No, I didn’t. That’s like saying I chose to believe in evolution. It may be that someone chooses to label himself religious or not, but what a person believes depends on his life experience and how he perceives the world around him.
OK. Assuming “you” in the above quote is a citizen of the USA, then thank you Founding Fathers, Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers, and let’s not forget the boys of 1812. Nor the abolitionists, Freedom Riders, ACLU, and all the many good folks who broke the back of McCarthyism.
I imagine you were thinking along different lines, though…perhaps as follows:
Patriotism is remembering the people who fought and died, under arms, in uniform, and subject to military discipline, for any reason the government deemed good at the time.
That, right and seemly as it is, simply doesn’t go far enough.
I guess I don’t understand why people feel threatened by my love of my country, and by my willingness to die fighting against anyone who would try to destroy it. I think the only people who would feel threatened by my patriotism would be people trying to destroy my country.
If you have no fear of my patriotism, then why do you care that I am a patriot? I don’t feel threatened by Der Trihs’ atheism – in fact, I pretty much respect and like the guy, just based on his posts – so I don’t have to understand atheism, and I’m really not very curious about it. I don’t even feel threatened by Richard Dawkins’ atheism, virulent as it may be, so I just don’t care about it. And I don’t go around asking atheists to justify their atheism.
Don’t know if you saw the recent thread on this topic, but it had some interesting things. Love of country?
What I said is pretty much my personal definition of patriotism, so here it is…
To me, love of country is a lot like love of family. I didn’t pick my family, they’re not perfect, but I love them dearly because they’re mine, and on the whole they’re great people, so I lucked out there. But love of country leans more towards love of the land itself, the ideals the country was founded upon, the mostly-really-great people who live here. When your family is screwed up, you try to help out; when your country is screwed up, you try to help and make it better. After a certain point of screwed-up-ness, it might be best to leave rather than stay and continue trying to help; but in my view we have not gotten anywhere near that point.
In no way does this imply that my country is the best one out there. Other people love their countries too, which is great and as it ought to be. But this particular country is the one that is mine, and that I love. It will never, ever be perfect, just as no human being is going to be perfect this side of eternity. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worthy of love, respect, and my personal efforts.
For your consideration, a quotation from William Damon (of Stanford University):
I think my main problem with it, even only problem, is that patriotism seems to be able to switch off the reasoning part in even very smart people’s brains. It seems like you can potentially get people to follow whatever the cause de jour by appealing to their patriotism.
If you’re able to ignore people’s calls for you to abandon thinking in this way, good for you. I may not agree with those feelings, but I have no problem with you holding them. And patriotism can lead to good things. But I do have a problem with those that are willing to just drop reasoned debate when patriotism is brought into play, and I do feel that such people can be very dangerous.
Oh, and FYI - I have no plans to destroy your country. But hey, thanks for the thought.
Unfortunately, love of country to many people means no more, and no less, than loyalty to the status quo. To these people, “ideals” are simple things. You do not question them, or really even think about them. They cannot, by definition, be “screwed up.” Making the country “better,” then, is not too far from an act of treason.
I define patriotism as love of and loyalty towards one’s country—not (necessarily) unconditional or blind love/loyalty. It’s not unlike love of one’s family or one’s hometown.
It can be what motivates people to serve their country (whether in the armed forces, as a politician, or in some other way). Sure, some of the people who do these things do so for selfish reasons, like personal gain, but some genuinely want to serve, defend, and better their country, their homeland.
It’s a feeling of being part of something larger than oneself, and owing allegience to that something. And I am absolutely convinced that such feelings can motivate people to do very good and very bad things. I say that patriotism when combined with other qualities like intelligence, wisdom, and a sound moral/ethical sense, is indeed a good thing.
I love the landscape of my home, but not the temporary human political structure that exists on it like a tick on a dog. Why should I? I’ve seen enough young men willing to kill and die for its ideals when I knew they were evil to ever buy into the same mindset myself. And I say this as someone who actually has (unwillingly) bled to establish the new country I now live in. Doesn’t mean I love it any more than the one that used to occupy the same space. There’s a "Proudly South African"campaign on the go here that makes me very very sad. Patriotism scares and repels me.
We do have a cool flag though. But that’s just a design.
True, as far as it goes. But we have a breed of patriot today who is intelligent, maybe even wise about some things, but whose morality - as “sound” as s/he believes it to be, founded on tradition and authority - is in fact subtly repressive and destructive of the ideals of a free society.
