What is patriotism?

I have some notes at the bottom of "Who masterminded 'political' correctness?" by Dick Palmer and forgot to include them in "PC or PC?"

What is patriotism? I don't think it is shooting off fireworks on the Fourth of July, the wearing of red, white, and blue, or pledging allegiance to the flag. These are all rituals that anybody can follow no matter how they really feel about our history, our society, or our government. Look at a picture of all the little kids waving little U.S. flags as the President's motorcade whizzes past in some foreign country.

I think patriotism is basically three things:

Respecting the U.S. Constitution
Voting
Speaking our minds

When we don't do these, no matter how much we watch fireworks or pledge allegiance to the flag, we bring our country closer to a dictatorship, either of mob rule or a self-selected elite.