Patriotism

This is an odd time to write a post about Patriotism... I'm too late for Canada Day, and Rwanda Liberation day was at the beginning of the month. But, I finished reading The Hunt for Red October today so it's not entirely random.

Patriotism (which I wish I could automatically pronounce with a British accent) we'll define simply as dedication to a country. Nationalism. Wanting what is best for a specific nation.

The only thing that patriotism really helps is the nation it is dedicated to. I don't think that patriotism, by itself, has ever benefited an individual. To the country, patriotism is, of course, a desirable quality for its citizens to have. Obviously if a country is adored by its citizenry, it is more secure militarily. If its citizens are able to see that free trade is best for their country, it will also benefit them economically. (protectionism is a result of uneducated patriotism) So, for a country, patriotism is good, it helps the country.

Largly, patriotism need never question itself. But it must do so when patriotism, love for your country, comes into conflict with other values.

Scenario one: Your country has a protectionist policy. You believe in free trade. You love your country, but obviously you don't love what it is doing right now. You must oppose your country in order to uphold free trade. Here, you compromise your love for your country in the immediate, and attempt to do what is best for your country by opposing it. Because you think that what your country is doing is not best for your country, you oppose what your country is doing. You oppose your country in the interest of building it up. Does that make you a patriot?

Scenario two: Abortion is legal in your country. You are pro-life. You love your country, but obviously you don't love what it is doing right now. You must oppose your country in order to uphold life. Here, you compromise your love for your country in the immediate, and attempt to do what is best for your country by opposing it. However, unlike free trade, your desire is not motivated simply because you wish to bring about greater economic prosperity to your country. This is, instead, a clash of principals. Free trade v. protectionism was a clash of means (how to make your country economically secure) . This, however, is a clash of ends. Your country believes in personal liberty of an adult being a higher goal than the life (and personal liberty) of an unborn infant. So, you oppose your country, in order to uphold your goal. Does that make you a patriot?

Scenario three: Your country is fighting a war that you deem unjust. You love your country, but you think that national sovereignty is important too, you value peace. In addition, you may think that this war is bad for your country, but we'll focus on the ideological differences here. As with free trade, this is a difference of means. Both you and your country want peace and national sovereignty, but your means of attaining it are different. For your country, intervention, for you, non-intervention. So you oppose the war, does that make you a patriot?

Scenario four: Your country is a fascist dictatorship which believes in the racial superiority of its native people. You... aren't, and don't. The difference here is ideological. So, you oppose your country, because you think that what is best for it is not to be a ascist dictatorship. Does that make you a patriot?

Actions also play a role in patriotism. Is your role active-positive, passive, or active-negative?

Active-positive means that when you disagree with your country, and when you oppose it, you do so by working with your country to change it. This would be the equivalent of lobbying or voting or whatever it is that people can do in fascist regimes.

Active-negative means that when you disagree with and oppose your country, you do so by working to bring down the pieces that you don't like. This would be the equivalent of assassinating bad presidents, forming a group of vigilantes, or being a defecting soviet and giving secrets about the USSR to the United States.

Passive means that you don't do anything, but you don't agree with what is being done.

Which actions determine if you're a patriot?
What is the duty of a patriot when his values conflict with those of his nation?

Does a patriot's love for his country cause him to leave his values behind, or to actively work towards making his countries values the same as his own? And does it matter how he does this (overthrowing the government vs. peaceful protests)