What is patriotism?
Many confuse it with nationalism, which I covered in a previous post and recognize as a toxic way of thinking. On the other hand, patriotism can be very different. If you meet people from the southern states or anyone who is 'alt-right; they seem to think these terms are the same, or at least similar. Support your country, worship the flag, the leftists are cancer; and these people are typically pro-closed borders. Sometimes these people can be 'mistaken' as bigoted racists, but no! They are just patriots! Right?
Well, not really. By definition a patriot is, "a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors." So, can statists be patriots? Sure, when they realize that sometimes the government may be the enemy.
A great example of this is Jaime Lannister. Throughout the show, Game of Thrones, he is referred to as the Kingslayer and this name is used as an insult. He literally stabbed the king in the back, therefore he has no honor. The people who call him this, or hate him for what he did are similar to the fake patriots we see today. They vigorously support their king, but not their country. When the king becomes the enemy, as a patriot you must take the side of your country. Jaime knew this; he was aware that the king had gone mad and was getting worse. He was killing innocent people and if Jaime had not killed him when he had, the King would have used wildfire to blow up a large portion of the city. While killing isn't something we should promote, Jaime defended his country and saved many lives by doing this. He recognized that the real threat was the king, who people expect to protect them. Even though he was the hero in this scenario, the people shunned him for it.
Currently, we can see how the American government is tyrannical, yet many are still blind to it. The left side is noticing how police brutality is a real threat to many lives, but the right are continuing on with their bootlicker ways trying to justify the actions of the police. The left want the government to disarm the citizens, and the right recognize this as unconstitutional. People see a problem with their government, but they are still caught up in statist ways of thinking. Well, we need the government to keep order, we shouldn't be against it, maybe just change it a little so they start imposing what we believe is right...
Both sides believe they are patriots in their own mind, doing what is good for their country, but neither are able to recognize the real threats. Instead of whispering in the ear of the government and hoping they will listen and change, we need to take advice from Jaime and figuratively stab them in the back.