I’m very anxious that we as Americans not give these people a free pass, or let them slip under the radar. They are potentially as dangerous as the crazy bomb-chucking terrorists from the East - indeed, the two groups share a wide range of similarities.
I’d have to view anyone who answered this in the affirmative with more than a small degree of skepticism.
Nationalism, and Patriotism, are good things. Like all good things they can be put to use for evil means. But if not abused, they remind people that they are part of a larger entity. In fact, they define ithe larger entity. A nation is a group of people who share not only borders, but some common, basic beleifs. The concept fosters a sense of community, which in turns encourages people to want to improve things for others. A nation is an important thing as it gives form to a set of ideals. People are born into these nations and they may stay or leave for a nation which suits their mindset better. This opportunity is not absolute, as a nation has—and must have—the ability to control great influxes of people.
Pride in the group to which one belongs is a good thing. It makes you want to improve the group as a ahole, not just your little corner of it.
All that said, your degree of Patriotism should not exceed a justification for it. I think many modern nations deserve a great degree of patritotism. That is a function of a rich history AND the kind of life it currently affords its citizenry. The more patriotic you feel, the more you should be able to argue from both positions, particularly the latter.
On preview, I apologize for this poorly written response, but I;m in a hurry and gotta run. Happy Memorial Day to all from the greatest country to ever grace the globe.
Typo of the day, if you ask me. 
I’d call them more dangerous than terrorists. Such beliefs are much more likely to actually appeal to people in large numbers, and much more likely to acheive real authority in this society - in fact one can argue that they already have done both.
As for me, whatever positive aspects patriotism has ever had, in modern America I consider it a lopsidedly negative force. These days, it’s mostly a feel good term for nationalism, as the OP puts it; not to mention militarism, xenophobia, conformism, and authoritarianism.
Heh heh. 
Great post, well said. I believe in order to understand things like patriotism, commitment, honor, and duty, one has to get beyond their own small ego. It is not enough to just exist. There must be a vision. This vision must be worth living for and dying for if necessary.
You seem to be afraid of most everything. Have you ever been harmed by a patriot?
While I doubt that a truly patriotic fellow citizen has ever burgled Der’s house, keyed his car, or kicked him in the nuts, clearly he can conceive circumstances where misapplied sentiment like “My country, right or wrong” or “America, love it or leave it” might threaten his - and our - rights and freedoms. I certainly can. I imagine you can, too, if you reflected coolly on the matter.
Well, I am not sure I understand your position. I am a patriot, eight years in the navy reserve. As a youth during WWII I helped in any way I could, so did everyone. I knew some people who died, and some who came back injured. I am grateful for those who gave their lives to keep this country free. I can tell you many of them didn’t want to go, but it was unthinkable to them to shirk their duty. There was a larger need than theirs, and they met it. Sure this country is not perfect, in case you didn’t know, nothing is perfect that concerns us humans. That is why we keep trying hard to make it better. But I doubt it will ever be perfect.
This generation never had to fight for anything. An all volunteer army makes that possible. I volunteered for the draft so I could choose the Navy and become a reservist. I missed action in Korea by two weeks, I am grateful for that also.
You are aware the shore lines of America were shelled by both the Japanese and the Germans during WWII. We fight a different war now. One of the worst kind – terriorists. An ideology that is committed to killing those it marks as unbelievers. Again our country has been attacked by an enemy. Do you think they will go away if we give up?
Not that I know of directly, although I don’t read minds so I can’t be sure. Of course, I also maintain a very low profile in real life; I’m sure millions of “patriots” would love to hurt or kill me if they knew my opinions and where to find me.
I can imagine anything, so can anyone. No true patriot ever said “My country, right or wrong” or “America, love it or leave it.” True patriots work to change those things we feel are wrong in the manner prescribed by law. You must be talking about fanatics who say those things to get media attention. The world is full of fanatics, bitchers, and negative people. Learn to rise above negative thinking, and actually do something positive to help the situation.
His rights have not been threaten, and if they were, the laws of this country would step in to help. The very country being subjected to unwaranted criticizism.
Those who hate this country and would not contribute to its safety or wellfare are safe. Those of us who are patriots will shoulder their load and go forward.
Not real patriots. I don’t think you need to feel so fearful. I don’t want to hurt you, but I would like to help you feel safer. I know it’s no fun being afraid.