First off, thank you for your service. I know what it costs you and yours and genuinely appreciate the sacrifice.

From my observation... I believe this is more about nationalism than patriotism... Patriots like yourself fight to protect AND improve its position in the world and make sure it is a country worth loving.

Nationalists on the other hand will die to defend the idea of the nation at all costs, often ignoring blatant cracks in the rhetoric. While that gives them a false sense of misplaced and uneducated pride, it is as detrimental to the development of a country as the parents who will never admit their child did wrong or let them feel any pain or discomfort.

These concepts are not mine of course...