I would consider myself patriotic, certainly enough that one of my big motivators for enlisting in the military when I had the chance was the desire to give back something to my country by serving it.
I consider myself extremely fortunate to live in Canada, it's routinely ranked one of the best countries to live in in the world, and while it has it's share of problems (what country doesn't?), we enjoy a great amount of civil rights, a very egalitarian way of life, and our country has always gone out of its way to offer aid to those in need; the whole concept of peacekeeping was invented by Canadians, and we spend a considerable amount of resources on relief efforts and foreign relief. Canadians on the whole tend to be very generous people; even with the most recent Fort McMurray fires in Alberta, the province had an incredible showing up support for the victims and it was wonderful to see that when times get tough, we really band together.
One thing I greatly admire about our country is we own up to our mistakes and even teach our students about both the great things we accomplished in our history, as well as taking time to talk about the darkest chapters in our country. We understand that we must never forget the wrongs we committed so we never repeat them. As someone who takes a great interest in history, I am actually very happy with the education I received.
While it's easy to complain about politics and politicians in general, Canada's one of the least corrupt countries in the world and I feel that our leaders are held accountable for what they say and do, which is exactly as it should be. I feel like my voice as a citizen matters. Likewise, overall our law enforcement is excellent and I feel very safe with the police forces across the country.
As I said, there's problems with Canada that need to be addressed, especially concerning the treatment of native Canadians. However, I think that being patriotic doesn't mean you can't acknowledge or even see the flaws of your country; sometimes it can mean working to change those flaws to make your country better.
Even the maple leaf is an inspiring symbol that actually means something for Canada, since it's one of unity. At least one species of maple tree grows in each of the ten provinces. For a country so vast and diverse, it's incredible that as a whole, we're a pretty unified and tight knit country.
Patriotism also doesn't mean you think your country is better than others, it just means you're loyal and love your own. It's the ultranationalist sentiment I think have some people concerned. There's a difference between loving your country and pushing an agenda under the guise that it's for your country's interests.