Patriotism, Fear, and Sufficient Causes…
What The Ukrainian Heroes Are Teaching The World About Values
In his Republic, to define justice, Plato sought it in the creation of a perfect city, or State. He reasoned that it would then be easier to discover it in the individual by a process of extrapolation and reduction.
The guardians of his ideal City-State would have a particular character, perfectly suited to statesmen—their personal interests would coincide with the interests of the City-State itself. They would harbor no self-interest that ran counter to what was best for the City-State over which they ruled.
It occurs to me that this is the perfect representation of a true patriot. A Patriot is one whose self-interest is not merely subordinate to the interests of his country, his interests are identical with those of his country.
The entire world is seeing true patriotism on display. The heroes of Ukraine are teaching us what Patriotism looks like at its core. It is what we might have seen had the American Revolution happened in the age of social media.
Today, I heard an interview with a 19-year-old Ukrainian who had left his university studies to sign up for duty with Ukraine’s defensive forces. The interviewer asked if he was afraid. He said that he was afraid but that…
