What Does "Patriotism" Mean to YOU?

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Here's an article with some different opinions on patriotism and what it means to different people. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/04/patriotism.opinions.irpt/ It seems that since 9/11 there has been more written and said about patriotism and the lack of it than probably ever before. Before the start of the Iraq War, those who opposed it were often called "anti-American" or even traitors. There have been many different indicators of patriotism such as wearing a U.S. flag lapel pin or flying the flag outside our homes or placing a flag magnet on our vehicle. During the current Presidential campaign there has been even more talk of patriotism than usual with Democratic nominee Barack Obama even being called anti-American by some and his wife, Michelle, has come under considerable fire for making a comment that this is the first time she's been proud of her country. Obama has been accused of not placing his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance as well as during the National Anthem, which actually isn't a requirement for many if not most people. He was also attacked for not wearing a flag lapel pin on a regular basis but then when he started wearing one he got attacked for that, too - go figure! GOP candidate, John McCain made his own controversial remark on several different occasions about how he never really loved American until he was deprived of her company but it got far less attention than did Michelle Obama's "proud of my country" statement. Which leads me to ask - does loving your country mean you have to love everything its government and leaders has ever done without question? I like the analogy about if your child brought home a poor report card when you knew he could be better, would you be "proud" of him in that instant for that one thing? Probably not, but does that mean you didn't love him? Absolutely not! We all show and express our displeasure with various things our government and politicians do on a daily basis here on myLot, but does that make us anti-American? I certainly don't think so! I know I love my country and what she stands for. I love the freedoms and rights we enjoy and I love our veterans who have given their lives so we could have them. I support every single one of our troops who are serving our country as I write this regardless of my personal views about the Iraq conflict or any other war, past or present. That doesn't mean I'm necessarily proud of everything our country has ever done! I'm certainly not proud when I hear about our great nation using torture, which I bring up now because it's being discussed on TV as I write this. I'm not personally proud of the fact we've killed many innocent Iraqi civilians and destroyed their country beyond recognition. This isn't meant to be a debate on the Iraq war, I was just giving a personal example of my own feelings. I'm not proud to know we have children going to bed hungry or elderly people who can't afford to heart their homes or buy medication they need. I'm not proud of the fact many American citizens have been discriminated against throughout our history; these things have certainly improved but I don't think our job is done. I'm not proud of the fact that about a quarter of those Americans who are eligible to vote ever actually do so, which was a large part of what Michelle Obama was talking about when she made her infamous "proud of my country" comment. She was at a political rally talking about politics so I have no problem believing here when she says she was referring to how people, particularly young people, have become engaged in the political process this year like never before. I could go on for hours listing different ways in which we can or should be proud of American and ways in which it's rather hard to feel a great deal of pride but that's not my intention here. I'd like to read what the rest of you have to say, how you feel about the whole idea of patriotism and love of country. Do you agree that we can love our country without agreeing with or feeling proud of everything it's ever done? I think if you love someone or something you want it to be the best it can be! I love American and the PEOPLE that make it and have made it the best place in the world in which to live but I think American and its people can make some improvements. In so many ways I'm as proud to be an American as anyone could be but if I were to say there are some things that don't make me so proud that does NOT make me anti-American or unpatriotic! Annie