What does it mean to be a patriot?

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after the event of september 11, news papers reported an upsurge of patriotism across the land. Americans put stickers on their windows reading,"United we stand" and wore t-shirts with images of the american flag. Even on college campuses, students rallied to express patriotic sentiments about america. Sixties boomers, long accustomed to scoffing at patriotism as "flag-waving", now discovered in themselves a surprising urge to wave flags. But what exactly is patriotism, anyway? The dictionary defines it as pride in one's country, an intense love of her, a zealous devotion loving country- and how do we express that love anyway? What kind of patriot are you?