Hillsdale College: Matthew Spalding

There are many reasons why one might come to love one’s country. It first appears in the connection to place, a bond to a physical location, usually associated with where one grew up. It extends from parents and family to home and hearth, school and church, neighborhood, community and town. These are the familiar places that define civil society, which form what Tocqueville called “les habitudes decoeur,” the habits of the heart. But such attachments are personal and can easily become superficial unless they are transformed into firm commitments with real substance. This deepened attachment occurs when connections reach beyond ourselves, to extended family, to those of other generations, to ancestors unknown.