The reader favorite who defined patriotism in my dystopian science fantasy
Rajae “Raj” Worthy took her commander to school in my dystopian science fantasy when they argued over what patriotism truly meant.
A lot of people have a warped view of patriotism. In the Notes section, I’ve seen neocon chickenhawks get accusatory, lashing out at those unwilling to support war with a nation that never threatened to invade U.S. soil—even with Marco Rubio lying to anyone who’ll give him an iota of attention—as “unpatriotic.”
Seriously, I’m gonna start screen-capturing these things and posting them to my articles, all while blurring out the names since the last thing I need is to make anyone “famous.” Which is what they’re after, so I’ll disappoint them.
Just like I’m gonna disappoint them right now by showing them how wrong they are about what they want the definition of patriotism to be as opposed to what it really is. But remember this: the patriots were dissenters of the Crown in the 18th century; not die-hard supporters. Those were the loyalists, folks.
What is patriotism, exactly?
I prompted Brave AI with the following: What is the true definition of patriotism? Here’s what I got:
Patriotism is fundamentally defined as love for or devotion to one’s country, involving a deep emotional attachment, loyalty, and a sense of duty toward the nation or political community. It encompasses pride in a nation’s achievements, culture, and values, as well as a commitment to its well-being and improvement.
Unlike nationalism, which often emphasizes power, cultural superiority, and the desire to impose one’s nation’s ideals on others, patriotism is inherently defensive and civic-minded. As philosopher George Orwell distinguished, patriotism is about devotion to a particular place and way of life believed to be the best, without the intent to force it on others. It is rooted in classical ideals of civic virtue, the common good, and the preservation of liberty and justice—concepts traced back to Greek and Roman antiquity.
Modern interpretations emphasize that true patriotism includes criticism of one’s country when necessary, not blind loyalty. It means standing by the nation’s founding ideals during difficult times, working to improve it, and honoring those who serve. Thinkers like Jürgen Habermas propose constitutional patriotism, where loyalty is grounded not in ethnicity or culture, but in shared liberal democratic principles and respect for the constitution.
In essence, true patriotism is not about blind allegiance or national superiority, but about active, principled commitment to a nation’s values, its people, and its ongoing moral progress.
As for those neocons, they fell onto the short end of the stick. These people have been acting like nationalists lately, not patriots.
They’re perfectly fine with “power, cultural superiority, and the desire to impose one’s nation’s ideals on others” so long as an eighty-year-old man they’re fantasizing about having a bromance with tells them to.
The reader favorite in my dystopian science fantasy who called out the tyrant
Rajae “Raj” Worthy has her flaws, but she’s got a mind of gold. She’s also not scared to call out the tyrannical Tuukka Worthy out on his bullshit.
So, when Tuukka makes the same neocon declaration, Raj, who at this point is more than fed up and ready to desert Tuukka and the Tamurians, has zero problem correcting him.
Here is the scene from Wind Wielder:
She’d seen enough. Heard enough. It was wrong to begin with, as she implied back in August. And for the past three months, her conscience egged her to stop. But she continued to carry out Tuukka’s morally wrong orders.
She convinced herself she was doing her job. Justifiable, right? Doing her job to round up kids for conscription in Wild Valley. Doing her job when she ordered Native Nordican Reserves to burn. Doing her job to incite confrontation and conflict.
“I’m not spilling the blood of people who already spilled their own peoples’ blood because they thought it was the easy thing to do.”
“They knew it was right—”
“It was not right—”
“They will do anything to defend Tamuria and its interests.”
“For your political and profitable gain. You’re going to send people like sheep headed to a slaughterhouse—”
“Natives, Rajae, not people—”
“People, Tuukka, into an underground network because you know the Firebirds are hovering over them. People who spurned their tribal nations to fight for you and the Tamurian Empire. And you’re sending them to their deaths in these networks?”
“You’re to order the Natives into the tunnels and secure the networks—”
“I’m not leading people to their clear deaths.”
“It’s war, Rajae, and unfortunately in war, we lose lives—”
“Don’t give me that unfortunately charade.” She grasped her bronze sword hilt so hard an ember flared from its tip. “You don’t care who lives and who dies, so long as you and your henchmen profit from spreading fear and uncertainty that’ll spark public compliance.”
Tuukka scoffed. “Changed your tone, haven’t you—?”
“And then call it patriotic to follow repressive laws like your little curfews, arresting entire families of mutants guilty of nothing more than practicing an ability they’re born with. And stating it’s further patriotic to pay your taxes to support a war machine from what was a threat you created. Patriotism is questioning a government in the wrong. Not following its every executive order like a sheep.”
“Patriotism involves trusting your government and upholding its values. Especially when there’s a threat.”
“There is no Nordican threat.”
“Col Eriksson is a threat.”
“I’ve seen no evidence of that. His Firebirds are guarding entrances into their nation—”
“Passages explaining how Zona, his troupe, and the Siskonens disappeared from South Nordica after their terrorist attack.”
“It was never a terrorist attack! You planted people!”
It’s no wonder Raj is a reader favorite
I can see why Raj is a favorite in Wind Wielder and my Elementals of Nordica series. She’s a Fire Master, she’s good-looking, she achieved celebrity status, and she kicks ass and takes names.
In many of my early reviews, I often saw things like, “Raj was my favorite,” and it’s probably why I have an overflow of strong female protagonists these days.
Still, Raj has enough “screen time” to be the co-protagonist of the work, even if it’s the Sion Zona Show. So, if you’re up for dystopian science fantasy with a sporty subplot and a book that’s rough around the edges—I DIY’d the whole damn thing back in 2020-21—then check out Wind Wielder and meet Raj for yourself.
👉 Get it at The Rebel Lore Vault.
This article first appeared at The Rogue Scribe
