Battles over the flag have almost always been battles over how to define patriotism and, by implication, how to define America.

And however Arkansans define patriotism, I am sure they are also brought up to say please and thank you and to talk straight.

Well, even defining patriotism these days has proved divisive.

Obviously we definitely define patriotism differently.

They show that fighting for Iraq as a soldier defines honor and patriotism.

More than a preoccupation, it has had the force to undermine rulers, incite revolutions, circumscribe development and define patriotism.

In a way, it depends on how you define patriotism.

To define American patriotism as struggling to make the country live up to its best ideals has in practice generally meant denigrating the country for not doing so.

We know that religious beliefs cannot define patriotism.

It defined Spanish patriotism, endowing it with an enduring myth.