As a Military Officer, I Know We Need Patriots—Not Nationalists—To Save Us From America's...

I'm not sure that I agree with the definition of terms. "Nationalism" and "Patriotism" are synonymous. Both can be taken to extreme and have been used by tyrants to justify aggression. However, both are virtues of citizenship when exercised temperately. The antonym of "Nationalism" is "Globalism" and of "Patriotism" is "Disloyalty". For me this is most illuminating. Once you properly define the terms, the essay takes on a whole new meaning, doesn't it? Indeed, it sounds a lot like the intellectual progressivism our students are being indoctrinated with these days in American colleges and secondary schools.

I was curious about words themselves and their etymology since in the Spanish Civil War the Republicans were the communists representing the government while the Nationalists under Franco longed to return Spain to a republic of sorts. Certainly National Socialism brings up images of Nazi totalitarian evil extraordinaire
In this country we have sports teams Boston Patriots and Washington Nationals so the supposed evil of nationalism is bounded in my viewpoint PO1 Tony Holland
Merriam Webster's definitions:
1. Nationalism is loyalty and devotion to a nation; especially: a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups.
2. Patriotism is love for or devotion to one's country. "Although poles apart ideologically, they are both unashamed of their patriotism." — Christopher Hemphill
Essentially patriotism and nationalism are two sides of the same coin.
Of course some want to change the definition within a culture - gay used to primarily mean happy or carefree for instance :-)
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Great article. Thanks for posting.