the Japanese police? It is because for the sake of her nation she accounted her life worthless; she loved her nation and her people more than her life. (141:293, March 2, 1986)

A patriot might live in poverty and eat nothing but salt soup and barley rice, but when a foreigner comes to visit he prepares the finest meal. He thinks that he must not expose his poverty, out of concern for his nation’s honor. We too should not behave lightly, exposing our petty squabbles while forgetting our nation’s honor. Be patriots, who strive to present their nation in a beautiful light. (26:136, October 19, 1969)

Patriots should love three things: the sovereign, the land and the people. These are the three elements that comprise a nation. A patriot should love all three with true love. To do so, he must invest his family, devoting it for the welfare of the nation… By no logic in the universe can you become a patriot by putting your family first. Love always strives to connect with something greater. (207:251, November 11, 1990)

True love is the starting point of all ideals; its action continues for eternity. When young people possess it, they will possess a power stronger than life itself. With true love, they will acquire a new outlook on their country. When young people acquire such a new outlook, their country will discover new possibilities for advancement.

When diverse interest groups in the nation adopt an attitude based on true love, they will be able to rise above their conflicting interests and create a society of cooperation, harmony, and progress.

True love of country manifests as sacrificial and patriotic loyalty. This is the primary force that moves a country forward. Each of the numerous national heroes whom we respect today exemplified a life of patriotic sacrifice rooted in true love. (288:201, November 28, 1997)

Respect for the Governing Authorities

Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. Mark 12.17

Pray for the welfare of the empire, because were it not for the fear it inspires, every man would swallow his neighbor alive.12 Mishnah, Avot 3.2 (Judaism)

The sultan is God’s shade on earth to which each one of his servants who is wronged repairs. When he is just he will have a reward, and it is the duty of the common people to be grateful; but when he acts tyrannically the burden rests on him, and it is the duty of the common people to show endurance. Hadith of Baihaqi (Islam)

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore, one must be subject, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. Romans 13.1-7

Hearing and obeying [those in government] are the duty of a Muslim both regarding what he likes and what he dislikes, as long as he is not commanded to perform an act of disobedience to God, in which case he must neither hear nor obey. Hadith of Bukhari and Muslim (Islam)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Although each of us as an individual is as precious as heaven and earth put together, we should serve our family. Then, just as we place our family above ourselves, we should place the community above our family and the nation above the community. (10:328, November 27, 1960)

Serve the president of your nation as you would attend your parents and teachers, serve your parents as you would attend your teachers and the president of your nation, and serve your teachers as you would attend your parents and the president of your nation. This is the teaching of the Three Subject Thought.13 Its central focus is true love. (212:28, January 1, 1991)

When I speak to American young people about patriotism, they blink their eyes in perplexity and retort, “How should I love my country?” The problem is: no one has properly educated them about love. They see that their parents’ relationship is entirely carnal, and they experience relationships with their siblings and friends that are entirely carnal.

They see everyone practicing animalistic love—love below the level of animals. People say, “What do you mean, love my country? I express my patriotism by paying my taxes.” With that attitude, how can they learn love of country? Love of country starts from love taught in the family.

How do parents teach patriotism?

They teach their children how to love their siblings and how to love their parents. At the same time, they tell them, “We love our nation just as we love you, so you should love our nation too.”

When children are taught like that, they understand right away from experience what patriotism is about. That is the best education. If people were raised with that tradition, instead of wondering, “What is American patriotism?” they would understand immediately and bow their heads in respect. No other explanation would be needed…

Patriots regard the words of the President as superior to their father’s words. Therefore, parents should educate their children that love of country is higher than filial love.

They should teach, “You and I must be loyal to our country when it is in peril, and even offer our lives for our country.” That is the tradition that thoughtful people should pass on to the next generation; it will correct the course of our nation’s history. (95:51-52, October 23, 1977)