Patriotism

[Shol'va]

APA, I'd rather not confirm my fears :)
The term "patriotism" stirs different emotions for different people.
Personally for me, when I hear the term, I immediately think of one of my grandfathers, who at the tender age of 19 was a dive bomber pilot in WW2. In his own words, he felt the call "for fellow man and country". He flew JU-88As, which are a 5-man crew plane. Everyone wanted to fly with him because he always returned from missions and was a damned good pilot.
When I hear the term patriotism I think of bravery in the face of the enemy at the gates. That is because I grew up in a society that through history always got the short end of the stick and was under constant threat of conquer.
I just wanted to bring a different perspective to this discussion.
We should criticize the action of people using the term as pretense, not the term itself.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

I kinda think of Woody Guthrie songs..

[Shol'va]

Sadly, the reference is lost on me although I looked up the name. It is one of those American cultural things I have no familiarity of :)

[AllPurposeAtheist]

He wrote This Land Is Your Land.  It's a song most kids my age learned in grade school.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxiMrvDbq3s

[aitm]

The late 50's into the 60's when most americans believed they still owned the country and when Republicans and democrats worked together to ensure that the american people would never have any power.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Except Woody released This Land is Your Land in 1940. Other than the 20 year differential....

[Jack89]

So what descriptor would be suitable for me?

I think patriot fits the bill just fine. 

[Jack89]

I'm guessing your alternative is cosmopolitanism.  Citizens of the world, so to speak.  Not only is it that an impossible pipe dream, I think most would find it undesirable.  Language, culture, politics, religion, etc., are just too diverse for that to happen.  People need to share a common identity with others, and I think with some exclusivity, to feel they belong.  And to be perfectly honest, I think even some nation states are too diverse to effectively pull off an acceptable shared identity.
For example, I've been in your neck of the woods before, drunkenshoe, and don't think I would ever feel I belong there.  I met quite a few people who I befriended, and enjoyed visiting Adana as well as several of the coastal towns, but the culture there is so different, it could never be home.  I also spent several months along the border helping the Kurds and grew very close with them, but they would never fully accept me and I would never feel completely at home.  Culture, language, and core beliefs would never allow it.
 

[Shol'va]

This is exactly like the old apologist's argument of how religion actually good in its core; that how it is intended to unite, to make things better for what we love, invoke that loooove and cherish, but unfortunately abused by some evil people and in fact we can reach to this good core if we manage to hold on to the good parts. And everyone actually believes anyway, because no one could have lived like that. Religion is good, people are baaaad.

Nope, not at all. The only point is that patriotism in and of itself is love of country. Some people do good things, some people do bad things, both in the name if it. Focusing solely on the bad and stating patriotism is exclusively bad is simply a bias.

To take you up on your perspective of American imperialism, the countries that are being victimised and ransacked, invaded etc etc however you want to look at it, are putting up resistance and a fight out of, what sentiment exactly? :) I'm going to venture a guess and say the same sentiment my country was operating under when the great Ottoman empire kept coming at the gates: patriotism.
When you are saying patriotism is tribalism, etc etc, in the same breath you are condemning the very sentiment that drives people to protect their homes, their people and their culture, from anihilation.

[aitm]

Except Woody released This Land is Your Land in 1940. Other than the 20 year differential....

that's like cock-blockin man.....and sides...many a them damn hippies was a singing that sign and smoking those left handed rolled reefers....damn midnight madness man...

[Berati]

[AllPurposeAtheist]

that's like cock-blockin man.....and sides...many a them damn hippies was a singing that sign and smoking those left handed rolled reefers....damn midnight madness man...

You're right. Woody Guthrie was really Joseph Stalin in disguise and killed millions.

[Solitary]

I consider myself as a patriot because I love my country, but I'm not going to defend my country by invading another country based on lies, or again, if I'm forced to do it. But if this country is invaded and attacked I would defend it. I'm sure as hell not going to join up in a war because politicians and their supporters want me to for their self interests. This is the problem with words, and why everything gets so screwed up---how are they to be interpreted as to meaning? This is the very bases of religious nonsense, and philosophical nonsense. This is the reason the language of science is mathematics: it is mostly free of ambiguities and is a universal language.  We practice tribalism because of our past and differences, and words just make everything worse. Examples: If there is a war between straight people and gays---what side will you be on. If there was a war between blacks and whites---what side would you be on? If there was a war between outer space aliens---what side would you be on. Who starts the wars---the leaders or politicians, with us fighting for their self interests.

[Jack89]

@Solitary - Reminds me of what George Orwell wrote -

Nationalism is not to be confused with patriotism. Both words are normally used in so vague a way that any definition is liable to be challenged, but one must draw a distinction between them, since two different and even opposing ideas are involved. By "patriotism" I mean devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life, which one believes to be the best in the world but has no wish to force on other people. Patriotism is of its nature defensive, both militarily and culturally. Nationalism, on the other hand, is inseperable from the desire for power. The abiding purpose of every nationalist is to secure more power and more prestige, not for himself but for the nation or other unit in which he has chosen to sink his own individuality.

[Jack89]

I quoted what George Orwell wrote in the 1940s, he's got some pretty good stuff you might want to check out.  I would also encourage you to expand your understanding on the various views people have on patriotism.  The Stanford website has a pretty good article on it - http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/patriotism/