Formatia trans sicere educatorum

What does it mean to be a patriot? This is a central issue throughout the history of Political thought. A patriot simply put can be defined as a good citizen, and thus the question now becomes what does it mean to be a good citizen.

In 2007 a movie named Blue State was made that attempts to answer this question. Starring Brekin Meyer and Anna Paquin as John and Chloe, this movie attempts to look at what it does not mean to be a good citizen and what it does mean to be a good citizen within a republican form of government.

The movie begins in the midst of the 2004 Presidential Election season among the camp of John Kerry. John plays an outspoken supporter of the Kerry campaign and hater of the Bush administration. He believes it is not only is right, but his duty to speak out against the policies and administration of President Bush.  One night during a drunken stupor John makes a pledge that if President Bush wins a second term as President that he will move to Canada. Now we all hear people every President season make announcements that if the party they disagree with takes the Oval Office they will flee to Canada. Well as one suspects in November of 2004 President Bush wins reelection and John is forced to deal with his promise of moving to Canada. After a series of events John determines he will move to Canada. He places signs around town in hopes of finding someone who will go with him on the trip.

Enter Chloe, who we see for the first time putting blue streaks in her hair and piercing her right nostril.  She meets with John at a local coffee shop and tells him that she worked for the DNC on the election campaign for John Kerry and that she is a gym teacher. So begins their journey to Canada. We later find out that Chloe in fact did not work for the DNC but rather she is an apathetic. This brings us to the first point of a good citizen.

John replies to Chloe’s apathy that politics does matter. Aristotle defines politics in the Nicomachaen Ethics as the supreme activity, all other activities are aimed at politics. Why is this? Because politics is aimed at the ultimate good, which is happiness.  The question of whether it is better to engage in politics or in a life of contemplation is also central in this quest. John declares that to engage in politics is the best possible life one could partake in. A good citizen certainly has an obligation to take part in his or her given regime; a citizen according to Aristotle is the person who is capable of ruling within the polis. Thus in our republic we are all citizens who have achieved the age of 18 and thus are capable of ruling. To be apathetic in our regime is to neglect one’s citizen duties.

Next we have to understand why John and Chloe choose to flee to Canada as the ultimate act of patriotism. John leaves primarily because he swore to do it when drunk, this should teach anyone being drunk is a bad idea. But there is something deeper in why John has chosen to flee his place of birth. John doesn’t agree with the administration and believes the country is lost and wants to make a political statement by leaving our regime in favor of the Canadian regime. But is this true citizenship? The Declaration of Independence makes it clear, “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” John is directly contradicting the Declaration’s mandate, if he truly and sincerely believes that our government is defective it is his duty as a citizen to institute a new regime for the future happiness and safety of the people. This is a lesson that John only learns later on, at the same time when Chloe fully realizes what it means to be a true citizen.

Chloe’s reasons for fleeing America might be considered much more reasonable than John’s. Chloe admits before they cross the boarder that she is in the U.S. Army and is facing going to Iraq for a second tour in just a few days. Her fleeing the United States is not only a political statement, but is certainly a Federal crime. Yet they both flee and Chloe knows full well she cannot ever return to the place of her origins. Instead they both head to Winnipeg,  where a group called Marry a Canadian is located to help disaffected Americans find a spouse so they can start their process of becoming a Canadian citizen. When they realize that it is a crack brain idea, they vow to head to Vancouver.

On their way to Vancouver they run out of gas since John refuses to go to a gas station which uses Middle East oil. They encounter a man who offers to give them some gas and then a place to stay for the night. We come to learn that this man fled the United States back in the 1970′s when he was to be drafted and sent to Vietnam. He admits that if he had the chance to do things all over again, he would. His fleeing to Canada was not a political statement, because people in America could careless that he left. He left America because he was fearful for his own well being. He looks down upon the soldiers who flee America because of the war in Iraq because it was their choice to join the military, they were not compelled as he would have been. Thus Chloe resolves to return to the U.S. and face a court martial for going AWOL.

The lesson learned from this is that one cannot flee their country of birth and still be called a good citizen. Being a good citizen would mean that they would stay and fight for what they believed in. This is exactly what John realizes as he returns to America as well and runs for state senate in California. To be a good citizen one must first realize that they have a duty to ensure that the government has not become destructive of the ends it was established for, and further that if it does a good citizen will over throw that regime. Secondly, a good citizen does not flee their country but instead attempts to change the problems they see it. Fleeing to another country is a cowardly act, it is a selfish act. Instead of attempting to save the country of their origins, expatriates are only trying to save their own hides.

To be a good citizen you must be active in politics, and you cannot simply turn your back on your country when it has turned its back on you. You must stay and fight, become directly involved in the government or in the extreme case lead a revolution against it. Ultimately, to be apathetic is the sign of a bad citizen because it proves they do not care for their country. John and Chloe are prime examples of two forms of apathy at the beginning of Blue State. John is unwilling to help change the government, but instead flees at the first sign of trouble. Chloe doesn’t care about politics, she doesn’t realize that politics is the most essential part of human life.  Being a patriot, being a good citizen means being active in politics.

For those who are interested you can find more information about the movie Blue State at:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780486/