Is patriotism a good thing?

Question

Every government in the world promotes patriotism in as a positive trait. Is Patriotism another invention by the governments to subdue people? Does dividing up people along arbitrary geographical lines and program them to feel connected to this patch of land as opposed to any other have any merit?

Answer 1

I do think it is good to be proud of your country. Still like every thing else, it needs to be in moderation. Nationalism in the extreme leads to deep divides in society. Patriotism is like religion in that sense. While it is good to believe that what you have is best, one must remember that everybody else thinks theirs is the best as well.

Answer 2

we should all have some loyalties first and formost should probably be patriotism to the human race.. if patriotism to your own country or cause does not harm humanity.. then i dont see anything wrong with it. I dont think loyalty to ones nation should ever compel you to violate human rights or to inflict misery on any undeserving person. The value of every single human life is inestimable. I believe it is diminished only by the amount that they infringe on the rights of others. I think patriots will uphold the ideals the country was founded on.. the constitution represents much of these ideals.. and since the constitution was intended to be a living document.. this would include the way of life we have come to expect since the constitution was written also. When the govt betrays the the people by straying from american norms and expectations or by ignoring the constitution and the nations laws.. then your true obligation would be to fire the govt during the next election.. and get some servants in there that respect what america represents. yes this is hard to do with electronic voting and voting fraud.. but.. we can demand paper ballots too. governments should serve the peoples they govern.. not harm and exploit them for personal profit and power.

Answer 3

I don't know where patriotism as a concept first came to be; I suppose it could have been the first time a people rallied around a symbol and fought for the place it represented that that was patriotism in its infancy. Patriotism is good in the sense that it helps to foster unity, but bad when taken to the extent of extreme nationalism, or jingoism. I suspect you meant to say nationalism. Nationalism and patriotism are very similar, but the former implies a belief of superiority in most cases, where as the latter can be sufficiently defined as love of one's nation. Jingoism is natiionalism taken so far that one may not be questioning of anything down by government in his/her name.



I think you have misunderstood one important thing. You over simplified what patriotism is about. It is more than love of land, but love of culture, way of life, and so on. So the question of merit falsely, I believe, characterizes patriotism as having only one.

Answer 4

In my opinion patriotism is a great social value.

It prlovides mylineation among our society thusly providing the cohesive texture that makes a Democratic Republic stand at the foreground of the world.

After patriotism has been acquired by an individual then our country is one more stronger and one more safer.

Sempre Fidelis is not a crook. Jose

Answer 5

No, any patriot lives only within his country for a short period but the giant person who loves to the whole world lives in all over the world forever.Eienstien , Bell, Thomas Alwa Edison like human sensitive giants are nice examples for your question.This is a narrow concept selfish people created.

Answer 6

Patriotism is basically a positive thing as having a love for one's country can inspire a person to strive to make things better,and fight against injustices. However,if taken

to extremes it can lead to a primitive "Us or Them" mentality which in turn leads to military conflict.

Like all things,patriotism should be taken in moderation,

to maintain a balance.

Answer 7

I suppose that a love of your country is not a bad thing. BUT...I think that a lot of heinous acts are commited under the guise of patriotism, and when one speaks out against them, they are labeled "unpatriotic". So, as has been said, I think that things need to not be taken to extremes. People get very fanatical about it and it can be downright scary!

Answer 8

The problem with patriotism is that people don't stop to think about what's truly right or wrong regardless of their nationality. I think most people are too lazy to think about what is best for them, and they just do what is expected of them...it's just easier, and it keeps everyone around happy.

Answer 9

im a patriot, and i think its good for the country. BUT! i think that its starting to segregate the rest of the world.

Answer 10

like most things in life, it has its positive sides and its negative sides. while it can unify a nation, provide a sense of identity, and give people the strength to get through hard times, it can also lead to unquestioning obedience, xenophobia, and totalitarianism.

Answer 11

Yes, voice your opinion loud!