Patriotism could be politically subversive, allowing groups to believe that they, rather than the ruling powers, actually had the best interests of the country at heart. This was true for Jacobites opposed to William III and his successors. It was also true of the ‘patriots’ who fought the British in the American War of Independence (1776-1783). By the twentieth century George Orwell felt that the major difference between nationalism and patriotism was that while nationalism was by its very nature tied to an aggressive military policy, patriotism was largely passive. Today, the question of who is the true patriot remains politically charged.
Patriotism Part 4
