I made a comment on an article I read about a soldier dying while on skype with his wife. I said that me and my fiance will never go to war because I just don't think I could handle it. A man replied to me and called me a "selfish piece of feces" and told me that I'm "not worthy of being called an American". So what I wanted to ask you all is: Do you think not wanting to go to war makes someone unpatriotic and selfish? I don't think it does because no matter what anyone says, no one really wants to go to war. Some think "I'm gonna go to war and get all kinds of glory!" Then they are placed in the field with bombs going off all around them, their friends dying, and bullets flying everywhere. They learn really quick that war is hell. I just don't think it's fair to call someone "selfish" and "unpatriotic" for not wanting to put themselves or their loved ones in such a situation.

Thoughts?

I completely agree, I would not call you un-American, just because you don't want to fight, that isn't what makes an American an American. I have my own definition of what an American really means, and you should too! We are the Free Country, and fight for freedom, that doesn't mean we want to go to war, it means that we just want people to know what being free is like. We want people to be able to have their own life. Just because you don't want to go to war doesn't make you un-American, what would make you un-American is you burning the American flag. That isn't cool, it's not cute, it is a disgrace. You are American if you know that in your heart you respect our country, and are appreciative there are men dying every day to keep you free! That's what I call American.
And I believe that you are American!

Okay, just because you or that person doesn't want to go to war doesn't make you any less of an American than you already are.

XxChaosxX : No- your not unpatriotic- and you know that.

There is no such thing as America... It's just a name for the land, that's right- the ground-  just another country...

"Being an American" is not possible. How can anyone define themselves as an "American" when they need other people to tell them that- and those people need people to tell them that- aaannd so on... If anything America is just America (the land) the Americans are just more people.
It's sickening it is that there is still war in this day and age...

Anyway you are not American- you are a person.

^{So there.}

Not everyone is cut out for war. I know I'm not. I would defend myself if I had to but I wouldn't choose to become a soldier. I know I wouldn't be able to do it.

There are plenty of ways to support "America" without wanting to go to war yourself.

I think people like that are ignorant. There is a difference between supporting troops and being in a troop.

I don't think its unpatriotic to not want to go to war. In fact when you ask soldiers, I'm sure a lot of them don't like leaving their families to fight. Though they know they have to. I will be jointing the military in a couple years. I don't think I would enjoy war but I recognize that I might have to go. There are just certain people who aren't built to handle war, there is nothing wrong with that. You can patriotic in other ways.

I think a person doesn't have to fight for their country to be patriotic. To be patriotic is a lot more than just that. To be appreciative for what you wake up to is more or less patriotic at least to me.

Put that guy with the foul mouth in the army and see if he can handle it. There is nothing unpatriotic about not wanting to go to war. Saying that going to war is patriotic is like claiming any specific political belief is patriotic. The real patriotic move is to open a healthy debate to figure out the right choice of action. I.e. Is the war the right thing to do or should we avoid it?

Yes, not choosing to kill someone to improve your life is totaly selfish.
Wait, what?
That guy is a flag waving moron.
On3On : well said

A person ironically may be more patriotic if they don't want to support corrupt wars. Because in the end, they will cause more destruction for the country rather than finding solutions. So in truth, you have more of the countries good will in mind, making you more patriotic. 

I dunno... more than likely the dude may have either actually been in a war before, or honors the soldiers that fight very seriously. I wouldn't take it to heart because my Social Studies teacher is like that  (maybe not so aggressive) but pretty much the same thing.

People like that disgust me. Just because you are aggressive and think that killing people and ripping things apart makes you tough doesn't mean that you are not American if you don't feel that way.

You didn't say anything about the country, you said you didn't think you could handle it. That is called being realistic, and the jerk that told you that has probably never been in the military (or never saw combat) because a real soldier or veteran would not do that. People that have been in war know the horrors and that some people cannot deal with it and shouldn't be there. The guy is a "flag waver"... he mouths off to others and calls them unpatriotic when really he isn't doing a damn thing himself.

