Larry Gude
Strung Out
...do you consider yourself a patriot or a nationalist? Why?
America for Americans
...do you consider yourself a patriot or a nationalist? Why?
I'm assuming you're going by the general idea that while a patriot loves and defends his country, a nationalist fervently believes his nation is the best that has ever existed?
In that case, I'm a bit of both.
What is America and what is an American?
If you have to ask...
It's your sandbox larry.
Don't assume. Apply your own standard, just please explain it.
I don't think I have EVER used the term nationalist to describe myself, even if I totally deserve the textbook description.
Ditto "jingoist". Just not words I would use, so the question makes no sense unless I'm operating under an established definition.
I consider myself patriotic. I think this nation is the finest one in human history.
I don't dismiss all of its flaws as irrelevant - just as I don't with my own family (my wife and kids) or the one I grew up with (my siblings and parents).
I knew my father's flaws, but he will always be my personal hero and the one person I want most to be like. Ditto my mom.
I probably know her flaws even more, because they were visible. I love my siblings but it wasn't all roses.
I have no delusions about the abilities and limitations of my own family but I do believe taken all in all, they are the sweetest and loveliest children I know.
So you might get an idea about how I feel about this country - I know its past. I also know what it has done, the things it might have done but chose not to.
I've quoted before a person whose politics I detest - Bill Maher - but he once observed that when ANY nation holds power over the world, they kick the #### out of it (my words).
He said no superpower in history has tried so hard to trod so lightly on the rest of the world (his words). That's noble.
I love the natural beauty of this country. When you get out and travel, you're bound to meet a lot of #######s - but you'll be amazed by the people.
Again, my interest here is the Dione piece as it got me to thinking. He's simply defending patriots day, a Boston thing....
...do you consider yourself a patriot or a nationalist? Why?
I would say I align more with being a patriot. Why? For me the only difference between the terms is in one's willingness to not only support his nation (not blindly mind you), but to defend it as well.
Now, how about you? How do you define yourself?
And if you recall, I was one that felt the Patriot Act was an abomination and unneeded; you thought there wasn't a damn thing wrong with it.I think of myself as more nationalistic than patriotic.
Again, as I mentioned, I think of patriotism as being more symbolic, more 'my country right or wrong', wear the lapel pin, willing to sacrifice principles if it's labeled as the patriotic thing to do (the Patriot Act). And I think of nationalism as being about the US and the specifics that make it good and special, about the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, about the ideas behind the patriotism. You, me, can be patriotic and be wrong about it, betraying the nations principles. If you're nationalistic, it's about ideas, not feelings.
In my view, it was patriotic to support the Patriot Act. It was a betrayal of the values of the Constitution to do so.
And if you recall, I was one that felt the Patriot Act was an abomination and unneeded; you thought there wasn't a damn thing wrong with it.
Part of the thing that makes me love this country so much is something I didn't always see elsewhere nor do I read about - other nations, parts of nations - they self-identify because of blood. Genes. Ethnicity, race and so on. Some countries have many such parts of their country where they speak their own language, have a distinctive culture and history. But it's genes.
You can live in France, have children in France and learn the language and culture. Ditto Japan, China, Spain, Turkey and so on. But you'll never be French.
At least, not in your lifetime. A few hundred years hence, your descendants will probably be considered French, but the nation identifies with bloodlines.
The names of the nations make that plain.
I am a patriot in that I love this country and am loyal to the United States of America. I pledge allegiance to the flag and to the republic for which it stands.
I am a nationalist in that I firmly and without a doubt believe that the US is the best country in the world, that we are indeed superior, and every other country is a shot hole compared to us.
Are we perfect? No.
Do we have our problems? Of course.
Do we have things in our past that are shameful? Absolutely.
But here in the good old US of A, we make an attempt to fix our problems. We fought a civil war to fix one of our glaring problems. We are constantly evolving and getting better, and that's more than you can say for most other countries. Protesters do a grave disservice to our country when they don vagina hats and run amok like idiots; they slap the face of the Americans in our past who protested to affect real change, such as independence for our country, or to end slavery. But, because we're the coolest country EVER, they have the right to make fools of themselves and make their voice heard.
I challenge anyone to name one country that is better overall than the US.