I'm an American; my country is America, and I love my country and the ideals for which it stands. Those ideals include things like: Personal liberty, free speech, the right to own and carry weapons of all sorts (derived from the right to self-defense,) the right to travel freely. The right to do with my life as I choose, as long as I don't forcibly or fraudulently interfere with others' rights to do the same. Basically, the right to do as I wish and be left in peace. That's America.
That's MY country, and I love it with every fiber of my being. Problem is, the various governments of these presently united States keep meddling with the culture and the philosophical underpinnings of my once-great country. The outline of what used to be America is being buried under mounds of filthy socialism and collectivist tyrannical trash, aided by those who don't distinguish between country and government. Part of the reason that this has happened is that too many of us have allowed the conflation of country and government. Fools and dupes object when one criticizes the excesses of government as being critical of the country. Don't, O gentle reader, enable this foolishness by making the same mistake.
Right now, I love my country, but I fear the government. It should be the other way around, that the government fears the people; part of the reason this is no longer the case is that we have allowed politicians to confuse government and country. So, don't let politicians or appointed officials dupe you into confusing country and government, or allow them to wrap themselves in the mantle of patriotism to avoid criticism.
With regard to all who serve the Light,
Historian