Patriotism

The concept of patriotism has been a popular slogan lately as the “Crisis with Iraq” continues to escalate. As it has risen camps have arisen with opposing views, some think that war must be used to ensure peace, some advocate that peace must be continually sought with war as only as counter-strike, some hold a mixture of both. However, with all these contrasting views, they all claim that they are acting in full spirit of patriotism. This seems odd, since such polar camps seem to be drawing their authority from the same source and alleging that their opponents are not being truly patriotic. This gives good cause to examine the meaning of being patriotic.
According to Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary, patriotism...