The Government Is Not the Country
One of the bromides we hear every Memorial Day is how countless American soldiers have died for their country. That’s nothing but sheer nonsense. Many of them died not for their country but rather for their government. There’s a difference.
Unfortunately, many Americans conflate the government and the country. In their minds, they are one and the same thing. Thus, for them when soldiers die for their government, they also die for their country.
By the same token, such people often question the patriotism of citizens who oppose a particular war in which their government is engaged. Since such people consider government and the country to be one and the same thing, they conclude that the protestors hate their country.
Actually, however, the government and the country are two separate and distinct entities. This phenomenon is confirmed, by the way, in the Bill of Rights, a document that expressly protects the country from the government. In fact, the reason that the Constitution limited the powers of the government was to ensure that it would not run roughshod over the country.
Harold
ACGR's "News with Attitude" 