The Wrath Posted April 27, 2007 Report Share Posted April 27, 2007 I've noticed that most people who call themselves "patriots," in this country, are really nothing more than nationalists. The type of people most likely to identify themselves as patriots are the hyper-conservative types who think that everyone has a duty to "serve their country," want to ban flag-burning, and generally denounce anyone who says anything bad about US foreign policy...to include saying that the War on Terror, while necessary, is not being properly conducted. There are some on the left who also identify themselves as patriots...but their claim to this title is even more ridiculous, since they generally prefer turning over our sovereignty to supranational organizations, such as the UN. I've also found this to be true with many people in the military. I have not actually been in the military, but I was in ROTC for 4 years and, as a result, knew many people who were going into the military. I almost went in, myself, but opted out of it. Many of the people who join the military do it for personal reasons...this is entirely honorable, and I have no problem with it. They join for reasons of getting the government to pay for college, or simply because they enjoy the military lifestyle. The second reason is the one I almost did it, but I eventually decided I didn't want that lifestyle. Then there are, of course, the people who have at least a basic understanding of the founding principles of this country, who know that this country is worth defending and why it is worth defending. These are the true patriots, and there is considerable overlap with the people in the above paragraph. But there are many other people in the military who join for a variety of nationalistic reasons. A lot of them think that everyone has a "duty to serve," and many of them think that military service should be mandatory. Like their ultra-conservative civilian counterparts, they also tend to favor the banning of flag-burning. There are others who join because they actually want to go to war. There aren't many like that, but there are a few...and I think there is something seriously wrong with those people, psychologically. How would you define patriotism vs. nationalism? Am I off-base here, or do you agree? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted April 27, 2007 Report Share Posted April 27, 2007 There's some discussion here, and a pointer here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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