Question

What does sunshine patriot mean?

Answer 1

Hint: A patriot refers to someone who adores their country and is willing to protect it against an adversary. The Sunshine patriot is not loyal to his country. Example: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot.

Complete answer:
A Sunshine Patriot is a disloyal soldier who only helps their country's patriots when they are winning and abandons them when they are losing. This is one of the primary reasons why George Washington struggled to hold soldiers during the Revolutionary War. For example: Thomas Paine in his novel The American Crisis no. 1 uses the reference of the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot where he mentions people who were pro-independence before the war but changed their minds once it started.

The word 'Sunshine Soldier' means that sunshine is bright and always associated with happiness, just as when one side wins battles in a war and more people want to fight because their side is winning. However, when the sun sets and their fighting side loses fights, the soldiers betray their comrades and abandon the war.

So, sunshine patriot means a non-loyal soldier who supports the country when they are winning and turns his back on his country when it is losing,

Note: Usually patriot refers to a person who loves and supports his or her country but A Sunshine Patriot is a non-loyal soldier who only helps their country's patriots when they are winning and abandons them when they are losing. Thomas Paine has mentioned about sunshine patriots in his novel The American Crisis no. 1.