Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
>
> >making the US live up to its ideals.
>
> "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" -- the most memorable
> words from the Declaration of Independence -- are not patriotic
> goals; they are goals of possessive individualism dedicated to
> accumulation of as much profits as possible.
>
> In contrast, the ideals of the French Revolution -- Liberté, Egalité,
> Fraternité -- are patriotic.
>
Perhaps we need a return to the original meaning in English of "patriot" -- someone who attacks the government. Dr. Johnson (and I admire him greatly) is given too much credit for one of his famous assertions, "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel." By patriot he meant the Noam Chomskys of his day. His wisecrack improved in accuracy as the language shifted beneath it.
Carrol