Many people have a narrow concept of patriotism. However, there is more to being a patriot than simply waving a flag and saying, ¡°I love my country, the best in the world.¡± There is also more to being a patriot than fighting for one¡¯s country during war. Even wife-beaters jealously fight other men eyeing their woman.

According to the Oxford American Dictionary and Language Guide, a patriot is ¡°a person who is devoted to and ready to support his or her country.¡± Pay attention especially to the second part: support his or her county.

The truth is 99.9 percent of the people in China will never have to fight in a war. So to think you are a patriot only because you vow to destroy any invaders is a bit pretentious. It is akin to me saying I will beat up any slave owners in America. Instead of stating irrelevant rants of bravado, people should search for practical ways of displaying patriotism.

So how can you support China outside of fighting? By doing the everyday things.

For example, you can pay your proper tax amount. Otherwise, you are taking away money from the state, money that can be used to provide or enhance social services like education and health care.

Actually, when you evade paying your taxes, you are taking money away from the poor, hence worsening the income gap between the various economic classes and threatening social stability. This is neither conducive to China nor very patriotic.

Another way is to stop buying or at least limit the purchase of counterfeit products, such as DVDs. The counterfeiting business is really hurting the country. That is a reason why some foreign companies are reluctant to share technology data with their Chinese counterparts and why Chinese companies are reluctant to create new products. No company will share data or innovate in an insecure market. So I urge people to start following the Central Government¡¯s pleas for an end to piracy and help China to attract foreign technology and foster Chinese innovation. That is patriotic.

Another great way to show your patriotism is to apologize when you are responsible for an incident, face be darned. If you are a company and one of your employees is killed because of your negligence, you should apologize pronto.

The list goes on. Dishonest businesspeople and taxi drivers. Local officials who refuse to follow Central Government regulations. Coal miners who illegally operate dangerous mines. Corrupt law officials who lock innocent people up for many years. All of these perpetrators and their actions are detrimental to China¡¯s drive for an overall well-off and harmonious society. All of these go against Chinese rules.

And if I, a foreigner, can follow Chinese rules, they as Chinese citizens definitely can. This is merely patriotic.

Now I¡¯m not saying that if you buy pirated DVDs or cheat people you are not a patriotic person. Nobody¡¯s perfect. We all do things that may not be the most beneficial to our respective countries. What I am saying is that you should expand your concept of patriotism to include the sphere of everyday life.

Sometimes, instead of maybe criticizing actress Zhang Ziyi as being unpatriotic for her acting role in Memoirs of a Geisha, you should quietly take a minute to reflect: Am I doing anything that is hurting or can potentially hurt China¡¯s development? Am I supporting China to the best of my ability? Is there anything else I can be doing to help make this century truly China¡¯s century? How patriotic am I?

Finally, next Thursday is Thanksgiving Day, so I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and remind you to give thanks for all the blessings of this year you have received so far.

Write to Raymond McFarland at mcstephen23@hotmail.com