Yes, thanks matteo for posting this. It reminded me that I wanted to see Hare's play. As soon as I get the chance with the Stoppard's trilogy, the first part of which was just compelling.

I assume your post is extension of the Mamet post. Or not. I could not easily find more of the transcript that is relevant to the piece you posted, but yes to me too offhandedly, patriotism is felt, not demanded, not even taught. But then again the term "patriotism" is so widely open to a variety of interpretations that would probably take painstaking discussions just to agree what we all mean by it first. What we feel it means. What Hare means, what Mamet what Aristophanes etcetera etcetera. What an english person, an american, a greek, a jew, a swiss... And then again even if we manage to agree on definitions, we just cannot evaluate each one's loyalty to a homeland unless we take into account subjective elements such as each people's history, current affairs and personal circumstances. A feat indeed.