Quote Originally Posted by Freakie_frog
Whats the difference?? If your patriotic your patriotic or are you suggesting that there is different degrees of patriotism. Which I believe there is.
No, I was referring more to those who are superficially patriotic, and consider pride to be completely about nationality and not questioning the government.

Penn & Teller, on their show BS!, recently did a segment where they ran around with two petitions. In the first, the "America is #1" petition (which got literally hundereds of signatures), they called for the UN to recognize the US as #1 in many diverse areas, including evironmental issues and education. The second, which got just as many signatures from people claiming to be patriots, called for a ban on public protests within 300 yards of Congress. The irony, of course, being that the people were signing away their right to sign petitions on the steps of Congress -- on the steps of the Congress building.

There are most definitely not only degrees of patriotism these days, but diverse brands as well, many of which have no aim but to bolster nationalistic pride, something which often runs contrary to actual patriotism.