Patriotism is a virtue

My opponent presents some interesting facts and opinions about patriotism. However, what is missing from his argument is what this has to do with the resolution. Why do these statements, if true, preclude patriotism from being a virtue?Must virtures be natural?Must virtures be non-arbitrary?Must virtures acknowledge shortcomings?Must virtures place common humanity above all else?Perhaps. If so, my opponent has not demonstrated this. Without demonstrating this, his argument is only half complete.Specific Rebuttals:R1. Patriotism is unnaturalMy opponent claims that patriotism is unnatural because it must be taught and because its target is an abstract entity. Why are these things "unnatural?" These are things that part of what makes us distinctly human: traits selected through the natural process of evolution that convey a distinct survival advantage.The fact that we have separated our collective knowledge from our biology is still a natural expression of our biology. Likewise our propensity toward abstraction. The very nature of language is to address abstract concepts which may not physically exist.If patriotism is unnatural, then whence it came? Either it arose naturally through the history of mankind or it was imposed on us from some external source. If the latter, then what was that source?R2. Patriotism is ArbitraryThis claim is easily dismissed. While we may argue about the nature of morality, morals exist in the sense that there are behaviors which we call "moral." None of these were decided by choice. Rather they correspond to individual instincts and social norms. All morals are "arbitrary" in this sense.R3. Patriotism minimizes national shortcomingsThe claims here are made baseless. While we don't call attention to, on a daily basis, the shortcomings of our country, on what basis do we say that they are ignored? They are ignored, probably, because they are history. People are mostly concerned with present and future concerns. Most importantly, my opponent has failed to show a causal connection, or even a correlation, between patriotism and ignoring these things.R4. Patriotism distracts people from their common humanityHere, my opponent gets causality mixed. He states: "By dividing the [world] into finite political communites competing against one another for prestige and influence, patriostim and the principle of national sovereignty provokes unnecessary disputes and drives people to war."Patriotism doesn't politically divide the world, the political divisions of the world result in patriotism. How can love of the country precede the country?Argument:Patriotism is love of country. A country is, in part, a community of individuals united by some aspect. Communities are larger abstractions of the family unit. Thus, patriotism is an extension of familial love. Is not familial love praiseworthy? It is a fundamental component of being a social species.We are biologically wired to have an affinity toward groups to which we are related, either biologically or socially. This conveys a distinct survival advantage. Since morals are behaviors which we deem good, in the sense that the are beneficial, and since patriotism is an expression of such a behavior, patriotism is morally praiseworthy: a virture.