Is patriotism a good or bad thing..

I second banksy
Anyone seen banksy's work - fuckin brilliant !!!
google him

 

Patriotism in general is good, it becomes bad when it degrades into mindless fanaticism.

 

nationalism is not patriotism.

 

Yea, which it does, more often that not.

 

You have a good point there.

 

i am quite patriotic to my country and I'm english, but i thinkk of all the great things my country has done/doing for me, free education, little poverty, one of the best policing systems in the world(i mean in other countries: USA; shooting n death penalty, Brazil; The police are practically another gang, lots of Eastern european countries; bad systems, unfair trials, (i ain't saying my countries best, i'm just saying it has done lots for me) this means i'm a patriot right, it doesnt stop me protesting, I'm proud of my country and I want to improve/do my bit for it.

 

I am humanist and a lover of liberty. That would've made me a "patriot" at one time, but now the definition has changed.

Now, patriotism is equal to right-wing nationalism and I want NO PART of that.

 

I fight for my class, not my country

 

It depends if you are using the real definition of patriotism or the definition the fascists have created. You can love your country and try to change it for the better which is real patriotism, or you can use the fascist verson where you think your country is better than everyone elses (like many Americans do) and blindly support the government.

Whenever right wing conservatives use words like patriotism, freedom, and democracy, they really mean nationalism, slavery, and imperialism.

 

Don't think that America is the only country which does that, Green. The US has a high profile in the media which makes it stand out, but a lot of countries use patriotism as a propaganda tool.

 

bad thing

 

i dont get why i can't be 13 coz i am (14 in July )

thanks all and i mightn't be patriotic depending on what country i live in

 

He meant your wise beyond your years.

 

Never Trust A Patriot - They Will Get U Killed Someday !!!

 

Too much patriotism is like a blindness, a shield over the eyes... which is what we are seeing in America today unfortunately.

 

Patriots require you to think patriotically because they are frightened that if you do not, then they will have no-one to fight their wars for them

 

Patriots think they're fighting for their country, but who knows what anyone is fighting for any more? A real patriot should think how to avoid bloodshed so that his/her people will not get killed.

 

Yea, they should think how to prevent the bloodshed of their own people, or anybody else's, for that matter.

 

I didn't mean i care more for an english man to an iraqi man or african woman

 

The truth is that most people watch the news and who really does care about something going on half a world away - to be honest the news distances you from the people that suffer so that you do not feel sympathy for them. No one would really blame you if u did mean it -
tho it would be unwise to say you meant it -.
Like most people you would only feel sympathy if u watched a documentary or knew someone that had their life turned over by it. The truth behind most of the tosh spoken in these forums is that we sit comfortable in our homes while others suffer so we can get oil - but you cannot feel sympathy for people whose story you dont properly know. The news is purposely disinfecting the truth - sanitising it so you dont know what horror is truly there - so dont even defend what u said