Apparently the right just wants
everybody to believe that patriotism necessarily looks exactly like their
right-wing "agenda" ie, homophobic, evangelical, gun-toting,
war-mongering and anti-government et al.
patriotism is a person who
loves ,respects, appreciates the freedoms we have had to work and be what we
want but we now have socialist ideals taking over healthcare, education,
downsizing military, handing out to the lazy, etc so that every aspect of our
lives will be as those in Russia,dependent on the elite government.
Patriotism is when love of your people comes first;
nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.
The
difference between patriotism and nationalism is that the patriot is proud of
his country for what it does, and the nationalist is proud of his country no
matter what it does; the first attitude creates a feeling of responsibility, but
the second a feeling of blind arrogance that leads to war.
Patriotism is a devotion to a particular place and a
particular way of life, which one believe to be the best in the world but has
no which to force on other people.
Patriotism is of its nature defensive, both militarily
and culturally. Nationalism, on the other hand, is inseparable from the desire
for power. The abiding purpose of every nationalist is to secure more power for
the nation in which he has chosen to sink his own individuality.
There is a (subtle) difference
between patriotism and nationalism. Conservative right-wingers are really
nationalists.
