The Glade 4.0

Webster sayz:



Kind of a nebulous definition. So with that in mind -- do you think a true patriot is someone who:

A) Accepts the above parameters as self-evident truths without question and acts upon them as such? (Example: Patriot A hears his commander and chief say that rejecting all outside influences is in the best interest for the country, and lives by that code)

OR

B) Accepts the above parameters with a critical eye, and acts upon them as such? (Example: Patriot B hears the same thing as Patriot A, but decides that this will only hinder his country's best interests, and as such defies his political superior)

OR

c) Not Listed Above (please specify in your response).


Not a flame bait -- serious question . . .

A person who loves the base ideals of thier nation and its people who seeks to defend both of those from enemies foreign or domestic.

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"...but there exists also in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful to their own level and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom." - De Tocqueville

c) One who understands the definition and listens to his commander in chief, takes his words as policy, but decides to evaluate things as situations progress. Acting in the best interest of your country should not include absolutes like this. Whenever the choices leave the possibility of no middle ground on anything, there is a problem.

Outside Influences? This looks like a thinly disguised questioning of the policies of North Korea or Iran.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

Nope, no ulterior motives here (scout's honor). Just using it as an example.

I like the B idea. Also our President is/should be our representative not our overlord, as patriot A thinks. He's the head abassador, the cheif legislator, and the commander and cheif on the arm forces, but he still/is supposed to answer to the nation and to the electorate.

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

Patriots Act

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"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one." Charles Mackay

I'd rather define an armchair patriot:

Someone with a nationalistic bent who takes pride in the concept of a nation, national agenda or history of a nation. Regardless of their participation in national politics, defense or civic activities of any kind. Their motives are defined by their interpretation of the nation's best interests regardless of how narrow their scope or limited their understanding of the issues.

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The MIM-104 Patriot is a U.S. Army surface-to-air missile prudced by Raytheon and sold abroad to several nations. It is an area-defense system typically organized into batteries made up of a fire control, a launcher, and a maintenance platoon. The latest PAC-3 model carries 16 missiles per launcher, compared to 4 per launcher in earlier versions.

Patriot is capable of intercepting aircraft, ballistic missiles, UAVs, and air-to-surface missiles, although the latest PAC-3 has emphasized ABM capability at the expense of some antiaircraft capability. Patriot had a questionable success rate against SCUDS in the Persian Gulf War, but the success rate is partly affected by what definition of success is used; specifically is a hit a success even if the incoming missile is not destroyed?

In 2003, considerable improvements had been made, and the missile worked well against Iraqi SRBMs. The U.S. Army operates 14 battalions of Patriots; one of those is part of the Air Defense Artillery School.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

DE wins the thread.

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"I've got twenty ways to tell you shut the f*ck up / nineteen of them are twenty-four bars long / the other one goes: SHUT THE F*CK UP" - Aesop Rock
"There is no God higher than truth." -- Gandhi
Formerly: Tulamian

I'm pretty happy with that definition. My country, right or wrong. My president...I didn't vote for him, I sure don't agree with all he's done, but he's my president and I think he's doing the best job he can and I think he's got the best interests of this country at heart.

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In time, this too shall pass.

A pretty crappy excuse for badge-engineering a car into a Jeep.

Cruddy Mel Gibson movie.

One member of a football team.

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"...the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?" -Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Collection of young men with the same first name behaving badly.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

The dictionary entry you found confuses patriotism with nationalism.

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.

An arrow fired by Robin Hood when he was almost defeated in an archery contest.

Displayed prominently during the Robin Hood performance by Cary Elwes

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Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

Yes. That's why I wanted to try to narrow the definition down more, because it was a bit on the ambiguous side.