MikeClawson said,

No. As an atheist I do not consider myself patriotic. As an American I consider myself patriotic. My opinion on the very limited question of whether or not there is a supreme intelligent force is completely irrelevant to my love and appreciation of representative democracy.
In fact I resent the question.

What are your thoughts then on the four reasons I listed above about why I thought atheism might actually be related to this question of patriotism?

1&2 are simply non-sequiturs or gross generalizations. They are not part of atheism. They may be paths to atheism, but that is all.
3 doesn’t say anything about atheism, merely points out some wacky ideas held by some theists and therefore is irrelevant. 4 points out one of the problems in this discussion, which is what is meant by patriotism (again having nothing to do with atheism other than that skepticism can lead to atheism).
To me, patriotism is the same as pride.
If you achieve a great thing, like win the nobel prize, or get into the college of your dreams, then you should be proud of your accomplishment. You should bask in the glow of doing something good. Patriotism is taking pride in the good things your nation has done and the good principles it embodies. Our constitution embodies great principles. We should be proud of them, but we should not fold into our acceptance the actions taken against those principles. Patriotism means we should strive to keep those principles strong, reject arbitrary justice, cruel treatment, etc. and support human rights.

To sum up, patriotism is pride in one’s nation and taking part in keeping it worthy of that pride. The question of theology just isn’t relevant.

I like living in America, for the most part, but I think that is more about the devil I know. Every so often on my feminist forums, they will post a story about, oh, honor killings in Asia or dowries in India or something anti-feminist in another culture. Someone will inevitably write, “See what happens in THOSE countries, where they hate women” and then twelve people will jump down their throat, pointing at all the terrible, terrible anti-feminist stuff happening in America. It’s easier to ignore and forgive a culture you are surrounded by than one you don’t understand. Therefore, every day I think I am lucky to live here where I have X or Y, I have to remember that every ugly bit of homophobia, institutionalized racism, sexism, etc, it merely the tip of the iceberg, and that we are no more ‘civilized’- whatever that means.

I do love the Fourth of July, though.

And I agree with Jennifurret. I really don’t understand loving sports teams. Whenever someone claims to be a fan of a team, I want to ask them why, when last year it was a different group of people than this year and next year. Sometimes I have tried to ask questions along these lines, and I think some people are much most hostile towards questioning their love of a team over any sort of religious question I could dream up.

I love my secular Constitution. I cherish democracy. I value our freedoms. Why would someone be wrong to think that this nation is the best on earth?

There are so many places where we could never have this discussion. And while there are also many places that we could have it, very few of them are less than 250 years old.
Yes, we have issues. But really – our economy ain’t bad, we have a high rate of mobility (greener pastures), and if you are patient and willing to work hard, most of us can make a better life. We’re free to dissent, to complain, and to make what we think is a better country. As such things go, this is a country of great freedom and good works, and a lot of potential. Sometimes I think the population focuses so much on “us vs. them” only because we don’t have bigger issues; consider how we come together during times of crisis…

I may not always feel at home here, but I love the country of my birth. When 9/11 happened I was living overseas and had a rather startling urge to go “home”…to be in the States. To commune with my fellow Americans, as cheesy as that sounds. Of course, that wasn’t practical, and I didn’t do it, but I am an American and will always be one, even if I have given some thought to the idea of moving to Canada if Huckabee or Romney get elected. I’m afraid DH wouldn’t go for it, though, and I’m pretty sure his company wouldn’t pay us to live 3,000 miles away. I often felt more at home in Europe, but a part of me belongs here. I do not think we need to fly a flag from every corner and I don’t have a big problem with flag-burning, but the national anthem makes my heart swell and I root for the USA every two years in the Olympics. I also root for individuals from other countries, but I like it when Team USA wins.

However, I don’t value my country above other countries or think we are intrinsically better. I recognize that many other countries have superior systems for dealing with various things. I love to travel and recognize that we Americans are not the Be All End All. I certainly don’t think we are God’s gift to the world or that some sky daddy prefers our country above all others.

I see myself as patriotic in that I want to be involved in the discussion of where the country is going and try to have a say. “the Assault on Reason” made me realize that it’s our responsibility as the governed to be informed and to make educated decisions.

Your definition of patriotism seems to me to be simply blind support for whatever the government does. I see that as very unpatriotic. If we don’t continually check the government, it’s bound to take a turn for fascism sooner or later, and that’s the worst thing you can do for your country.