What defines a Patriot?

[Dr Gregg]

"Patriotism is usually the refuge of the scoundrel. He is the man who talks the loudest." - Mark Twain

Great quote

 

[Xenophon]

AIt means love of country, or your homeland.

It does NOT mean love of the type of government, that is nationalism.

 

[☭proletarian☭]

AIt means love of country, or your homeland.

It does NOT mean love of the type of government, that is nationalism.

Hence the existence of nationalist movements that seek to depose the government?

 

[Patriot214]

A patriot is dedicated to the values and principles of his/her country, not a political party or an individual. A patriot has the courage to stand up in defense of country by using their voice or non-violent action, even if it is against their own party or government.

"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." - Thomas Jefferson

 

[rightwinger]

"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." - Thomas Jefferson

I disagree!

 

[uscitizen]

I am a Vet.

Me too.
Some of us do not program as well as others do.

True, I think, question and see who benefits and who doesn't. Too many others follow the mob.

Yep I just got called an Obamabot by a rightwinger.
LOL

They fail to get that I do not follow the crowd. A foreign concept to many.
I mean if you do not follow their crowd you must follow the other one?

 

[ABikerSailor]

What defines a patriot?

Someone who knows a little bit about the WHOLE COUNTRY, not just their little slice of it, and they want to see the WHOLE COUNTRY move forward, not just their little slice of it, and are willing to make compromises when their little slice is out of step with the rest of the country.

Or, as I like to say, you don't measure patriotism by how much you shout in support of your country, but rather how much you KNOW about your country.

 

[Flopper]

What a strange subject for this message board where most posters seem to hate their government. Is it possible to hate your government and love your country when the very definition of a country is a politically organized body of people under a single government?

See? You leftists REALLY need to club together and buy a dictionary to share, or something.

Country - 1 : an indefinite usually extended expanse of land : region <miles of open country>
2 a : the land of a person's birth, residence, or citizenship b : a political state or nation or its territory
3 a : the people of a state or district : populace b : jury c : electorate 2
4 : rural as distinguished from urban areas <prefers the country to the city>
5 : country music

Just so you're not confused, the 4th and 5th definitions are not the ones we're talking about here.

The government is not the country. It is, at best, a necessary evil, and liking the government or the bureaucrats who operate the government is not a requirement for loving one's country.

There are a number of definition of country but in the context of the messages on these boards, a country is not just a geographic area or territory. Without a government the United States would not be country. Government is an integral part our country. You can't really love your country and hate it's government. You can hate the president, congress, the IRS, or whatever, but when you have a deep hatred for the government as a whole, you hate the country.

 

[George Costanza]

?

Someone who is loyal to his country but not afraid to speak out if he feels his country is doing something wrong.

Someone who does not characterize dissent as "treason."

 

[eots]

adherence to the constitution and the bill of rights

which didn't exist when the patriots fought the crown?

i am speaking of in America today

 

[Cecilie1200]

What a strange subject for this message board where most posters seem to hate their government. Is it possible to hate your government and love your country when the very definition of a country is a politically organized body of people under a single government?

See? You leftists REALLY need to club together and buy a dictionary to share, or something.

Country - 1 : an indefinite usually extended expanse of land : region <miles of open country>
2 a : the land of a person's birth, residence, or citizenship b : a political state or nation or its territory
3 a : the people of a state or district : populace b : jury c : electorate 2
4 : rural as distinguished from urban areas <prefers the country to the city>
5 : country music

Just so you're not confused, the 4th and 5th definitions are not the ones we're talking about here.

The government is not the country. It is, at best, a necessary evil, and liking the government or the bureaucrats who operate the government is not a requirement for loving one's country.

There are a number of definition of country but in the context of the messages on these boards, a country is not just a geographic area or territory. Without a government the United States would not be country. Government is an integral part our country. You can't really love your country and hate it's government. You can hate the president, congress, the IRS, or whatever, but when you have a deep hatred for the government as a whole, you hate the country.

So basically, you just read the first definition and ignored the others. Okey-dokey. I wasn't exactly betting that you were very bright, anyway.

Despite the fact that it is organization of some sort that makes a piece of land into a political nation, the government is still not the country. It is merely a construct, a tool that allows people to run their country. And you sure as hell CAN love your country while hating the government with which it is currently saddled. Did the people who fought the American Revolution love the government they were fighting against? Why, yes, I believe they did.

But it says volumes about the mindset of halfwit leftists that they really believe the government is the country.

 

[Cecilie1200]

?

Someone who is loyal to his country but not afraid to speak out if he feels his country is doing something wrong.

Someone who does not characterize dissent as "treason."

Y'know, I'm tired of hearing every "America sucks" leftist twit proudly proclaiming "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism", as though that somehow means that ALL dissent is automatically patriotic. Just as a square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not always a square, dissent is not always patriotism. Sometimes, it's just assholery, and yeah, occasionally it really is treason.

 

[rdean]

Someone who wants what's best for the country. If you follow the Republican agenda and do everything opposite, you are a patriot.
I didn't even know a political party could exist in a country that worked for the destruction of that country. In the past, that was called "treason".

 

[ElmerMudd]

I do not care for any group that is over critical of our great country.

There is no group more critical of America than the Tea Partiers.

They claim they want to take their country back.

The country is where it should be based on our democratic constitutional system. There has not been a coup. The current governement was duly voted in by the largest margin of the past 5 national elections.

There is nothing more un-American than implying arming against a duly elected government.

For those looking for less government I suggest you move to Haiti.

 

[Wry Catcher]

I spent four hours in 1967 standing a midwatch on a DD with a second class PO. I was 19 years old, an E-3 Seaman weeks out of bootcamp, and had mxed feelings on our involvement in the Vietanm War. We began to discuss our involvement in the war, and I expressed by concerns with our involvment. I remember saying I had no interest or desire in killing someone my age defending his family farm, even if he were a communist. He ordered me to stand at attention for hours because of my opinion.
Several months later, in port in San Diego, Detectives from the SDPD and shore partrol arrested the Second Class for passing bad checks.
Just saying.

 

[Avatar4321]

The dictionary.

 

[Thinman]

There is no group more critical of America than the Tea Partiers.
.

That's not true. They are critical of government.

 

[&#9773;proletarian&#9773;]

There is no group more critical of America than the Tea Partiers.
.

That's not true. They are critical of government.

Can the two truly be considered separately?

 

[ElmerMudd]

There is no group more critical of America than the Tea Partiers.
.

That's not true. They are critical of government.

Castro loves the American people he just hates our government.

 

[Big Black Dog]

Isn't that a green and yellow-headed bird that can learn how to talk and shit on newspaper if you line his cage with it? That's my idea of a patriot. I liberal Democrat patriot.