Is patriotism a good thing?
I thought it might be nice to break out of the fairly ubiquitous religion fight and shift to another topic (also, this is a fairly international forum, so I think it would be interesting to get the perspective of people in different countries [especially to see the perspective of those in the EU vs. those in America]).
So let's start with a basic definition so we don't talk past each other. Let's say that someone is "patriotic" for the purposes of our discussion if they have and act on loyalties to a particular country that go beyond the minimal civic obligations that anyone would have if they lived in that country (e.g. paying taxes, phoning in burned out traffic lights, etc.). That is, they're patriotic if they favor their country in a way that goes beyond just obeying the law and thinking their country is "pretty cool" or cheering for their country in soccer.
So an example of this might be supporting your country in a war, not because you think you're country is necessarily in the right (maybe you think both countries are equally justified in what they're trying to accomplish) but just because it's "your country." Another example would be opposing a trade/immigration policy which you think would create a net benefit for the world as a whole but a net loss for your country in particular.
So is patriotism thus defined a good or a bad thing? Are there more extreme forms of patriotism that are just as justified (i.e. could you go beyond the level of loyalty in the definition and still have your patriotism be a good thing)? Are there less extreme forms that are more justified?
I'll start by playing devil's advocate:
First, patriotism is a bad thing because it's materially indistinguishable from racism.
In both the case of racism and patriotism, some individuals are favored and others disfavored because of what's usually an accident of birth (i.e. where someone was born). As in the case racism, this arbitrary favor/disfavor has a material impact on the lives of others. Opposition to a trade policy which hurts your country is no more justifiable than opposition to a trade policy which hurts members of your race - you're denying people jobs in both cases based on something most people can't change.
Second, even if patriotism were distinguishable from racism it would still be a bad thing because patriotism treats as morally relevant facts about the world which simply aren't. A person should strive to be impartial when evaluating the policies/actions of any country and taking into account a special bias in favor of one's own country impedes that obligation. An action doesn't become better or more worthy of support simply because it's taken by the country in which one was born.
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Originally Posted by Beren Erchamion
Then why do more than half of the population of mine wants to break it in two? Half of our politicians hate our country (or atleast they hate the other half of it - them who must not be named). We want to destroy our country, let it be absorbed in a greater nation. We are probably the must un-patriotic people in the world 
. The only patriotism I feel is for the european union. Destroy those national boundaries, a federal Europe baby 
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