It's a good thing. It promotes ideas and solutions to problems.

NO! What is unpatriotic is to criticize and then proceed to do absolutely nothing to back up your issue. When people complain, it has absolutely no effect, except give ammunition to the enemies of the country. Anyone who truly wants to improve this country will take advantage of the many avenues that are available to them to help. That means using their time and efforts wisely to MAKE changes happen.

Does it matter if it's unpatriotic? Patriotism isn't a good thing anymore than nationalism and fundamentalism are.

Depends upon just HOW you elect to "criticize." There's constructive criticism, which changes minds and makes things happen, and then there's criticism which accomplishes nothing except to boost your ego.

It is important to keep a watchful eye on the government and to let it know when it is doing the wrong thing. It's also important to use your own brain when doing so. Political parties have agendas, and their top agenda is not to make the country better, but to improve their popularity so as to get themselves elected.

I believe that in a FREE society as we are suposse to be; it is OK to critize our government and way of life .... However; be prepared to state where it is better and why and how it got that way ..... +5

it is ineffective for the most part... despite quite a bit of criticism this place still gives rich lazy fuckers free money to tell the poor people what to do....... shame on earth!

It can be either, and I suppose both at the same time. It's a matter of taste though. A lot of Americans feel that it is inappropriate to trash America on foreign soil, something I kind of agree with. . Others have pointed out the difference between constructive criticism and not-so-constructive criticism. . I would like to mention the contrarian impulse, a valuable thing for individuals but a dangerous thing as well. When I hear something that strikes me as glib my impulse is to think, 'oh yeah, what about ________?' . It serves me well enough when people are trying to sell me things. Though it is less beneficial when people try to sell me ideas. . Consider the jingoistic 'America is the greatest country in history'. The 'oh yeah' impulse makes me want to consider all the objectionable things the US has done. And indeed there is plenty to feel shame for. . BUT, when one actually compares what we have done for the world it turns out we actually are, so far at least, the greatest country in history. Any reasonable reading of history is pretty much going to lead to that conclusion. . The problem, I suppose, is that people who say we're the 'greatest' are assumed to mean that we are incredibly great, if not perfect. And the people who wish to dispute the 'greatest' claim are assumed to mean that America is a terrible and evil country. . And indeed there are people in the US who do feel that we are perfect and people in the US who feel that we are evil. . But both of these groups are deeply under-educated and pathetically over-sloganned. It is too bad that they make so much noise while most of the rest of America would like to discuss (and argue) over what might make us better. THAT is patriotism.

Criticism is patriotic until its silenced...then it becomes a rallying cry for reform.