Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 15 replies, 16 voices, and was last updated 18 years, 12 months ago by
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In a society that has recently seen the advent of ‘love it or leave it’ types, I want to know what everyone considers patriotism. Is it being concerned with your country and its well-being? Is it fighting for freedom? Is it thinking as an individual for the betterment of your country? Is it nationalism? Is it standing with your government for better or worse?
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Name : Seamus28213, Gender : M, City : Charlestown, State : MA, Country : United States,After having witnessed Sept. 11, 2001, with my own eyes, I feel it is everything you mentioned. Prior to ‘911,’ I considered myself a liberal Democrat, but after the last three months, I am more of a ‘hawkish’ political conservative, viewing America’s protection of its citizens and way of life as something to defend to the death. If it has come to a choice between the United States and them, I am on the side of the United States. I can’t really explain to you what it has been like to be alive and see so many people die just because they were Americans.
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Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 45, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States,To most American Indians, patriotism means something very different. Since citizenship was forced upon us, many of us have never considered ourselves U.S. citizens. We are citizens of sovereign tribal nations, period. Many even enlist in the military as foreign nationals. We are bound to the United States by treaties of obligation and friendship. We honor those treaties and uphold them, even if the United States has rarely done the same. Some natives consider themselves dual citiznes of both the United States and their tribal nation. Probably the only natives who consider themselves ‘just Americans’ are those who are mostly white who had one Indian ancestor way back when.
The biggest part of patriotism for us is defending the land that we regard as sacred, not any political system – and sure as hell not any of the goals of any of the wars we’ve fought in.
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Name : ACC25051, Gender : M, Race : Mexican and American Indian, City : Phoenix, State : AZ, Country : United States, Occupation : Grad student, ex-Army, Education level : Over 4 Years of College,Patriotism is the love of one’s country, but not blind love- it allows criticism, in order to make her better. I love my country, and I want to see her strong and proud, and as good as she can be. I will criticize my leaders, if I think they are doing the wrong thing for my country. It is also in not allowing outsiders to speak badly of her. I am proud of being a citizen of the United States. I am happy to be able to speak my mind, without fear of ‘disappearing in the night’. Enforced conformity is against the spirit of our nation.
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Name : Kerry, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Wiccan, Age : 32, City : Ventura, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Stagehand, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,To me patriotism is a love for my country, the people of which is consists, the values and ideals that I associate with it, and perhaps a collective history. Personally, I don’t consider patriotism to include any particular allegiance to government, and I don’t give my support to things simply because they are decked out in red, white, and blue. To me, it’s deeper, and at the same time, more intangible. But that’s my two cents…
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Name : Robert29739, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 24, City : Atlanta, State : GA, Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I think that it is all of those ting that you mentioned. Many people think that African Americans aren’t patriotic because we complain about the wrong doings and racism in america but i think that it is because i am patriotic and do see the procress and potential of this country to be the greatest country in the world that i do complain. I feel like thats the way that we improve and work to be a better society.
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Name : Sherman, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 34, City : Richmond, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Contractor, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class,‘standing with your government for better or worse’ is what led to Nazi Germany’s murder of millions of Jewish citizens. ‘fighting for freedom’ is in the eye of the beholder (just ask Nat Turner and John Brown). I think patriotism is loving your country enough to praise her potential for righteousness, to criticize her when she is being unjust or immoral and NEVER being silent when she is at risk of becoming a perpetrator of evil — because whatever she is or becomes, YOU ultimately are a participant in it!
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Name : Kathleen Cross, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : African American/White, Religion : Bahai Faith, Age : 39, City : Los Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Technical writer/Author, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Charles de Gaulle said, ‘Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first, nationalism, when hatred for people other than your own comes first.’ This is the best explanation of patriotism and its differences from nationalism that I have ever encountered. Indeed the line between the two is frighteningly thin and hazy, this is why I approach patriotism with a high degree of apprehension. Patriotism too often leads to nationalism; case in point, Nazi Germany. I see the post September 11 patriotism as being rooted in nationalism, people are more interested in killing the ‘bad guys’ then helping their own nation. Both patriotism and nationalism are detremental because they keep humanity divided. Rather than thinking of ourselves only as Americans, French, or Japanese, we should think of oursleves as human. Rather than thinking how we can help our nation, we should think how we can best help humanity as a whole.
