What is patriotism not? It is not waving a flag. It is not marching in a parade. It is not banding together to advance a particular politcal viewpoint, although advocating the viewpoint can be patriotic. It is definitely NOT reciting the pledge of allegiance. Nor is it patriotic when we require children to recite the pledge of allegiance every morning in school.
In wartime, patriotism seems to get confused with the issue of 'supporting the troops'. A killer question, usually asked of democratic and liberal candidates by right wing Republican candidates is: do you support the troops. And it is often asked in conversation, particularly when the askee is arguing against the war. Supporting the troops should mean roughly the same as 'not shooting the messenger'. People not directly involved in the war should perhaps not blame the troops for finding themselves in a war. Or should they? Presumably you know that you might have to fight when you enlist in the army. Of course the army does offer various benefits in exchange for offering yourself up to train for and potentially fight in a war.
Perhaps supporting the troops means supporting only those that are somehow 'doing the right thing' in the context of the war. And who knows what that might be? Do you put the kid out of his misery, when he doesn't die, and his internal organs are strewn all over the ground? Or will that get you court martialed? But only if it shows up on national TV. Do you follow vague instructions to soften up the prisoners, but then are you guilty of criminal acts, again when the actions show up on national TV.
Putting troops in harms way seems to be the canonical example of not supporting the troops. Starting a war is immediately and unequivocally an example of not supporting the troops. Sending troops out on errands without armor when armor could have been made available is an example of not supporting the troops.
Supporting the troops has to mean that you put up with the problems the troops encur because of their war service. Don't turn them out on the street to become homeless. Don't bleed the Veteran's Administration healthcare system so that our vets can't get treatment. Cutting war salaries during war seems pretty cold hearted, and unethical. That surely counts as not supporting the troops.
Supporting the troops can not mean that you must support the war itself. There is no requirement that you support the leaders. The troops are not the leaders, and the leaders are not the troops. The leaders are fair game in any discussion about the war. And you can criticize and criticize the leaders and the war without being unsupportive of the troops.
I think patriotism is a deeper concept than mere rah-rah boosterism. I take patriotism to involve hard-headed, deep-seated understanding of what our country is, and where it is going. Patriotism is the correct description of what is happening at this time in this country. And patriotism is the advocating of policies to improve our country. And extreme patriotism occurs when you advocate in spite of the majority feeling that you are a nut case, and that the issues you discuss and the solutions you propose are so crazy and 'outre' as to not be discussable. Failing to understand the consequences of your actions is unpatriotic. Nero was unpatriotic.
There are many issues in a war. (1) Is the war itself an honorable cause? (2) Are we properly prepared for the war? (3) Are there other ways to accomplish the same end?
These all need to be discussed prior to starting the war. And discussion on all these issues were repressed in the run-up to this war. And this was unpatriotic.
-- DCJ