The Better Angels of Our Nature: Patriotism and Dirty Hands.

In this article the author attempts to distinguish when patriotism is a virtue and when it is not. He also examines the politics of the first inaugural speech of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and its appeal to patriotism. The author argues that Lincoln's patriotism does well under moral scrutiny even though it accommodates slavery. Lincoln's patriotism is referred to frequently as "dirty hands" because it came about in a situation in which political reasons compelled people to be complicit in the evil of slavery in order to achieve a greater good and to forestall a bigger evil.