Would you describe yourself as patriotic?

[tattuchu]

Would I describe myself as peripatetic? Well that's an odd question. I guess the answer is sometimes. Mostly, though, I drive my truck

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Is it weird that in ways I feel more patriotic toward Ireland and Scotland, places with which my ties are thin, being materialised by ancestral lines that tied into mine more than two centuries ago, than to the countries of which I am an actual citizen and where I have resided for upward of a year in my life?

Why would it be weird? Those kind of things don't deconstruct easily. You care for things for obvious and not-so-obvious reasons, just like the rest of us. I have many places that show clearly in my mind right now. Talking with a 6-7 year old at a restaurant in Perth. (He wanted to know why I sounded like the telly.) Standing on the bow of a warship as it transited the Straits of Magellan. (The Straits were formed when the southern end of South America broke off and headed for Antarctica.) Standing on to of Mt. Etna and seeing Africa off in the distance. (And standing in Africa and feeling pumice fall on me from that same volcano.) Special places for me.

[Svartalf]

Well, I've never even been to Scotland, though the story of how a Scottish nobleman married into my ancestry has always been a big one.
and my attraction to Ireland was of the kind that when I was there, I even went to the Sinn Féin to see if they had use for a little frog. (and if they had asked me to do thing to help the IRA on pretense of visiting the 6 counties, I'd probably have done it)

Then again, my motives for despising the sassenach are multifarious and go back 3 centuries, if not more.

[sandinista]

patriotism is for patridiots.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

patriotism is for patridiots.

You love yourself, nothing else, so I can understand you think that way.

[charlou]

I do love the US, and I don't see why loving the country I was born and raised in has to be such a horrid thing. It's certainly no virtue, IMHO, to think that one's country sucks ass. Is that value judgment any "better?" My country sucks? That's o.k.? Or, that's more "nuanced" than "I love my country?"

For many people it's not as polemic as the two extremes you suggest here, but a case of being emotionally neutral (by this, I don't mean apathy). And for many of those people, neutrality is an important aspect of maintaining a higher level of objectivity.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I find the people who automatically declare they're not a patriot as amusing as those who automatically declare they ARE a patriot. Both extremes aren't thinking about the issue, they're just saying what they're supposed to say.

[charlou]

Is it weird that in ways I feel more patriotic toward Ireland and Scotland, places with which my ties are thin, being materialised by ancestral lines that tied into mine more than two centuries ago, than to the countries of which I am an actual citizen and where I have resided for upward of a year in my life?

Why would it be weird? Those kind of things don't deconstruct easily. You care for things for obvious and not-so-obvious reasons, just like the rest of us. I have many places that show clearly in my mind right now. Talking with a 6-7 year old at a restaurant in Perth. (He wanted to know why I sounded like the telly.) Standing on the bow of a warship as it transited the Straits of Magellan. (The Straits were formed when the southern end of South America broke off and headed for Antarctica.) Standing on to of Mt. Etna and seeing Africa off in the distance. (And standing in Africa and feeling pumice fall on me from that same volcano.) Special places for me.

Evocatively put, zilla.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I like my planet.

[Ian]

I like my planet.

I'll like it better once I'm in charge of it.

[charlou]

I like my planet.

I'll like it better once I'm in charge of it.

Those who want power should never get it.

[maiforpeace]

I like my planet.

Planetiotism?

[sandinista]

I find the people who automatically declare they're not a patriot as amusing as those who automatically declare they ARE a patriot. Both extremes aren't thinking about the issue, they're just saying what they're supposed to say.

[Coito ergo sum]

I do love the US, and I don't see why loving the country I was born and raised in has to be such a horrid thing. It's certainly no virtue, IMHO, to think that one's country sucks ass. Is that value judgment any "better?" My country sucks? That's o.k.? Or, that's more "nuanced" than "I love my country?"

For many people it's not as polemic as the two extremes you suggest here, but a case of being emotionally neutral (by this, I don't mean apathy). And for many of those people, neutrality is an important aspect of maintaining a higher level of objectivity.

I can see that. However, by the same token, it ought to be understandable that a person can be loyal and devoted to one's family and country, and still maintain objectivity. That loyalty and devotion need not be absolute or unconditional toward any government, and patriotism often requires active resistance to a government or a State.

[Coito ergo sum]

I think this issue seems to boil down to what definition a person ascribes to the word "patriotism." Those that dislike the word seem to think of it as, like, "my country right or wrong," "if you don't like it, get the fuck out," or "we are awesome and you suck," kind of mentalities. Granted, there are plenty of folks out there that act like that. However, I think those folks on this thread that are comfortable with the word don't think of it in those terms. Those of us, like Gawdzilla and myself, I think, are looking at patriotism as more of a love of country without denigrating other countries - a loyalty to one's country, but not a blind, unthinking, unquestioning loyalty.

Yes, I see that; I just don't feel it. To me, it's simply an accident of birth. If it was financially viable for me to move, I could see myself looking objectively at other countries' plus and minus points, and moving to the one that suited me the best, and I certainly wouldn't feel at all disloyal in doing so. I can't think of anything that is considered essentially "British" (except perhaps our beer) that I would miss.

I don't think it's unpatriotic to move to another country or even switch citizenships. My parents did it. SWMBO'd did it. They loved and were loyal to their home countries, and now live here. And, they are loyal to this country now, and love it. They want the best for it. They want it to do right and be right.

I don't think of patriotism in terms of what's best for me and my life or what's best suited for me. I was born and raised here. My family is here. My friends are here. When this country does right, as a member of the citizenry I think it reflects on me. When it does wrong, I regret that and want it fixed. If it is attacked, I would like to help defend it in the ways that I can. That, to me, is part of patriotism.