Patriotism in the perspective of 20-, 40- and 60-year-olds in Podkarpacie Voivodeship

Abstract

Patriotism is a category defining human life aimed at the common good. It depicts the emotional bond of individuals with their homeland and the sense of social and cultural bond with fellow citizens. It is based on universal values, including openness to other people, care and responsibility for the community, respect for history and national culture. The political, social and cultural changes taking place reveal new faces of love for one’s homeland, which is why there is a need to reflect on the ways of understanding patriotism. Guided by these premises, this study presents ways of defining the concept of patriotism by three successive generations of Podkarpacie residents, i.e. young adults, middle-aged people and seniors. Seven areas of understanding patriotism were taken into account – historical, territorial, cultural, ethical, emotional, economic and ecological as well as numerous categories within them. The research was carried out in the paradigm of quantitative research on a representative group.