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Name : Nathan H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Methodist, Age : 16, City : St. Louis, State : MO, Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class,I would consider patriotism akin to a family/property situation. The people of this country who are legal citizens, whether here or abroad are part of one family. We will beat, abuse, talk bad about so forth people of our own country, but when somebody else does it, we will buck up and put them back into their place. For example, two brothers will make every attempt to put each other into the hospital and may even hate each other, but they will defend each other when another person tries to harm them.
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Name : Doug25638, City : Hickory, State : NC, Country : United States,Patriotism, to me, can be summed up in the saying on the old flag, ‘Don’t tread on me’ We, as Americans, while far from being the only people in the world who are patriotic, value our individuality very much. We are free to be whoever or whatever we wish. But, when you mess with our country you have messed with ALL OF US. Our own lives and families come first with us, until the need arises and when democracy needs defending we do so with a FIRM belief that our way is right and best. Being patriotic means that you firmly believe that your country is BEST ABOVE ALL OTHERS. Of course there is more than enough room for you to think your own country is BEST too, and we could both, be right!
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Name : Brian23029, City : Poway, State : CA, Country : United States,To me, patriotism is love of one’s own country; this is contrasted with nationalism, which is love of one’s own country, to the detriment of other countries.
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Name : Michael20705, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : bi-curious (mostly straight), Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 20, City : Livingston, State : LA, Country : United States, Occupation : undergrad, Education level : 2 Years of College,George Orwell wrote an essay in 1944 which includes some notes on the differences between patriotism and nationalism: ‘Notes on Nationalism’. See a bookshop or http://orwell.ru/library/essays/nationalism/english/index.htm A brief quote: ‘By ‘patriotism’ I mean 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 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 and more prestige, not for himself but for the nation or other unit in which he has chosen to sink his own individuality.’
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Name : PW30327, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 33, City : Sydney, State : NA, Country : Australia, Occupation : I.T., Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Patriotism, in a nutshell, is a state of personal facism wherein the sufferer confuses luck, fear and guilt with pride and nobility. The reason you’re American is that you weren’t born in Iraq. What’s to be proud of? As for defending one’s country, right or wrong, well, why in the h*ll would anyone want to defend an entity composed of millions of people who are good and bad, conservative and liberal, violent and passive, every end of every spectrum? One hasn’t a clue as to what one’s actually defending. If IDEALS are to be defended, such as liberty or democracy, etc, that is not ‘patriotism.’ Patriotism, as we are seeing more and more, seems to be geared to squash those things.
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Name : j21153, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 34, City : chicago, State : IL, Country : United States, Occupation : Healthcare, Social class : Middle class,To me, who spent six years of my life putting my a@@ on the line for everything spelled out in our constitution, and for all my fellow citizen’s ability to pursue happiness within our constitutional promises, I believe that it is devout nationalism, with the most integrity and acceptance of full responsibilty that an individual can muster. You are expected to fight for your country, whether in the political process, by working to change things you belive to be wrong, or in the judicial one, actively backing up your fellow citizen, no matter what his/her beliefs/race/monetary worth are; or, sometimes standing with your brothers and sisters in the: military, police, firefighters, paramedical, active emergency assistance (red cross, etc.), searching for missing people, WHATEVER! If the leaders of our government are wrong in your view, then, get up and fight! If the enemies of our country are on the move (internally OR externally) DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!! GOD BLESS AMERICA, and those who defend her to the best of their ability both internally and externally!!!!!!!!!!!
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Name : Dave L, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 48, City : Houston, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class,like peter tosh said if your black your african . im sick and tired of hearing about 9-11 when black people were killed and are killed in this country everyday for being black so to me patriotism in black nationalism . like indians my ancestors didnt have a choice in the matter so i dont consider myself ‘ american ‘ espesially when america refuses to treat me like an american and not a second class citizen.
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Name : jonny-borrows29092, City : new york, State : NY, Country : United States,
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