Seeing unabashed patriotism and love of country at the Democratic Convention...
made my heart sing..
Because I am a Democratic Liberal.. I never let anyone steal the name from me..
Being a Liberal is the most Patriotic thing...Caring about our fellow citizens and trying to become better people every year.. that is the heart of Liberalism..
I loved it.. I loved the flags..
We let the right take our emblems of the country that represents all of us, and try and use it as their own..
And it has always always bothered me, that we did not push back.. because we are the Patriots.
So.. 
Just call me a Happy Camper..
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Democratic President. We Want More, Please!
Hillary Clinton
✔ ?@HillaryClinton
Let's go win this, together.
6:00 PM - 28 Jul 2016
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https://theobamadiary.com/2016/07/28/the-president-speaks-3/
USA!! USA!!
USA!! USA!! 
BUT what I think this is telling us is that THEY are defining what "patriotism" is and not us, and they have been doing so for far too long. And although we tend to go with the flow and go on with life without the insecurity of "need for nation identity" (because we accept diversity), then that makes a push for "nationalism" somewhat difficult to justify.
Yet the "Unum" part of "E Pluribus Unum" does point to the "one" and an occasional desire or need for nationalism in some cases - but only because we have become a cultural amalgam.
WE (as liberals) need to define a "patriot" in our own terms and it does not necessarily have to manifest into a carbon copy of the fascist-like behavior of the right.
That Putin/Trump/Pence sig graphic is a riot! 
Unfortunately, the Bernie or Bust folks disrupted the convention speeches which many people at the convention and at home wanted to see. The USA chant was quite effective in diffusing these disruptions.
And thank you for your thoughtful analysis
redefine what "patriotism" is, wrenching it back from the ugly and exclusive definitions that have permeated the airwaves since Raygun. It should not be just faux flag waving, gun-brandishing, fire-breathing rhetoric, and ridiculous Gadsen exhortations -
But true American values that embrace what this country actually represents - community spirit, inclusiveness (acceptance of individual choice, cultural differences, and a variety of abilities), opportunity for all, adequate checks and balances, and fairness.
I've never understood the singing of the National Anthem and other assorted patriotic displays at sporting events. Why, exactly, is this (Super Bowl, college basketball game, high school football game, Little League baseball game...) a patriotic event? I don't get it.
as a country. There really is no other like this. You are still not getting it. And my reference to "other countries" doing it was regarding displays of nationalism at "sporting events" which was the topic (my example was soccer because that is an "international sport" . The Olympics was also acknowledged as another instance.
I think you skipped over the part that I wrote about this country being "the new kid on the block". When you have other countries/territories/regions that have an established, generally "unified identity" over a period of many hundreds, if not thousands of years, then there is no need to "brag" or "tell the world" about their "identity" or keep trying to reinforce it. Whereas the "United States of America", as a identifiable "country", has only been around in its current form for about 239 years.
And because this country is made up almost solely (outside of the indigenous tribes) of folks from many other countries, there is a continual need to establish and reinforce the idea of "loyalty" to the U.S., and not their home countries. And the way that was chosen to do this was with the prolific use of "symbols" (flag, anthem, etc). Interestingly, in the aftermath of WWI, what was once a "youth pledge", became a means to establish loyalty through identity via the "Pledge of Allegiance". And this use of "symbols" propagated all the way down to all levels and sizes of locale.
If you look at the negative side of that - you'll see the right wing trash what they call "hyphenated Americans" because they want a place where all previous identities are dissolved away (hypocritically except their own Eurocentric versions of "identity" , and not the "emulsion" that we really are - many many separate little identities sort of stirred up in the container. Some have dubbed the U.S. the "salad bowl".
THIS SHOULD BE THE MONEY SHOT -
Basically what you are seeing is a very distinct cultural "brainwashing" that was specifically put in place to encourage "loyalty" to this nation and not to those places that people immigrated from, or were dragged kicking and screaming here in chains from, or who were already here but signed treaties to remain and be recognized under specific terms (either by force or free will). So you encourage the reinforcement of "national identity" down to the lowest level of event - it's the easiest way to get to large groups of people at once. It is/was done in the schools as well and has become a uniquely identifiable "American" cultural practice.
You may critique the "why" of the "cultural practice" but you can't dismiss that is IS a "cultural practice".
And as a note - what you may be seeing in places like Singapore or South Africa (outside of the Dutch/Boers and some other Europeans who immigrated there), are ancient (usually family-based) clans that evolved variations of languages over a long period of time, and continued to evolve as they migrated and intermingled with others in the same general area. That is different from someone stepping off a plane from Australia or someone driving across the border from Canada or arriving in Florida by boat from Haiti, and then all 3 going through a process to become "U.S. citizens". If you notice, becoming a citizen in many other countries is near impossible where here (so far, much to the consternation of the RW), you can become a citizen if you are born on "U.S. soil" (in the continental U.S. or its Pacific/Arctic states, or in most of its territories, embassies, bases, etc).
pushing constantly. The EU bears a share of the blame in the Brexit nightmare. It was not just Little Englanders kickin off. What a nightmare we here are dealing with. I still cannot believe Leave actually won.
OUR people, Hillary, Bill, Barack, Michelle, Joe -- made me full of love not just for them but for my country. That's my patriotism.
And for those too jaded, cynical, hateful, or ignorant to get that for one brief shining moment and to try to drown those people out, let me join the flagwaving chant.
But alas, our convention is only for the President of the United States. I guess we'll just have to be satisfied with President Hillary Rodham Clinton, USA.
[font size = 5]Doing good does not require doing perfect.
Oh that's perfect, auntpurl! 
