What does being a patriot mean to you

[Zoii]

What does patriotism mean to you. Is it a good thing or negative. Things to think about are:

· Are patriotism and nationalism connected and if so is that good or bad.

· The impact by or on media.

· Economic effects

· Societal dynamics

· International relations.

 

[klutedavid]

What does patriotism mean to you. Is it a good thing or negative. Things to think about are:

· Are patriotism and nationalism connected and if so is that good or bad.

· The impact by or on media.

· Economic effects

· Societal dynamics

· International relations.

I think it is redundant, we live in a global society now.

 

[Mountainmanbob]

I think it is redundant, we live in a global society now.

Not up top the mountain.
Thank goodness.
M-Bob

 

[Zoii]

Not up top the mountain.
Thank goodness.
M-Bob

what are you saying exactly

 

[Apologetic_Warrior]

Expressions of love for one's country, loyalty and devotion to.

 

[Zoii]

Expressions of love for one's country, loyalty and devotion to.

Is that concept then about just the land you stand on - or is it about the people on that land. I find that patriotism can be a binding of peoples, but also too often it creates this club of what who belongs to the nation and who doesnt

 

[Apologetic_Warrior]

Is that concept then about just the land you stand on - or is it about the people on that land. I find that patriotism can be a binding of peoples, but also too often it creates this club of what who belongs to the nation and who doesnt

I more-or-less used a short dictionary version. I think, in general, it applies to the entire country, the land and the peoples. Also, I am confident not everyone in the country could be described as a patriot, but we're all works in progress in one direction or another and have inconsistencies, for example one minute we're blessing, the next cursing...

 

[Zoii]

I more-or-less used a short dictionary version. I think, in general, it applies to the entire country, the land and the peoples. Also, I am confident not everyone in the country could be described as a patriot, but we're all works in progress in one direction or another and have inconsistencies, for example one minute we're blessing, the next cursing...

Do you think theres such a thing as extreme patriotism and do you think patriotism leads to nationalism

 

[NothingIsImpossible]

Loyalty to ones country. Me? I have no loyalty to my own country (American). Why? Because its not the "end all" of places. Heaven is my homeland. This is just a temporary place. Long ago I wanted to be in the military, but after awhile I realized that was a bad idea because there is no way I am dying for this country or any country. Only person I'm willing to die for is God. Well and my wife.

 

[Zoii]

Loyalty to ones country. Me? I have no loyalty to my own country (American). Why? Because its not the "end all" of places. Heaven is my homeland. This is just a temporary place. Long ago I wanted to be in the military, but after awhile I realized that was a bad idea because there is no way I am dying for this country or any country. Only person I'm willing to die for is God. Well and my wife.

Do you think its so necessary to be patriotic anyway? Shouldnt we be a global community. Do you think patriotism and nationalism adds to the worlds problems instead of enhancing the world?

 

[Mountainmanbob]

what are you saying exactly

I don't get where all this Global Society comes from -- what is that?
M-Bob

 

[PollyJetix]

I struggle with these questions, as I was raised very passivist.
The Mennonites teach strongly that Christians ought not to ever take part in war, because if you love your enemy, how can you shoot at him? Soldiers are trained to hate their enemies, and view them as subhuman, which is directly opposite of what Christ taught.

Nor do conservative Mennonites even recite the pledge of allegiance, because it is an unconditional vow to support one's earthly country. How dare we make such promises, knowing that any earthly country may demand us to disobey God? We are commanded to "obey God rather than man" if such a situation should arise. But the pledge of allegiance is seen as directly counter to this command.

They even forbid voting in political elections. The foundation of all this is the idea that we are foreigners and pilgrims, who have no continuing city here below. We are ambassadors for Christ, and hold citizenship in another Kingdom, which is not of this world. Ambassadors do not vote in the country where they reside. Nor do legal aliens. They hold no public office there, either.

I was taught these things strongly while growing up.
It's difficult to attend the church I do... a very conservative Pentecostal holiness-type, in the mountains of Virginia... and every July 4th, Veteran's Day and Memorial Day, out comes the flag during the church service, for the pledge.

What to do???!! I'm a musician, up front! If I don't join in, I will be viewed as those who hate our country... which I most definitely do NOT!

I seriously am in a quandary. I love my church deeply. I can't leave them easily. I've been here about 5 years, and am deeply involved in many kinds of ministry. I just can't lightly pull out.

 

[Zoii]

I don't get where all this Global Society comes from -- what is that?
M-Bob

hahaha well Bob - Its just a reflection that peoples are entwined (we have a massive blends of races here as you do in the USA), economies are entwined - the GFC showed just how much we affect each other; and communication is entwined - you really see a one-world when you use social media. So Globalists will say - a problem in one country is a problem for us all and nationalism is a move against that view

 

[Sketcher]

Preface: As a patriotic American, I'll be filtering my answers through that lens. Different nations have different national ideals, I'm not going to assume that they are always the same as ours. So these answers can easily be different for those in other nations.

What does patriotism mean to you. Is it a good thing or negative.

Love for one's nation and national ideals. Hence, keeping to the Constitution, respect for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (especially including private property), respect for laws which protect them, and being a land of opportunity for those who legally come here. I believe this is good.

Are patriotism and nationalism connected and if so is that good or bad.

I believe they are. Since I believe the aforementioned national ideals are good, I don't see a problem with American nationalism. Keeping to all of those won't do intentional harm to good people.

The impact by or on media.

