I was in a conversation about this last night and am curious what the consensus is here. It feels to me ,at this time, that I would struggle to be both patriotic and an Objectivist. Patriotism seems to equate to a blind faith in the face of a growing government. I feel that during my lifetime my country disappeared and in its place was left just a government. It's too large to help, often it harms. For example - In California the largest employer is the State of California. Do you think this inverse relationship is a transient thing (if you agree with it at all)? I hope I'm making sense...no coffee yet. To me, patriotism seems to go the other direction as self-interest. Sobering thought for the day.