Patriolatry is the right word, Jackie, if the word Dgeigh is looking for is equivalent to "jingoism', but he excluded "chauvinism" and "bellicosity" - sans chauvinism and the proclivity toward the bellicose, he said - which is associated with "jingoism", at least in this definition:
Dictionary.com jin·go·ism n.
Extreme nationalism characterized especially by a belligerent foreign policy; chauvinistic patriotism
An American citizen can be U.S.-centric without having "excessive devotion" to their country, as per this definition:
patriolatry n.
excessive devotion to native country
Being U.S.-centric means that you look at the rest of the world through the eyes of someone whose life is centred in the United States. This is a matter of perspective, not patriotism.
So I guess we need Dgeigh to tell us what he means.
Are we talking about perspective here, or patriotism?
re "Edit: gritted teeth not due to you, bel"
Hey, I didn't write the Washington Times story, Jackie. In fact, the so-called 'blue state secession' thing was started in the U.S. not in Canada. Canadians had nothing to do with it. We weren't even consulted.
I was simply making the point, Jackie, that "American culture" is as varied as "Western culture". I'm not knocking American culture. I love American culture in all of its different expressions in all the different regions of the U.S. I have visited. But, in each of those different regions, American culture is different. [Which makes traveling in the U.S. all the more interesting.]
