In recent days a number of writers on this site have released their manifestos about patriotism. Conservatives like Draginol have argued that to be a critical leftist is to be unpatriotic. Liberals like Same Old Rat have plaintively asked, "Why?" In response it has been said that to believe that the US is anything but a force for the greater good in this world is to be unpatriotic. Fair enough - blind patriotism requires unending support in the face of any evidence, whether manufactured or factual. But should all patriotism be blind, and is the brand of car bought really relevent to patriotism?
I'm an Australian citizen, so anyone who consciously ignores the opinions of uncivilised foreigners is welcome to abandon ship now. My current government, like the US government, is morally conservative and follows the prevalent neoliberal economic ideology. It supports this with slavering rhetoric towards the US, to an extent which suggests Australia, my homeland, is a mere client state of the US. Of course it is true, but is it patriotic to like it? Is it patriotic to be proud of imperial citizenry?
Is it not more patriotic to be nationalist? I want to see my country stand tall and, if necessary for this, stand with our equals and our own client states, not behind the shadow of our imperial patron. The activities of my government in Iraq and elsewhere have provided little advantage to my country save that which is eked out of Echelon and the dubious-quality intelligence provided by information-sharing, whose veracity is increasingly questionable following the debacle of the Iraq war intelligence Australia was fed.
I believe that nothing is worth the surrender of national integrity and soveriegnty, especially when it attracts the attention of belligerent rebels and terrorist groups. Of course, one could say that the terrorists simply hate our freedoms. One would be an idiot if one believed that terrorists had wide support for this reason, but one could say it. The US is more than willing to fight global terrorism; after the fall of the USSR another enemy had to be found and in Huntington's thesis a new foe emerged. It would be to Australia's advantage economically and strategically to avoid conflict with our Muslim neighbours. By allowing the US to do all the fighting we would be protecting our own interests. But we do not. Instead our beloved PM and his cabinet insist on lambasting our neighbours for their shortcomings in the counter-terror game and insist on making us a bigger target through the press and other means.
Personally I would consider the conservatives in my country to be unpatriotic. They have surrendered our freedom to a "great and powerful friend" and sacrificed our national security for illusory economic gains. It might be possible to be a patriot and be conservative; but in my country, where the conservatives are at every turn giving away our sovereignty to foreigners and even cutting bits of Australia off the map, the only way to be patriotic appears to be a critic.