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i'm referring to patriotism and it's many degrees. getting a tug in your heart when you see the flag waving in the wind is one form, and super patriotism and nationalism is a fanatical form. in fact, nationalism often gets mixed up in various ways with religion, sometimes. the taliban for example, or the xian conservative branch of the reichwing republican party.
at some point, loving your country can become a negative and destructive force, as we have seen repeatedly in history. nationalism can be a substitute for religion, or an enhancement of it.
i confess, although i love america, i have never experienced any type of emotion at all seeing a flag in the sky. am i disfunctional? am i not patriotic or appreciative? in fact, i'm more moved by seeing a flag being burned as a statement of dissent. and i also see a flag draped coffin as a bizarre irony: young men and women, fighting and dying for an evil purpose, then draped with the flag that represents the evil diplomats.
when does loving one's country become nationalism? would you die for america and it's values? would you gladly send your son or daughter off the fight for these values? and if you saw your son return from baghdad in a flag draped coffin, would the site of the american flag inspire you, or piss you off? i'll feel prouder when we can fix the damage that has been done in the last 2 1/2 years by this jerkoff in the whitehouse.
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