What is a patriot? Microsoft Word offers the following synonyms: loyalist, nationalist, flag-waver, partisan, compatriot or fellow-citizen, and jingoist.

Germans fought for their nation during WWII.  They were probably not all Nazis but they were loyal to their nation and wanted to see their nation win the war. Those loyalists were patriots.  So a patriot is someone who feels a strong support for his or her country.  Apparently it is a blind allegiance.

Strangely Ron Paul, while campaigning for the presidency, said that while Army soldier Bradley Manning’s may have “technically” broken the law against releasing classified information to WikiLeaks, he did so for the purpose of exposing the “horrible things” being carried out by the U.S. Government. Referring to Manning’s detention before trial, Paul said, “Should he be locked up and imprisoned?” Manning should be seen as a “political hero” and “true patriot who reveals what’s going on,” Paul said.

Using the Ron Paul logic; Daniel Ellsberg, an employee of the Rand Corporation would also be a patriot.  Ellsberg precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War, to The New York Times and other newspapers. He was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 2006.

Most definitely our volunteer army is made up of patriots.

Dictionary.com provided these two definitions

1. a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion.

2. a person who regards himself or herself as a defender, especially of individual rights, against presumed interference by the federal government.

My definition is a person who fights in every way he can to make his country the very best.