i think you are trying to say that patriotism is not achievable by doing things like putting out a flag these days displaying a flag in the front of your house has become a trend and those who don't are asked in wonder "aren't you gna get a flag?" this happened to me today actually lol ..while i think in this case the flag is the symbol for our desire to appear as devoted to our nation as possible, only a bit of us are truly caring for our country but within themselves which is not perceptible by their outer selves. once again you've succeeded in catching the essence of the idea within the few words you've used..good one.
and now that you've mentioned it i can totally see what you've meant by the freedom we admire now aren't really perfect but i think to some extent we need to depend on other nations and their ideas as well ..but the thing is we gta know our limits..we are not a single being in the universe we are only a part of a whole being..don't think we could survive as a separate unit too, but that is a widely abused idea too.