A nation without any sense of patriotism hardly makes for a nation. There is no pride, no vim and vigor, no willingness to defend the identity that all under it share and whatever goals or identities it assumes for itself. A patriot supports their country and stands for it, even when there are times of disagreement within it. They are those willing to defend it and obey the lawful directives of those appointed over them. They believe in their country above others and a sense of pride in its history as well as a point of purpose. Patriotism is not blind loyalty either, instead focusing upon hitting the notes and values of what makes a country itself in perception.
There is nothing wrong with patriotism and I find myself of the opinion that those who are not patriotic or loyal to their nation are disrespectful and in some cases, even ungrateful. For a point of reference, I would not obviously sing the Russian anthem if it were played at an event, but I would be respectful enough to stand and keep quiet until their presentation was complete out of respect for them even if I view them with suspicion. The ungrateful element comes from the usual tradition of the United States to honor and give reverence to those who served it; I am exceedingly disappointed to see things such as protests of deceased service members take place as an example or that the education system does not enforce the Pledge of Allegiance or the playing of the anthem anymore, let alone allow American flags to be flown in the most extreme cases.
The positive effects of patriotism should be obvious and overt to anyone. You can collectively take a great number of differing individual, personal opinions and unite them under one general identity. It might be evident that I would not fall well into the Alt Right camp, and only qualify as "Alt Right" in the modern era because it has been made out to be a pejorative label, but I am fairly confident that if you gathered them altogether then asked them, "Do you love your country and care about it?" I reason you would see ninety percent or more say yes no matter how you worded it. Granted they might all be at each other's metaphorical throats over the details, but you could at least mobilize them as you have seen in recent times under one more broad banner. They are willing, even if begrudgingly, to work together to some extent whereas before they were unlikely to have been.
To those who are not patriotic, I find myself asking in contrast why not?
