Sean uses two sentences to describe two people with different opinions on what it means to be a patriot and finds that the second one actually describes a democrat and does not necessitate the word patriot.
"You think a patriot is someone who supports their country no matter what, and I think a patriot is someone who plays a positive, active role in the development of their country while still admitting to its faults and mistakes."
I think the two sentences used in Sean’s post could be combined to mean that a moderate patriot is someone who always supports their country and what they believe is in the best interest of their country while still admitting to its faults and mistakes. No matter how bad those faults and mistakes become they will continue to stay in their country and work for its benefits. A democrat would be willing to live in any country that best held to their ideals. The loyalty and love that a patriot feels for their country distinguishes them from simply a democrat, but this love and loyalty does not have to be blind. Parents should love and be loyal to their children, but they also need to recognize when that child has made a mistake so they can help them to change. The same is true of a member of a country. If people only see patriotism as a kind of faith in the country’s actions then many of the problems Jenson suggests will be inevitable, but if people recognize their country as a beloved but fallible organization of people, they can maintain a positive, moderate patriotism. Of course this still contains the arbitrary factor of favoring a country because one was born in it. This cannot be avoided in patriotism, but it also cannot be avoided in friendship and other relationships.
Is dedication and loyalty to a country someone considers their own enough to constitute patriotism? Do other factors need to be present?
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