You should always be patriotic.

Now then, I would also like to say that your statements are not in any way treasonous, but they are totally misguided. In regard to your quote from Bertrand Russell I will only say that he is the last individual I would ever look to for a definition on anything except perhaps physics. Looking at various online dictionaries you will come up with explanations that run like this: Patriotism: A feeling of love and devotion to one's own homeland. Patriotism: Love of country and willingness to sacrifice for it. Patriotism: Strong feelings of love and devotion to one's country and, if necessary, one will fight to defend it. "I was born in America and I currently live in Southern Oregon. If it were my choice though, I would not claim citizenship to any institution or government. .. I am very grateful for personal freedoms that I am allowed to have and for the right to express my opinion. I also am a fan of the free market and am glad that the country which I live in is based on capitalism. "and then a little later you said: "It is just by chance that I was born here and I don't find that as sufficient reason to pledge my allegiance to an all but perfect government. " So basically you are saying that you are more than willing to enjoy all the freedoms and liberties America offers(thanks to her form of government), but you are unwilling to make any sacrifice for her should the need arise. "freedom and happiness are NOT UNIQUELY American. " Of course freedom and happiness are not uniquely American, but America embodies both these qualities and more. "If was born in the UK I would have almost all the same freedoms that I have here. (Probably more since the passage of the Patriot Act. )" Thankfully the UK remains a fairly free nation. I respect the traditional values of government in the areas she has maintained them, but England has become a primarily socialist state which has limited certain personal freedoms we take for granted here. "Here I make a point that few Americans seem to be able to understand. "If I was born [outside of the US]. .. " is a thought that not very many people have. In fact, very few people from any country get outside of themselves and imagine what life would be like if they were not born in their own country of origin. " Well I'm not sure how you can back that up. I, for one, have thought on life in other countries numerous times as I'm sure many, if not most Americans have as well. Every time I come to the conclusion that this is still the greatest nation in the world. "Americans love America for no other reason than that is what they were raised believing. I am simply open to the idea that America ISN'T the best country in the world. I realize that if I was born in virtually any other country, I would not think that America great. " Wrong. Although it is true that Americans grow to love this country more as they grow older, it is not just because that is what they were taught. Americans love America because of what she continues to give us, freedom. The United States continues to have the largest immigration rate of any country in the world. Why is this? Countless millions have thought longingly of life in America, and millions have come to make America their home. This is obviously not because of what they were raised believing, but rather because they recognize that a new and better life really does await them here. This country we live in is the greatest melting pot in the world. People from every conceivable race and culture have come from all over the world in the last few centuries to make America what it is today. Try as you might to make yourself believe that America is not the greatest country in the world you will always be confronted by the inescapable proof to the contrary. Some of the most devoted patriots in this country are those who have immigrated. They realize better than those of us who have been born here that America and what she represents is worth defending and fighting for if need be. Let me just make clear that when I speak of immigration I am referring to legal immigration, although the illegal immigrants come here for the same reasons. "As long as there is patriotism, there will never be peace. The fact that Americans were raised believing capitalism is the best, and the fact the Russians were raised believing communism is the best, almost led to nuclear warfare. For some reason, when people say that something "is the best", they feel the need to eradicate anything that is different. Why couldn't America be happy with capitalism on its own soil? Why do we find it so important to force our beliefs onto others, who clearly don't want our help? " You keep portraying patriotism as an aggressive, offensive force when it is really the opposite. Patriotism is a love for one's country and a willingness to make great sacrifices to defend it. This does not always mean against a foreign enemy. Here it also means fighting in the political arena to defend her founding principles that made her great. In cases where nations have started wars it was not patriotism that drove them but rather a strong sense of national pride on the part of its people and a desire to see their country grow even greater(Germany in World War I), or, more commonly, the greed of the tyrant in control of that country. Patriotism is always what has stopped these wars, but never can you accuse patriotism of starting a war. You also accuse patriotism for the Cold War, but if you will read a few books on the subject you will clearly see otherwise. The U. S. S. R. tried to maintain a death grip over Europe after World War II and the United States was the only nation strong enough to stand up to the communist threat. We intervened to protect the nations of the world from having communism forced on them. It was not the Russian people that started the Cold War. They never had a voice in the matter and continued to suffer as much as any occupied nation. They also celebrated as much as any occupied nation when the Soviet Union collapsed. So as you can see patriotism was not the cause of the war, but once again it was the end of it. Communism was proven as a failed system when the Soviet government collapsed because of the patriotism and desire for freedom her oppressed peoples had. We have never "forced our beliefs" on any nation. The people we are helping clearly DO want our help(unless you were referring to the terrorists in that statement). As long as there are power-hungry tyrants in the world there will be a need for patriotism. "Most Americans today would like to think that if they were born in Nazi Germany they would not have killed one Jew. But it is very egocentric and self-conceited to do so. If you were raised from infancy, believing that the Jews were the bane of your existence and told it was perfectly okay to kill them, I'm not saying you wouldn't have any choice, but it would be very hard for you to not believe what you were taught. " I saved this for last because it is a little off-subject, but I wanted to make sure that you understood that that kind of analogy is fundamentally flawed. It is not at all self-conceited. The only Germans brainwashed from infancy were the Hitler Youth(who obviously made up a minor portion of the Nazi army), so to lump all the Nazi war criminals into one brainwashed lump is simply inaccurate. In addition there is also that little thing called "conscience. " Everyone has it and no one can escape it. So I reject the notion that it would be conceited for an American to believe they would never kill a Jew if placed in similar circumstances. I wish I had more space to cover your arguments more thoroughly, but as it is I have just enough space left to finish here. I look forward to your response.