Scottish Patriotism

[derosa]

Why the hell is everyone piling on Patrick? All he is saying is that he is proud of his Scottish heritage and is patriotic about his nation and nationality.

We are seeing a lot of arbitrary anti this-and-that all over the world. I fully understand his comments alluding to an all too common lack of pride and interest in history/heritage/nationalism among many these days.

It doesn't feel like a piling on so much as the asking for greater understanding of what is meant. Patriotism is in many ways an ephemeral idea that is hard to pin down. For some military service is proof of patriotism and while those who don't follow lock-step with the government should "love it or leave". While people involved in social movements may see themselves as patriotic for wanting to make their country better. My father and father-in-law can argue over whether kneeling for the national anthem is patriotic and if it respects/disrespects their military service. Both the Alt-Right and Antifa here in the US view themselves as patriotic; the issue is that both judge patriotism by their standards. So who is to judge what is patriotic? Probably Steve has the best quote on it to begin with and from there it's all personal and dangerous to pass judgement.