You are drawing a very long bow there Q. I was always told that Patriotism was being thankful and happy for the oppurtunities that Australia had provided me and my family.I think there tends to be a progression. Patriotism leads to nationalism which leads to xenophobia which leads to racism. I don't think it takes very long to reach the end of the scale either once nationalism is reached.
Racism and nationalism might not be the same thing, but they certainly appeal to the same people, and for much the same reasons.
What I found hilarious was the juxtaposition of the cartoon in the West Australian the other day which took the piss out of car flags, and the ad on the bottom of the facing page where the West was selling those self same flags for $2 a set.
I think the examples of xenophobia are blown out of proportion. I'm not saying that it isn't there, but you would like to think that most people are very open minded. Im sure there are millions of examples of people being open and caring to different cultures and races every day, but that is not noteworthy.
Unfortunately it is always a few idiots who reflect poorly on our society. They also seem to be the loudest.
Is anyone actually ashamed to live in Australia, or be called Australian? Or are you ashamed and annoyed at a few ****-heads acting like w***ers and calling themselves patriotic?