To me patriotism is different than nationalism. Nationalism is Hitleresque to me. Blindly following the country with blind allegiance. Patriotism for me is appreciating the country we live in for what it offers, what we have benefitted from by being here, and believing in the ideals of the country, although we sometimes fall short of playing those ideals out. Since patriotism can look a lot like nationalism, many people tread litely at displaying their love or appreciation for the country.
Most of the western world are appalled by nationalism, and countries like Germany especially I find the citizens won’t come near anything close to it. Patriotism can set off an air of believing our country is better than any other. People generally don’t like to see that sort of boasting. I think we live in one of the best countries in the world, but I certainly don’t think we are the best. I don’t feel the US is the only place that has freedom prosperity and opportunity. In years past the US was more unique in the world; a country governed by representatives of the people, with freedom of religion, openly taking in new immigrants, and a chance to get ahead no matter what station in life you came from. Now, many countries fit this bill. Some people believe some countries do some things better than the US.
I still feel very patriotic, but I also feel as if I am a citizen of the world. That we all are. The more you interact with people from different countries, I think the more the world begins to feel very small and accessible.
@Judi I love your answer about working towards forming a more perfect union. My dad used to say you are at point A, and your goal is B. the path to your goal is almost never a straight line. It zigs and zags.
@rojo I think people who talk about our country being great before the civil rights movement tend to want to ignore how horrific life was for so many of our citizens. Prior to the great depression we had very difficult time for new immigrants, lack of protections for laborers, there was all sorts of negative things in the country. What I think was very different was the media, everything from balanced journalism to what was on the radio and TV; and the bombardament we have today of electronic messages, and other sorts of technology that have sped up our pace of life.