What’s patriotism?

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Patriotism is generally defined as the love and devotion to one’s country and its ideals. A strong belief in nationalism, which is a devotion to a country’s national interests, is often included in the definition of patriotism. Patriotism also refers to a sense of unity among a country’s inhabitants, especially the natives of the land, and a firm resolve to be and remain a sovereign government. Patriots also view national independence as necessary for the protection of citizens and their way of life. A person can be patriotic towards the country of which he is a citizen or permanent resident, or he can be patriotic towards his homeland, even if he is not a citizen and does not reside there.

In some cases, having love and devotion to one’s country does not mean having love and devotion to its government. A person might believe in the principles on which a country was founded, but might believe that their current government has strayed from those ideals. This type of person may believe that it would be patriotic, therefore, to oppose the current government and urge it to return to its founding principles.

While patriots usually agree on the basic definition of what patriotism is, they don’t always agree on how a patriot should react when faced with a decision to support or resist the country’s decisions and policies. One’s personal and political opinion, status in society, religious beliefs, and life experiences can influence one’s beliefs about what it means to be patriotic. For example, a person’s devotion to his country may not go so far as to support the nation’s decision to go to war. He or she might react in different ways, such as attending public anti-war rallies supporting the country in other decisions or refusing to become a soldier to fight for the nation. Others believe that the demonstration of true patriotism in such a situation would be to accept the nation’s decision to go to war by refusing to demonstrate publicly; by becoming a soldier, in some cases; or supporting the country’s military and its personnel.

Even a person’s religion could influence their personal definition of a patriot. For example, members of one religion who are citizens of nations governed by another religion often demonstrate patriotism only to a certain extent because their beliefs are that they should follow their religion over their government. If their beliefs conflict with the government, they often choose to follow their religious beliefs.

Even people treated as second-class citizens might have different interpretations of the definition of a patriot. Members of one class of oppressed people, for example, may not be patriotic about their country in the same way as members of other classes of people. For them, patriotism might be expressed more as a hope for change in their country.

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