Patriotism

Hey everyone,

Sorry I have been away for a while but I had been feeling off as of late. Now though, let's get down to business.

Today's topic is Patriotism. What is it? We always talk about historical figures that were Patriots. Grand personas that defied all odds and overcame the enemy be they foreign or domestic to do what is right for their country.

What is a Patriot to you? Is a Patriot someone who fights for their country?

Betrand Russell said

“Patriots always talk of dying for their country, and never of killing for their country.”

How true is this quote? In situations like WWI or WWII it seemed clear who the enemy was. The enemy was the person across the sea, attacking our allies, attacking us.

The enemy sits in the Kremlin. He chants for the Fatherland. He is here to destroy us, so we must defend ourselves now.

but....that was years ago.

I like to think to be a Patriot is not something negative at all. Even to other countries. A Patriot doesn't mean you are a flag waving fool, ready to obey anything your Government tells you. A Patriot is someone who cares about their country enough to question even their countrymen. They can see the morality of ther actions, even if it is for the benefit of their countrymen, but at the cost of others.

A Patriot is not someone who follows blindly. A Patriot is a thorn in the side of politics. A Patriot is the ache in the bones of an old Monarch. A Patriot is a renegade, a rebel, a revolutionary, a man, a woman, a child, an idea, an ideal....Patriotism is dissent.

“The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, but better so than not to be exercised at all. I like a little rebellion now and then.” -Thomas Jefferson

Avicenna