jingoism

 

(jĭng'gōĭzəm) , advocacy of a policy of aggressive nationalism. The term was first used in connection with certain British politicians who sought to bring England into the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) on the side of the Turks. It apparently derived from a popular song of the period: “We don't want to fight, but, by jingo, if we do....”

Jingoism is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as "extreme patriotism in the form of aggressive foreign policy".^[1] In practice, it refers to sections of the general public who advocate the use of threats or of actual force against other countries in order to safeguard what they perceive as their country's national interests.

During the 19th century in the United States, journalists called this attitude spread-eagleism. This patriotic belligerence was intensified by the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana harbour that led to the Spanish-American War. "Jingoism" did not enter the U.S. vernacular until near the turn of the 20th century.

Etymology

Through much of the Victorian era, Russia was persistently viewed as a threat both to the European order and, sporadically, to British interests in India. The crisis ended at the Congress of Berlin when a group of powers, including British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, forced the newly created Bulgarian state to restore much of the land awarded at the peace treaty of San Stefano, including Macedonia, to Ottoman rule.

The chorus of a song by MacDermott and G. W. Hunt commonly sung in pubs and music halls at the time gave birth to the term. The lyrics had the chorus:

We don't want to fight but by Jingo if we do,

We've got the ships, we've got the men, we've got the money too,

We've fought the Bear before, and while we're Britons true,

The Russians shall not have Constantinople.

The expression "by Jingo" is apparently a minced oath that appeared rarely in print, but which has its origins as far back as the 17th century in a transparent euphemism for "by Jesus". [1] Origins have also been claimed for it in languages that would not have been very familiar in the British pub: in Basque, for example, "Jainko" is a form of the word for "God". A claim that the term referred to Jingu of Japan has been entirely dismissed.^{[citation needed]}

Usage

• Theodore Roosevelt was frequently accused of jingoism. In an October 8, 1895 New York Times interview, he responded, "There is much talk about 'jingoism'. If by 'jingoism' they mean a policy in pursuance of which Americans will with resolution and common sense insist upon our rights being respected by foreign powers, then we are 'jingoes'."

• In the 28 March, 1938 issue of Punch appeared a E. H. Shepard cartoon entitled THE OLD-FASHIONED CUSTOMER. Set in a record shop, John Bull asks the record seller (Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain): "I wonder if you've got a song I remember about not wanting to fight, but if we do . . . something, something, something . . . we've got the money too?". On the wall is a portrait of former Prime Minister Lord Salisbury.^[2]

• In the 1980s, the Capitol Steps political satire troupe sang "Jingo All the Way" (a parody of "Jingle Bells") about protectionism in the auto industry. The David Bowie song 'After All' is also based around Jingoism.

• In The Simpsons episode Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington one of the criteria used to grade Lisa for her speech on America is jingoism. Lisa receives a 10/10 in that area.

• In the R.E.M. song, "Exhuming McCarthy", one line in the song is "...by jingo, buy America."

Notes

See also

• Dependency theory
• Un-American
• Neoconservatism
• Nationalism
• Jingo, a novel by Terry Pratchett
• The Great Game

External links

• MacDermott song lyrics
• .mp3 of the song Stanley Kirkby - We Didn't Want To Fight

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