Daily Inspiration Quote by Todd Gitlin

Gitlin’s line is a trapdoor under the word “patriotism,” a term that often arrives pre-blessed, as if affection for a country can’t possibly curdle. By dividing patriotism into “versions,” he refuses the warm, singular noun politicians prefer. Patriotism isn’t a fixed virtue; it’s a design choice, a repertoire of feelings and habits that can be built toward pluralism or weaponized toward exclusion.

The key move is his careful proximity: “come close to the tribal.” He doesn’t claim patriotism is inevitably tribal; he implies it has a gravitational pull toward tribalism when it’s framed as blood loyalty, mythic purity, or zero-sum pride. “Tribal” here isn’t a neutral anthropological label. It’s shorthand for the politics of us-versus-them: conformity as belonging, dissent as betrayal, outsiders as contamination. That’s why the verb matters: “surpass.” Gitlin smuggles in a moral aspiration without sermonizing. Modern democratic life, in his view, is an attempt to outgrow the comfort of the in-group and the intoxicating clarity of enemies.

The subtext is a warning against mistaking emotional intensity for ethical legitimacy. A flag can be a symbol of shared obligation or a badge of faction. Gitlin, writing from the long arc of late-20th-century American culture wars and post-Vietnam skepticism, is pointing to a recurring pattern: when national identity is defined by who it excludes, it starts behaving like a tribe with better branding. His final clause, “and some don’t,” leaves room for a civic patriotism rooted in institutions, rights, and a capacious “we” that doesn’t require someone else’s erasure.