QUOTE(DoomedOne @ Jan 10 2006, 05:18 PM)
I strongly believe that at its center the Earth is made up of one people, and that we have to stand for our fellow man as a whole, and stand up for the right and equality of all men of all creeds, and patriotism tends to obscure that, making it seems like its "this coutnry frist, the rest of the world later."
How do you define patriotism, because I want to influence this country some day (through activism, as a public speaker) and I feel like this is the country I was born in, this is where I make my stand, and stand for the rights of the people here. Is that patriotism? That I am loyal to the people, not the government?
If you asked me, I would say that you
have to do it that way. ( 'this country first, the rest of the world later', that is.) You can't just expect to change the world with a wave of your hand; it has to start somewhere and spread. Though making the world a better place should be the goal. I would change your statement from - "this country first, the world later" to "this country, screw al others." The last one seems to be what a lot of Americans think, unfortunately.
I think that is exactly what patriotism is; being loyal to the people. In this country, aren't the people supposed to be the main priority? It might not be, but it is
supposed to. In this country, loyalties to the government change all the time with new elections, new mistakes some leader makes, the way a leader handles a situation....etc. I think patriotism is wanting to make the government so that it supports the people; meaning that patriotism is being loyal to the people.
To sum it up, I agree with the second paragraph, and some of the first.