Patriotism

A patriot is defined in Webster as “one who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests.” In the United States, patriotism has become synonymous with “right, good, the man in the white hat.” So, is patriotism still an admirable characteristic if you support a country that is performing acts that aren’t admirable?

What if that country kills innocent people for monetary and power-hungry gains? What if that country invades another country purely for vengeance? What if that country bankrupts its people so it can give its governmental officials a raise and free healthcare? What if that country takes a great idea like Democracy and distorts it into a process of picking the lesser of two evils?

Just because you support that country, does it mean you’re right? I think Americans have confused what being a patriot really means. Think about it.

Millions of Englanders supported a monarchy that held the United States in a state of a repressed colony. A state which led Americans to revolt. Millions of Germans supported the Nazi movement of the 1940s. The same movement that started a world war that cost hundreds of thousands of American lives. Millions of people in Russia and Cuba supported Communist governments. The same governments that had Americans scrabbling in fear of a nuclear strike.

Obviously, there are patriots on both sides of any conflict. How can they both be right? Or is it just that the United States never makes mistakes and is therefore always right? Or perhaps it is only patriotism if you support the aims of the United States? If that’s the case, then Webster needs to update its definition.