Is totalitarianism institutionalised patriotism?
The word ‘unpatriotic’, in common usage, seeks to contravene freedom of speech by defaming those people expressing an opposing opinion to the government; and to deny the freedom of the individual by constraining him/her to act in a way that is against their will. Patriotism in my experience is commonly the clarion call of those people who cannot use reasoned argument to persuade: it is then the stuff that fills the intellectual void. In other words it is a tool of totalitarianism, not the generator.
