Several months ago, I thought about using poster board, string, and some markers for hanging signs on my body. I thought about going down to the state- house here in Columbus during lunch hour.

I thought of having one sign hanging over the front and one hanging over the back of my body : ” If we love America, let’s drive less”, “Be a patriot : bike, walk, carpool, and take the bus”, “If we like to breathe clean air, let’s drive less”, and “Using corn ethanol raises food prices, damages agriculture and won’t be enough to replace oil.”

Those are some of the messages that come to mind.

In terms of telling you why I’m referring to patriotism, several ideas come to mind.

One idea is that environmentalism seems to be, somehow, more of a concern among so-called liberals and progressives, than it is among people who would refer to themselves as conservatives. I don’t grasp how that works, but my hunch is that it’s the case, at least so far.

A related idea is that liberals and progressives have, so to speak, played into the hands of conservatives who’ve tried, and succeeded at, convincing a significant portion of the general public that to be progressive and liberal, somehow, detracts from a person’s patriotism.

This doesn’t surprise me. A significant number of people who question the status quo, regarding environmentalism, have seemed to reject a knee-jerk, love-it-or-leave-it brand of patriotism, only to embrace an apparently equally knee-jerk dislike toward our nation.

For some people, being involved with environmentalism leads her or him to think that the United States is somehow uniquely destructive, and inherently worse than other nations when it comes to environmental issues.

I disagree with that view. I reject the idea that our nation is somehow intrinsically worse than other nations just as I reject the idea that our nation is somehow intrinsically superior to other nations.

For some people involved with environmentalism, humankind itself, is some sort of ugly destructive animal or some sort of virus that has infected the planet, multiplying itself as it destroys its host. I disgree with that view also, but that’s another topic.

Getting back to the topic of patriotism, I’m not being insincere about using references it to, as I go about trying to get people to at least think about our resource issues.

I actually believe that there are good forms of patriotism–perhaps a sort of ’enlightened patriotism’, in a manner similar to ‘enlightened self-interest.’

Also, I think that it’s not yet the case that nation-states are no longer constructive modes of social organization. Of course, I’m not advocating a God-bless-America-and-the-rest-of-the-world-be-damned approach to patriotism.

I think a person can be patriotic in a manner analogous to how she or he has a sort of loyalty to her or his circle of friends, family members, and community.

Also, to me, it seems that not only have some conservatives succeeded at labeling progressives as unpatriotic (with the inadvertent help of progressives), but it may be the case that people such as President Bush and like-minded people, have sold, as patriotic, much of the general public on an agenda that, in fact, detracts from the national interest of the United States.

I’m referring to the loss of our manufacturing sector, deficit spending, and the apparent lack of interest in preparing our nation for a post-fossil-fuels future.

My hunch is that pursuing excessive corporate profits is trumping pursuing the national interest of the United States.

Framing environmentalism within the context of patriotism is not an insincere PR maneuver. I’m convinced that a case can be made, honestly and convincingly, for why carrying out the various societal transformations involved with environmentalism is patriotic.

But my definition of ‘patriotism’ may differ from the definition some other people may have.