by Jay Kitts

Created on: January 17, 2007   Last Updated: May 16, 2007

Patriotism simply defined is "love for one's country." What is commonly being referred to as "blind patriotism" I would argue is at its essence not patriotism at all. Just as love is a conscious decision, so is patriotism; "blind" patriotism, is a fallacy because that denotes an unquestioning following rather than truly loving one's country.

Love and patriotism, however, can be unconditional. As an example, a parent may love a child unconditionally even when that kids infuriates the parent. Likewise, I can love my country even when I disagree with the policies or actions of its leadership. I would consider that "discerning patriotism." I am not necessarily promoting unconditional patriotism at this point but I am saying that discerning patriotism is the only true patriotism and discerning patriotism can be widely defined.

So what is being unpatriotic? It must mean not loving one's country based on the definition of patriotic but what exactly does that mean? I would argue simply that it means wishing ill will for your country. So were Germans unpatriotic for not supporting the Socialist Nazi Party back in the early- to mid- 20th century? Of course not, although the Nazis went to great lengths to make and and enforce such a case punishable by death and torture. Rather, Germany was a savage nation responsible for the brutal murder and encampent of millions at the time. A true German patriot would have thirsted to overthrow the Nazi Party; only a lunatic sycophant would have supported Hitler.

The United States is now grappling with issues of patriotism as part of a larger dialogue on the future direction of the country and specifically relating to its involvement in Iraq and to a lesser extent Afghanistan. After Islamic terrorists hijacked airplanes and flew them into buildings, murdering thousands and striking fear into a nation, many felt compelled to take the offensive against those who wished to do harm to the country. Public enemy #1 was Osama bin Laden, head of the terrorist group Al Qaeda. He funded the activity and employed the orchestrators of the attack, and it was generally well accepted both in the United States and abroad when attacks were launched into Afghanistan in an attempt to bring him and his organization down. Certainly there was an anti-war element out there, but it was small and consisted mainly of those that feel that if your neighbor punches you in the face then you negotiate with him until he stops punching you in the face. This negotiation

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