is patriotism natural for an aspie?

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emotional patriotic arguments.
school spirit
rah rah go team.
my country right or wrong.
love it or leave it.
do these sit well with you?

I will admit that I have a preference for the united states
and quite enjoy my life here and embrace U.S. values.
but the same God that forgot to give me faith
also neglected to make my heart go pitter pat at the sight of a flag
or be fine with evil when our guys do it.

am I the odd man out? or rather am I the only odd man out?

I would not describe myself as patriotic.

I would say almost all the above at least used to fit me quite well.

"Our" evil actions in Viet Nam never even came close to sitting well with me,
but I still at least used to say flag-burners should be exiled.

Is any of that in any way related to my AS/HFA?

As a child, I had totally embraced this within the BSA:


So, who really knows why I ever did whatever ...

... and for possibly a bit of perspective here, I have also never forgotten ...

"Crest has been shown to be an effective decay-preventive dentifrice that can be of significant value when used in a conscientiously-applied program of oral hygiene and regular professional care."

Note: Today I still have 10 teeth (4 front upper, 6 front lower).

Last edited by leejosepho on 24 May 2011, 10:23 pm, edited 11 times in total.

No, never "my country, right or wrong". The best patriot is one who criticises his country and that I do in good measure.

"Our country - love it or leave it"? That depends on who you're aiming this at. If you're aiming it at first/second generation immigrants, say, I think that's a perfectly valid argument to make. Why would you want to live in a country whose values you utterly despise? I wouldn't go and live in Saudi Arabia, for instance. In that case, you have a choice to make. Either fit in and obey the laws, learn the language and follow the basic customs of the country or be punished if you don't. The other option is leave.

I'm quite patriotic.
I have criticisms of America but I tend to share them only with fellow Americans and only some of them, depending........
It's that thing about publicly airing dirty laundry, ya know......

Patriotism is a transgression for everyone.

I think we tend to ask too many questions.

“Patriotism is the belief your country is superior to all other
countries because you were born in it.”

I don't think we're better than the rest of the world. American exceptionalism? I'm not buying it. In a lot of aspects that really matter to me, I think we're falling way behind. But would I personally do any better in another country? Probably not... So I hope the USA can get its act together, and get on the right track.

Jakob, mutatis mutandis I sit very close by you. Certain of the refeernced behaviours alsways irked.


But - The significant portion reports that she - much as Simone Weil reported of herself - can get carried away by patriotic music and related social behaviors.

A gender thing?

I am quite patriotic. I only fly an American flag in my room though... only because it looks tacky if I put on as a bumper sticker, and some stupid commie will most likely key my car if I did that (here in portland)

I would describe myself as proud of being an Aussie; though there are things I do not really appreciate about it (tall poppy syndrome for example). When it comes to supporting the local football team however, I really could care less.

I've yet to see more than three "patriotic" aspies on here.

Not all patriotism looks the same.

You are definitely not alone, OP. Sounds like something I would say in my "too honest" moments.

Patriotism almost seems like an excuse to let to government impede on your rights and dodge accountability. Just look at the patriot act and the invasion of Iraq; both agendas were full of allusions to "Patriotism"

Not that it isn't good to love your country, I just think you can show that love by paying taxes and contributing to it's betterment, not by being a blind follower.