> Wanting the country you live in to be safer and stronger against outside threats is not patriotism. It's just basic self-interest. Wanting the country you li

> Wanting the country you live in to be safer and stronger against outside threats is not patriotism. It's just basic self-interest. Wanting the country you live in to be safer and stronger is certainly not basic self-interest: that would be wanting oneself to be safer and stronger, without regard for anyone else. It is certainly nationalism, if not quite patriotism. The parent responded to "made the US safer" and "made the US weaker". The point is that there is a bigger picture than the question of the USA's safety or strength: the effect that the Snowden's revelations have had on all humans when taken together. > Even the least patriotic people generally prefer not to be murdered by terrorists You seem to be saying that the desire not to be killed by terrorists is a good reason for the citizens of one nation to be want it to be safer and stronger than another nation. Perhaps the desire not to be murdered by terrorists is a good reason for all nations to be, together, safer and stronger.