Patriotism

[[File:Un-American Bigotry.jpg|thumb|right|Perhaps the proudest expression of love for a country is accepting ''all'' persons who live in its borders.]]{{politics}}
{{cquote|Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it.|||George Bernard Shaw<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/quotes/3406/ Patriotism: Your conviction that this... George Bernard Shaw — Forbes Quotes]</ref>}}
{{cquote|Patriotism is the exact opposite of [[nationalism]]. [[Nationalism]] is a betrayal of patriotism. By putting our own interests first, with no regard for others, we erase the very thing that a nation holds dearest, and the thing that keeps it alive: its moral values.|||[[Emmanuel Macron]], president of [[France]], positioning himself as the opposite of [[Trump]]<ref>
[https://twitter.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1061657617683111942 12 November 2018. A Presidential Tweet - so it must be true.]
</ref>}}

'''Patriotism''' is a love and/or devotion to one's own country or to one's [[nation]].<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/patriotism-sociology Patriotism], Britannica</ref> As a form of collectivism at a national level, it shares close similarities to [[nationalism]] and may contrast with cosmopolitanism<ref>{{wpa | Cosmopolitanism}}</ref> or with internationalism.<ref>{{wpa | Internationalism}}</ref> A '''patriot''', therefore, is someone who supports their country; sometimes unquestioningly, possibly ignoring their country's faults while doing so.  As you can pick a fault or two with pretty much ''any'' country, those who describe themselves as patriots usually use [[Emotional appeal| emotion]] rather than [[logic]] when defending their positions.  According to Samuel Johnson, "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."

Annoyingly, on the [[Internet]], patriotic fervor frequently results in pointless arguments between people of different citizenships/nationalities. Common themes involved are about whose country is better, would win in a war, invented more stuff, etc. With the latter it is a convenient way of giving one a feeling of pride despite not actually doing anything.

A more sinister form of patriotism can become [[jingoism]], a warlike nationalism.

==Improve, not defend==
It can be argued that [[No True Scotsman|true]] patriotism means concentrating on the ''faults'' of your country in order to improve them.  Someone who truly loves their country will not turn a blind eye to the actions of the national [[government]]. As was the case with the ironically-named [[PATRIOT Act]], the word "patriot" can often be applied in contexts that are the antithesis of love and respect for national traditions: in a country ostensibly founded on [[American Revolution|revolution against tyranny]], a true patriot might well be someone who would speak up against the actions of the government. If one is a patriot of a [[democratic]] country, then that person will not condone their country doing such things as [[Iran|launching coups in other democratic nations]], [[Iraq War|invading other countries on trumped-up charges]], or ignoring problems such as [[global warming]] and [[Poverty|world hunger]].

==Unpatriotic==
A patriot is likely to define anyone who disagrees with them on ''any'' point of their definition of patriotism as a traitor who wants to sell the country  to the highest (lowest?) bidder.

Often, opinions that someone doesn't like are described as "unpatriotic" in order to [[poison the well]].

==Nationalism (and not)==
Patriotism is the ultimate appeal to national unity in times of crisis.  Politicians in the USA have been adept at manipulating the electorate's patriotic appeal to (at times) comic effect. Sadly, for all the miniature American flags waved at election rallies, the ability of politicians to say one thing to get elected and do another to climb the greasy political ladder is unabated.

While some tend to conflate patriotism with nationalism as if they mean the same thing, George Orwell offered one particular difference patriots have from nationalists: a "devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life, which one believes to be the best in the world but has no wish to force upon other people".<ref>[http://orwell.ru/library/essays/nationalism/english/e_nat Although Orwell's definition of nationalism also extends to blind belief in ''any'' ideology.]</ref>

==Examples==
[[Image:Prefab-support-industry_side.gif|thumb|left|225px|Clear evidence of patriotism, modern [[capitalist]] style.]]

===In the US===
[[American]] patriots are notable due to the yellow magnets on their SUVs,<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmsOIjzQ1V8 A brand new folksong for the REAL Patriots!]</ref> and their support of whoever ''seems'' to be the most anti-[[terrorist]].  Also, they believe, reflecting [[Michael Savage]]'s motto "[[Secure the border|borders]],  [[English-only movement|language]], [and] culture," are  important to preserve a nation.

===In the UK===
[[British]] patriots are noted for not accepting the replacement of the [[British Empire|Empire]] with the Commonwealth and being pitted in a life or death struggle with the [[European Union|Brussels bureaucrats]] trying to wipe their [[French]] arses on British culture, raise [[tax]]es OMG!, and usher in a [[dystopia]]n future where everyone speaks [[Polish]] and the [[Eurabia|country is renamed Britistan]].

British patriots have largely disappeared, to be replaced by "Nationalists": (in alphabetical order):

*(Cornish) Who cares?
*[[EDL|English]] - would-be thugs who are too pissweak to join the [[BNP]].
*[[The Troubles|(Catholic Northern) Iris]]h - In fact, the only true British patriots are probably the [[Protestant]] inhabitants of [[Northern Ireland]]. Just don't [[IRA|blow us up]]?!
*Scottish  - we make Scotch Whisky.  And invented, and play, golf!
*Welsh - our great-grandfathers were all coal miners.  The flag has a mythical beast prominently displayed.  When a Welshman says he is "going to take a leak", he ''might'' mean a leek.

==See also==
*[[PATRIOT Act]]
*[[Nationalism]]
*[[Emotional appeal]]
*[[Jingoism]]
*[[Ethical egoism]]

==External links==
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20070410203857/http://www.cuyamaca.net/bruce.thompson/Fallacies/jingoism.asp Jingoism (Appeal to Patriotism)], Bruce Thompson
*[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Patriotism_and_Christianity Patriotism and Christianity], Leo Tolstoy
*[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Patriotism_and_Government Patriotism and Government], Leo Tolstoy

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Political terms]]

Categories: Philosophy, Political terms