No, it does not make someone unpatriotic. You find that guy and tell him he's a load of feces, and tell him good, okay? When he said, "You don't deserve to be called an american," it's good in this case because shame has been brought to the term 'american.' People have abused the term 'american,' and saying that they are perfect and that they don't make mistakes and are excellent and have everything. What lies. So. Freaking. Fake. No one, ever, is perfect. Humans were made imperfect. Now, patriotism can also lead to racism. How? Assume that a tourist from Australia comes to the United States. He is sight-seeing and taking pictures and tries some of the food. He coughs a bit while eating and assume he says, "This food tastes a bit weird." And a kind of 'loud and proud shove it in your face' american patriotic guy hears it and says, "Hey! **** you, american food is the best!" Then that over-patriotic guy might think, 'Darn Australians are losers with their dumb outback accents.' This will lead to the guy hating Australians. So, it's best to be normal, neutral, and in the middle. No human is perfect; everyone comes from different places. Don't devote yourself aimlessly just because you are told you are trash because you didn't join a war. War is not the answer. War leads to unnecessary killing. War can lead to extreme prejudice and racism. War can lead to destruction of the environment, harming people physically and mentally (PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other problems). I once had a debate with someone and I said, "Some people are extremely racist and want to kill people because of their ethnicity and / or religion." The people I was referring to were people in the military who wanted to kill everybody of that religion, saying that they must kill all of their kind and even wipe out civilian populations. In response, the person I was talking to said that the guy had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and said that it was making him think those bad things. (I'm not going to go into detail about what he was mad about). And I said, "No, PTSD does not cause Racism. Racism is an excuse for being scared of something ( a concept, religion, e.t.c) and showing anger towards it, thinking that it is the problem (because they don't understand it). I have this quote that described it well. 

"Because they’re afraid of things they don’t understand. They are afraid to confront the way they feel. Subconsciously, they know they are wrong...but they just can’t face that fact. This makes them angry. And since they will never take that anger out on the real problem (their ignorance), they take it out on what they perceive is the problem..."

So, if anyone calls you unpatriotic, just ignore it. It doesn't mean like you should die for your country; because you only get being a hero post-death, so you feel no fame or recognition. Just ignore people who say you're stupid because you didn't want to die, or kill people, or see people dying; there's plenty of that even inside a country. Protests, crime, violence, shoot-outs, murder, this all happens on home-grounds. That's why there's the police to deal with that problem (however, that's another story.) In conclusion, it's not like you have to die to be a true hero. You can be a hero by aiming for peace all over the world; you can do things better than having to end someone's life because they are scared and confused about what's going on. Civilians, even those who are armed, die because they were in a war zone trying to protect them self or their family. There is lots of unjust things that happen all over the world; so don't believe it when someone says that you're an unpatriotic loser because you chose a peaceful path. I hope this post helped you with your question.

Patriotism is (in a nutshell) having love for your country.  It is perfectly okay to not go to war for your country, mainly because you get to decide how you live your life.  So to say that it is not patriotic of you to not go to war is absolutely stupid.

Nah, It doesn't.

War is not the only way to show you patriotism... There are many ways to show it besides that one.

I bet that the guy who said that has never been on a war before.

Guy who posted that was a troll, but beyond that not going to to fight in a war doesn't make you less of anything. Do you know that several of our past presidents have draft dodged and been rendered exempt by powerful fathers? Hippies from the 60s and 70s thought they were beign patriotic by protesting the war.

I think it was very patriotic to not go to war . That person was just ignorant. Personally, I would never go to war, especially for the U.S., it sucks as is.

There is nothing wrong with what you said.. being patriotic doesn't mean you have to go to war, you have the right to not fight and support any war. People who think going to war is patriotic is the reason the world is so messed up.. Don't get me wrong I support the troops and think what there doing is great but that doesn't mean I wanna go over there and join them.