Ah. The media. The starkest examples of media impact to me are what happened in the months following the September 11, 2001 attacks. It seemed as though many in the media (which reflected a trend in the general populace, and fed into it) were rediscovering their patriotism after that. And with rediscovery can also come silly overcompensation for not having "enough" of it before. Some of it was kind of chuckle-worthy, if not for the fact that almost all Americans were hurting in some way over it. By the way, that's when we started seeing the military tributes at almost every high-profile sporting event.

Economic effects

Whenever it's an especially patriotic time - i.e. Memorial Day, 4th of July, etc, you see products being pedaled to take advantage of that. They have ranged from "meh" to rant-inducing.

Societal dynamics

Lots of people are divided in the US, but patriotism itself provides common ground for lots of different people who would otherwise have nothing to do with each other. I'm not including anti-immigrant rhetoric in this, because that's not patriotism to me. That's fools thinking they're being patriotic.

International relations.

I expect that everyone who plays on the world stage is a patriot to whichever country they represent. They are paid by their governments to put their own countries first, and deal with other countries - either peaceably or aggressively - in a way that furthers their own country's best interests, or at least what their governments think their best interests are. All the more reason why our diplomats and leaders should be patriotic.

 

[keith99]

Patriotism at its best is seeing your country as it is warts and all and loving it and wanting to make it better.

At its worst if is thinking your country is perfect and thus warts are impossible.

I like to think Twain wrote The War Prayer" because of patriotic feelings, though few in his day would have believed that.

 

[Zoii]

Preface: As a patriotic American, I'll be filtering my answers through that lens. Different nations have different national ideals, I'm not going to assume that they are always the same as ours. So these answers can easily be different for those in other nations.

Love for one's nation and national ideals. Hence, keeping to the Constitution, respect for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (especially including private property), respect for laws which protect them, and being a land of opportunity for those who legally come here. I believe this is good.


I believe they are. Since I believe the aforementioned national ideals are good, I don't see a problem with American nationalism. Keeping to all of those won't do intentional harm to good people.


Ah. The media. The starkest examples of media impact to me are what happened in the months following the September 11, 2001 attacks. It seemed as though many in the media (which reflected a trend in the general populace, and fed into it) were rediscovering their patriotism after that. And with rediscovery can also come silly overcompensation for not having "enough" of it before. Some of it was kind of chuckle-worthy, if not for the fact that almost all Americans were hurting in some way over it. By the way, that's when we started seeing the military tributes at almost every high-profile sporting event.


Whenever it's an especially patriotic time - i.e. Memorial Day, 4th of July, etc, you see products being pedaled to take advantage of that. They have ranged from "meh" to rant-inducing.


Lots of people are divided in the US, but patriotism itself provides common ground for lots of different people who would otherwise have nothing to do with each other. I'm not including anti-immigrant rhetoric in this, because that's not patriotism to me. That's fools thinking they're being patriotic.


I expect that everyone who plays on the world stage is a patriot to whichever country they represent. They are paid by their governments to put their own countries first, and deal with other countries - either peaceably or aggressively - in a way that furthers their own country's best interests, or at least what their governments think their best interests are. All the more reason why our diplomats and leaders should be patriotic.

Nice reply:
I'll thrown in some deliberately provocative thoughts:
Nazi leader Gobels identified that the seed to power is to sow a strong national identity with a strong focus on who exactly is "Us" and who is "them". he identified that to do normally unacceptable things, you had to create a public enemy within. In other words - you talk of how patriotism binds a country when it leads to nationalism, but nationalism is full of examples of extreme polarisation within nations.

Secondly nationalism in the past (and I'll use Italy and Germany as examples) were driving forces to a breakdown in diplomacy and precipitation of war. In other words the more global issues are discussed in terms of YOU and I, the less its about US and conflict results.

 

[jayem]

A patriot is one who stands up for his fellow citizens. Not for songs and pieces of cloth.

 

[Sketcher]

Nice reply:
I'll thrown in some deliberately provocative thoughts:
Nazi leader Gobels identified that the seed to power is to sow a strong national identity with a strong focus on who exactly is "Us" and who is "them". he identified that to do normally unacceptable things, you had to create a public enemy within. In other words - you talk of how patriotism binds a country when it leads to nationalism, but nationalism is full of examples of extreme polarisation within nations.

Secondly nationalism in the past (and I'll use Italy and Germany as examples) were driving forces to a breakdown in diplomacy and precipitation of war. In other words the more global issues are discussed in terms of YOU and I, the less its about US and conflict results.

Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy had different national ideals than we have. Going back to what I enumerated earlier as to what ours include, upholding them and sticking to them will not produce the terrible extremes that those two nations saw in terms of loss of liberty and the trampling of human rights. We certainly could have done better as a country over the last 17 years, but we haven't collapsed into fascism like they had.

 

[Apologetic_Warrior]

Do you think theres such a thing as extreme patriotism and do you think patriotism leads to nationalism

Yes, I think patriotism can be taken to extremes, it's complicated, without going into specifics, when it becomes an idol of sorts. I think it can lead to nationalism, but nationalism is not the logical conclusion of patriotism, it is an extremist form. With that said, if you think of your country as your family, and other countries as friends, neighbors, which do you feed and protect first? Your children or your friends and neighbors?

 

[ViaCrucis]

I don't get where all this Global Society comes from -- what is that?
M-Bob

Well obviously you have the internet up on the mountain, you could always Google search "What is the planet Earth?" to get an answer.

-CryptoLutheran