Real Patriotism

My friend Crystal asked me the difference between being proud of your country and being prideful. I found another helpful distinction: Patriotism vs. Nationalism.

"Patriotism is the wholesome, constructive love of one's land and people. Nationalism is the unhealthy love of one's government, accompanied by the aggressive desire to put down others—which becomes in deracinated modern men a substitute for religious faith. Patriotism is an appropriate, indeed necessary, sentiment for people who wish to preserve their freedom; nationalism is not."

Quoted from Clyde Wilson, "The Yankee Problem in American History," in Wilson, Defending Dixie: Essays in Southern History and Culture p.198. Found cited in Hamilton's Curse by DiLorenzo, p.13.

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