I think about this thread by Babale, which was very well-written:
He pointed out that, unfortunately, part of the political left basically “ceded” patriotism to the right and let the right improperly claim patriotism for itself. Although many liberals often care about America as much if not even more than conservatives, they sort of allowed the message to take root that only the right-wing’s patriotism “counts” as real patriotism and that liberals actually don’t like America.
And of course, some folks genuinely have indeed felt their patriotism wane and dampen. I feel much less patriotic than before. But still, image and PR matters.