RFI Executive Vice President Eric Patterson authored an essay for Providence this week titled, “G.K. Chesterton’s Lessons for Patriotism and the Olympics.” In it, Patterson discusses Chesterton’s insights on the intersection of patriotism and sports, especially in the context of the Olympics.

Chesterton cautions against conflating national pride and identity with athletic victory, or with seeing losses in sports as “national cataclysms.” Rather than viewing strength and achievement in sports as evidence of “national grit,” he notes Chesterton’s insight that national grit is “a thing of the soul” that comes out of “love of country, (spirit of the place), camaraderie, shared culture, and religious faith.” Patterson then draws out what this means in regards to the Olympics. He says that while it is appropriate to cheer one’s countrymen and to applaud their dedication:

… We must not treat the athlete as representative of a millions-greater whole and thereby treat the athletic victory of the individual as a moral victory intrinsic to the virtue of our nation… the Olympians who will compete in Beijing this winter may represent the best in their sport, but they do not necessarily represent the best in their nation. A nation’s strength is not derived from its athleticism; a nation, and its citizen-athletes, draw strength from deeper wells.

Read the full article: G.K. Chesterton’s Lessons for Patriotism and the Olympics.