And what counts as patriotism? Does being awarded a silver star and bronze star for military action make someone patriotic? If so does that mean calling him unpatriotic is unamerican or unethical? How about someone who has lost limbs in military combat for the United States?

If you are going to run for any office, you should love your country. You should be patriotic but you should not be blindly patriotic. Cheer for america’s triumphs and know and acknowlege america’s crimes and failures.

I think being awarded a metal for military action is great, but it does not make someone patriotic. A patriot is someone who acts a certain way, not an object someone has. The action he/she did to get it maybe patriotic, the medal is not.

being american is extremely hard to define. conservatives say "white god fearing country boy" liberals say "educated unreligious modern city slickers" neither of which actually represent the "average" american.

Patriotic is being able to love and support your country while being able to ratinally say why