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Originally Posted by DigitalShadow
What does the word Patriotic mean to you?
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It means loving one's Fatherland. In my case, that's the U.S. However, it does not mean ignoring the rest of the world. Everybody's in this together.
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Do you consider yourself patriotic? If so, in what way?
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Yes, I love my country. I obey the laws, vote, do my job to the best of my ability, pay my taxes, and try to generally be a good citizen and help other people.
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Is patriotism always a good thing? Why or why not?
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That depends. If a person loves his/her own country and says 'To h*ll with the rest of the world,' no it's not good. However, if one is a responsible world citizen in addition to being patriotic for his own country, it's just fine. I think of it in terms of stewardship--I have good feelings towards other countries and am willing to work with and help them, but my primary responsibility is to my own country.
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Can someone be patriotic but still criticize aspects of their government? Why or why not?
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Of course. Just as loving oneself involves self-improvement, so does loving one's country involve striving to make it better.
The phrase "love it or leave it" is idiotic. It seems to me that if there is a problem in our country, if we simply leave it indicates we don't care enough about our country to stay and fix the problem.
HEP