To me patriotism, especially in a democracy, is loyalty to the people first. And all the people. Lots of other countries care about their people without waving their flags around like a fascist state.
For me, a big tell is whether or not they can admit if the country was wrong about something. Patriots can admit it and want things to change for the better. Nationalists get offended
Same here. Loving your country should mean wanting it to be the best it can be and seeing the ugly parts you need to fix. Not shutting your eyes and ignoring it
My entire family until my dad's generation had a crazy high % of enlistment into the armed forces. Army, Marines, Air Force, Navy, everything. My Dad's dad was 101st airborne.
Every single one of them agrees with you. My grandpa used to say, "That flag isn't the president. It aint the government. That flag is everybody back home that needs us. That's what I fought for. " And he didn't give a damn if you agreed with him or not on personal beliefs, he thought everybody should have the freedom to argue about it.
He used to hate seeing politicians talk about the military, too, for much the same reasons veterans say here. He felt like a scapegoat, not an actual target demographic. They loved to use the military for political clout, but not actually do shit for them.
He also used to say things like "My opinion on abortion is im not fuckin having one, so it ain't my business to tell anyone else what to do. " or "What do i care if the gays want to get married? I got a wife, they ain't hurting me none" (he was VERY southern lol). Miss that guy a lot. Would have lost his shit over Trump.
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u/Thendofreason Jan 03 '25
To me patriotism, especially in a democracy, is loyalty to the people first. And all the people. Lots of other countries care about their people without waving their flags around like a fascist state.