Scharr on Patriotism

The first thing that comes to mind (and is easily accessible, since I have it bookmarked) is John Scharr's essay The Case for Patriotism, which says:

To be a patriot is to have a patrimony; or, perhaps more ac-
curately, the patriot is one who is grateful for a legacy and
recognizes that the legacy makes him a debtor. There is a whole
way of being in the world, captured best by the word reverence,
which defines life by its debts: one is what one owes, what one
acknowledges as a rightful debt: or obligation. The patriot moves
within that mentality. The gift of land, people, language, gods,
memories, and customs, which is the patrimony of the patriot,
defines what he or she is. Patrimony is mixed with person; the
two are barely separable. The very tone and rhythm of a life,
the shapes of perception, the texture of its homes and fears
come from membership in a territorially rooted group. The con-
scious patriot is one who feels deeply indebted for these gifts,
grateful to the people and places through which they come, and
determined to defend the legacy against enemies and pass it un-
spoiled to those who will come after.

Scharr goes on to say lots of other things- most importantly, how difficult it is for us to be patriots in this sense- but this struck me as being especially relevant. Patriotism is gratitude about one's country; how much happiness we will miss if we cannot feel it!