Are You A Patriot?

Proteus wrote: What Edan said above is something I realized over time, especially since visiting the UK. For most of my life (like a lot of Americans), being "patriotic" seemed like something almost inherent to being anybody, and had no awareness that it was just a thing Americans developed due to its national culture. Because of that, the word "patriot" sounded only positive and virtuous. After my awareness of the world expanded beyond the borders of the country (which began happening even years before I visited the UK), I began getting a more accurate picture of the general attitude of the "American way" when realizing that much of that "way" was driven by patriotism, and is present in most of the nation's foreign affairs and its flaws, not to mention its attitude against its own citizens on many levels. Once I realized how there are other countries that are perfectly happy without having things such as patriotism and rigorous striving for "freedom", "liberty", and "jesus to save our soul", my view of the country began to change. Not exactly to a negative one, but just in a sense that I have a better grasp of what's really going on. And I think that is something very important for a person to encounter, but just as important is for them to know how to interpret it, so that they don't get too overwhelmed by the discovery of flaws that they didn't realize were there, and end up turning radical and against their own people.

I've always wondered if American patriotism has come about due to the relative youth of America as a country and it's successful fight for independence... as if America has something to prove somehow. I don't know, it's just speculation.

Looking from the outside, patriotism tends to have a bit of a negative connotation... almost like, blindly loving and defending one's country to the point where one will not acknowledge any fault, nor accept the way of others... Now I'm sure that it is not like that, but it is how it sometimes appears.

I'm unsure as to the purpose of patriotism ?

You can be a Patriot in :

Australia
Britain
China
Korea
Singapore
USA

but you say you are a Patriot here in Japan and (Cuss Word) in China or Korea will label you as a Nationalist who wants to militarise Japan again.
Seems funny every other country on the planet you can be a patriot, but Japanese cannot, cheque please I want off this planet!

Patriotism v Nationalism - interesting consideration. I feel like the former is the values around which the country has its laws and culture orientated over time (and therefore inherently internal) while nationalism is the comparison of those things against other nations, basically.

So nationalism then perhaps might be when patriotism interacts with international law, or more practically patriotism does not need to be exclusive from other sets of culture and law, while nationalism might tend to as part of its nature to identify itself as a separate nation. Case in point, a lot of the patriotism in Reacher's linked video could easily be held by many other nation's as the same values - and to hold them doesn't make a person 'American' because of that fact. While nationalism is probably differentiated by including those uniquely national elements which specifically can contrast that nation from others.

So in my mind, being patriotic can bring people together beyond national boundaries if the values are shared, but being nationalistic not so much. Though they can be mixed up easily. Just my thoughts on it, as an Aussie!!!