[godsinhisheaven]

>I often see most displays of patriotism as some kind of pseudo mental illness

Why is that? It just doesn't seem rational to me to see it that way, but if that is how you feel then that is how you feel. I'm not going to try to convince you otherwise, I already know I can't, but just some explanation would be valuable.

[orwin]

When there is no reason to display it, i find it weird tbh. Not aggressive, just weird and uncomfortable. I get it for sports or official ceremonies, but else it often just seems to either seek conflicts (Hooligans), or more often, seek cheap branding.

And there is ways to display it. A pub calling itself "Penny Lane" and displaying a liver bird is totally fine, but when an english pub looks excessively, in-your-face english, i just can't, and i would bet most englishmen living in the same city couldn't either. It's just so weird.

[tw04]

> I get it for sports

It actually makes no sense at all for sports beyond billionaire owners trying to make fans feel like we’re all one, big, happy family. What on earth does the National anthem have to do with grown men playing baseball or football? Do they sing the National anthem before you sit down and start coding every day?

[chgs]

I guess that’s an Americanism - no national anthem played at the start of club sports in the UK as far as aware. Country level sports where the national team is playing, sure.

[orwin]

I was thinking about the world Cup or the Olympics tbh, I don't really have the American context.

[fancl20]

The belief of "I should" is one of the core part for Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD, not confused with OCD). The behaviour is largely driven by the anxiety of "fail to e.g. be citizen" and sometimes is considered a little extreme from others' view.

[smokedetector1]

A patriotism that sounds like "we are the best" often coincides with spurning rational and empathetic assessment of reality in favor of using this patriotism as a prideful crutch.

[JoeyBananas]

The US federal government doesn't do anything for its citizens. They are more interested in initiating WWIII and terrorizing the middle east.