I think people have forgotten that being patriotic doesn't mean being a willing slave to the Republican mindset.

I have a bumper sticker that says "I pledge allegiance, not blind obedience". It works for me.

Patriotism is love for the country. But it does not mean abject submission. The frailities are to be condemned. The shortcomings are to be rectified. The trespasses are to be cautioned. Love with intensified focus is patriotism.

"a perfectly round,and flattened footprint of repression,was England's gift to the early settler's; it postulated the inherent rationale for one's freedom, thoughts, beliefs,and moralistic virtues of free will,which no man should,or shall be deprived; mankind's well-grounded,and rounded-mind idenifies only with the will to live one's life,in a society of living-breathing-laws that change with the necessity of a progressive timetable; not to be tethered to,as a millstone around ones neck; but rather openly dispute it's very integrity,and right of independence as part of the integral make-up of the human-race, expressing freedom in every way, shape,and form" Happy 4th' July America,we earned it!

I raised my flag on my front porch post today. Let freedom ring, War mongers.

Too often when writing about patriosm some years later we fail to use the right measurements. The yard stick of patriotism isn't simple and cannot be applied using today's standards or today's evolved opinion. Like art, patriotism is a difficult thing to judge and one does so often at his own peril. is John W. Booth much different from Thomas Jefferson? Both defended our country at great personal peril acting out against what they viewed as tyranny. Almost nothing separates the patriots on any two sides. Opinions evolve in favor of the winners; they always will.

Patriot to me, is someone who loves, and support and defend their beloved country, no matter what under the Constitutions of the United States.

Benjamin Franklin said of patriotism:

Those who give up essential liberties for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

and....

Where liberty dwells, there is my country

I think that describes at least one facet of patriotism very well.

I think it is VERY patriotic to not want wars of choice and the deaths of so many soldiers for nothing, and saying that. I deon't forget the injured either. I think it is VERY patriotic to want everyone to have healthcare and housing and to live in a country that doesn't torture or have blacksites. The republicans almost took away my wonderful feelings for this country but I went to the Hollywood Bowl tonight for a 4th of July concert. And i went to dc a month ago. Yay. I am 61...George Bush is the least patriotic man I have seen. A phoney.

Two of our so called governors view patroitism going against the grain and succeeding from the Union and leaving the military that hail from their States high and dry without a State in the union to return to.

Being an American is having a combination of courage, willingness, readiness, and ability to take actions supporting justice and our institutional values while maintaining open-mindedness for self-monitoring, re-evaluation, and recrudescence.

Being and American Patriot is loyalty to democracy and belief that we will endure adversity, turbulance and assault, because our foundation is true, right , unerodible, and robust.

It's useful to know with certainty what isn't patriotic before voting for a leader of this country. Almost 50% of the electorate seem to have no clue...

The definition by Edward R. Murrow, is my favorite. Patriotism is not agreement. Nor is it blindly or naively following a leader without question.

As part of the Baby Boom generation, I was in high school during the turmoil of the late 60's. The protests against the Vietnam war, the support of Civil Rights all formed me.

We must continue to speak out, to be free to dissent, to protest injustice and fight for our freedom. We can not take for granted the freedom of speech, or the freedom to dissent....... indeed no freedom should be taken for granted.

Happy Fourth everyone!

Patriotism is knowing that we have unalienable rights regardless of who is governing us. We have the right to tell our leaders where we feel they are doing good and where they are falling short.

A true leader takes the critiques and in the face of adversity says "let's dig in and get to work, these people are depending on US."

We believe in the ability to pull ourselves up if we are given the true opportunity.

Happy 4th of July to all across this vast, diverse nation.

Patriotism is a love of your country and ALL your fellow countrymen whether dem or republican, whether you agree with them or not -patriotism is allowng those who disagree with you the right to disagree.

Patriotism, is often a single voice.

here, here, David, and thank you

Well, since this has turned all political, I must say that patriotism probably involves not letting North Korea and Iran have free reign with nuclear technology. I don't think it involves trying to reinstate Chavex wannabes who were kicked out by their own supreme court either. (The Honduras.)

Some would have you believe that patriotism is a term used to describe the mental activities of those who agree with us. With everyone thinking about our independence and the troops risking their lives in the Middle East to maintain our freedom, maybe someone will convince President Obama that if we are going to war, we need to spare no expense for our troops. How many have been killed because they don't have the proper equipment to protect them against explosive devices? Sad that a country that considers itself the most powerful nation on earth has to depend on families to send flack vests to their family members because our past Administration chose to go to war on the cheap. We should all be ashamed of ourselves.

As soon as men decide that all means are permitted to fight an evil, then their good becomes indistinguishable from the evil that they set out to destroy. – The Judgment of the Nations, Christopher Dawson