Originally Posted by bugalugs

Good definition.
zealously and unselfishly devoted to the service of one's country

Do you know where the word "zealous" came from?
The Zealots objected to Roman rule and sought violently to eradicate it; Zealots engaged in violence were called the Sicarii....Zealots are also called the Biryonim meaning "boorish" or "wild", and are condemned for their aggression, their unwillingness to compromise to save the survivors of besieged [Jerusalem], and their blind-militarism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zealotry
sounds like terrorism to me. That is the sort of "patriotism" that allows people to think that the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians as a result of an illegal and unprovoked invasion is somehow acceptable. The sort of "patriotism" that allows people to think that torture is acceptable.

Is is all too painfully obvious on these boards that there are some Americans that seem to think that the needs of their countrymen come before the rest of the world. That is not patriotism. It is bigotry.

I agree with Samuel Johnson:
"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel"

I obviously consider myself extremely lucky to have been born in Australia, and not in other less fortunate countries (such as the USA), but I don't think it is appropriate to take any particular pride in what is merely an accident of birth.

(...and what's with all the flags all the time!?! I frikking hate flag-waving. Burn all flags)