Are You a Patriot?

That's a loaded word for Americans. Of course - this thread was made for them.

Every sane American I've met has called themselves one. Especially the politically active ones, the ones who rant against, say, racism inherent in public institutions and otherwise - I guess because dissent is supposed to be an American quality. But while America has indeed had its share of great dissenters, I would think this is evidence that America is a shitty enough country to inspire some individuals to act against it.

It's damaging for certain parties to fight against each other, in hopes of earning the title of "patriot". Everybody loses - it's indefinable, and like the two-party system, it creates an arbitrary line in the sand between people, which will only reduce one's intelligence once it's been drawn. And despite Tea Party rhetoric, the term does support the status quo, especially in the example of the Tea Party's self-identified patriots.

Will no American break this taboo about not loving their country? The word patriot is all-encompassing. Even Bill Hicks would be quick to say he loved America, and I think George Carlin as well. But any thoughtful individual knows that America doesn't own any positive human traits unto itself.

Of course people who live in America have done positive things. And because America is a state, these positive things have been done in spite of America. I know, it's easy to think, "What's the difference - you're talking about people who live in America who've done positive things. They're American" but the idea of what's American has always been changing. Obviously America doesn't own the concept of patriotism, but for the purposes of this thread, I'm picking on the world's current superpower.

MoonBaseNick: You never had anything to do with fighting Germans or the English.

The basic point I tried to make was that all the great things that residents of America have done was in spite of the state, as it is anywhere else.

Also, er, I should say: Being 'American' is meaningless in the way that mainstream America uses the term. The word is undefinable, and politicians only use it to manipulate voters.