In the U.S., patriotism isn’t a civic philosophy. It’s pageantry. Flags, anthems, slogans, costumes. People don’t react to your beliefs so much as whether they think you’re sincere or performing. The posture matters more than the content.

When people claim “America is basically 1930s Germany” and insist their credentials prove it, the facts still don’t line up. There’s no hyperinflation, no Versailles-style punishment, no occupation, no boot on the national neck. The U.S. is the richest hegemon in history, issues the global reserve currency, maintains hundreds of overseas bases, isn’t an ethnostate, and has thriving Jews, Slavs, and countless minorities. This just isn’t that.