Love of country sounds simple. But a famous writer called it the last refuge of a scoundrel, and what he actually meant is more interesting, and more useful, than the quote suggests.
Patriotism is love of and devotion to one's country. The word comes from the Greek patris, fatherland. At its best it is a deep care for the common good of one's nation and fellow citizens.
Its most famous critique is often misunderstood. In 1775, the writer Samuel Johnson declared that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. The line is quoted as if Johnson scorned patriotism itself.
He did not. His biographer James Boswell recorded the context: Johnson did not mean real and generous love of country, but the pretended patriotism that so many use as a cloak for self-interest. He was attacking fake patriots who wrap themselves in the flag to serve themselves.
That distinction has stayed alive ever since. People often separate patriotism, a love of country that can include honest criticism and a wish to see it do better, from nationalism, a my-country-right-or-wrong loyalty that brooks no fault. The argument over which is which never really ends.
