Patriotism: Where We Draw the Line

In recent conversation, it has been questioned whether or not Nat Turner is/ was considered a patriot. A patriot by definition is, “a person who loves and strongly supports and fights for his or her country” (Meriam-Webster).  By the actual definition one may argue no Turner was not a patriot, because he rebelled against the nature of his country which was the institution of slavery. Many seem to believe that his act of rebellion first hand was a delusional act, simply for the fact that he got his notions from visions from God. I find this first accusation to be absurd because of the usage of the term delusional to be insensitive when discussing faith and religion. I made a comparison between Nat and Moses from the Exodus story, because Moses also had communication with God to find out that he needed to help set his people free. Nobody to my knowledge has commented that Moses was delusional, so why is it that Nat was put in that category.

Another reason why some may believe that Turner isn’t a patriot if for the fact that he led people to kill many people of the opposite race. I find that to be a crazy notion as well because when you think about how the Americans fought a war with the British, who were a higher order Americans had to respond to at the time, to have their independence, they at some point killed plenty of people themselves, but all of those that fought are considered patriotic. What made those people who killed different from Turner besides his race and his social status of being enslaved?

I personally see Nat Turner as a patriot based off the definition and morally. In the definition of patriot, it implies a sense of loyalty to one’s country. Just because it doesn’t seem like Nat is loyal to the land of America, doesn’t mean that he is not loyal to his native land, that he and his fellow enslaved peers derived from. Who’s to say that this was not the country that Nat was truly fighting for? He took the phrase “give me liberty or give me death” to heart, in the fact that death was the sacrifice of his life, other lives, or even both. Morally I’m sure plenty of enslaved people had these hearings and visions from God about freedom, but Nat was the one that chose to step up and fight for what he believed was morally just. The act of killing was not a moral act, but that is no reason to discredit Turner for his heroic sacrifice, and that is why I see him as a Patriot. What do you define a patriot to be?