Tag Archives: Country

The Inherent Fallacy of the Ethnic State

01 Wednesday Aug 2018

Posted by in Christendom

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

And, still more important, the whole conception [of the nation-state] is opposed to a rule so general that it must be rooted deeply in the nature of mankind. There exists almost no country which could include all the parts of one race without including considerable parts of other races. We are bound to conclude from this that community of language is rarely, if ever, the decisive element to consider in forming states. There are other factors which together, or even occasionally singly, are no less important, e.g. geography, security, religion, economy, tradition, history. And once we override all these elements in favor of one, the linguistic, we are certainly in danger of creating artificial states which cannot last.

-Otto von Habsburg, Danubian Reconstruction 

The Virtue of Patriotism contra Thearchic Nationalism

13 Tuesday Jun 2017

Posted by in Christendom

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

The Church is now bringing together what that tower had sundered. Of one tongue there were made many; marvel not: this was the doing of pride. Of many tongues there is made one; marvel not: this was the doing of charity. For although the sounds of tongues are various, in the heart one God is invoked, one peace preserved.

-St. Augustine, Commentary on the Gospel of St. John

In my wanderings in this valley of tears, I have always tried to uphold the virtue of Patriotism, the love of my country, the land and its peoples. I have written in the past about the perversion of Nationalism which daily undermines the true Common Good of the countries it infects. Yet as with all philosophical errors it returns under different forms in different ages. As it was invoked against the Universal Church in the Sacred Ages, now the Nationalists dare even to invoke God for their defense in this Age of Godlessness. Continue reading →

On the Current Crisis

11 Tuesday Oct 2016

Posted by in Christendom

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Frans_Francken_II_Allegory_of_War

One can readily understand what the dread of passing evils can do, and what great eternal evil follows!

-Pius XII, Exsul Familia Nazarethana

The current crisis to which I refer is not what one would expect, the displacement of peoples, the present wars in which neither side is really “the Right side”. Rather it is the crisis of ideals and definitions, of right and proper relations; not so much what is happening as how it is dealt with- and how it ought to be dealt with. What is at stake is the Right Order of the World, of Human Society, the proper and just relations of beings and of states of being, and the solution is to be found, following the example of the ancients, by looking at the Right Order of the Human Person and Soul to which earthly things are ordered.

Continue reading →

Patriotism and Nationalism: Ordered Love of Country and Disordered Attachment to Nation

13 Tuesday Sep 2016

Posted by in Christendom

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

Hapsburg_Eagle

Patriotism, not nationalism, is the ideal political attachment. The patriot is proud of and happy about his country and the variety of cultures, languages, races, institutions, estates and classes, traditions and opinions it harbors. The nationalist is in danger of considering himself (as part of a collective unit) superior to the members of other nationalities (ethnic groups). He comes dangerously close to the racist. His loyalties have taken on a horizontal rather than a vertical character.

Nationalism is a “natural” tendency: the nation is the cultural group one is born into (natus). The patriot, however, takes a supranatural, an ethical stand. He vows loyalty and affection to the country of his birth, of his forebears, or to an adopted fatherland. Indeed, there are great countries on this globe which have grown by virtue of choice and adoption on the part of their citizens rather than by birthrates.

Nationalism (and racism) have repeatedly created dissent, rebellion, and wars. The modern “popular” mass-war has ideological or nationalistic roots and sometimes even racist undertones.

-Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, The Portland Declaration Article 21