Another perspective on patriotism

a very relevant and thoughtful post by thomas de zengotita at the huffpo...

When [...] people talk of patriotism, of love of country, of pride in being American, what actually happens is this: very rich and deep and, above all, specific feelings for family and friends and neighborhoods, for places they vacationed as children and hung out as teenagers, places where they courted their wives and husbands, places where they lost them too -- all the places they belong to -- the particular smell of a school hallway, the mood of an empty intersection at the center of town, when you stop at the traffic light, just before dawn...

my attachments are certainly to people, places, and experiences, and are suffused with many and complex emotions... i am fortunate to have a number of these attachments, not only throughout the u.s. but also in various other places around the world... i find i tend to use the names of countries (or states, or cities) more as place descriptors and locators than evocations of loyalty, patriotism, or nationality... and isn't that the way it should be...?

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