This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
My Country, Right or Wrong launched as My Country Right Or Wrong Discussion: From YKTTW
Working Title: My Country, Right or Wrong: From YKTTW
DC Comics' "Enemy Ace" probably fits this trope.
Kilyle: Does The Search for Red October count as a subversion? I was watching this with my friends and asked some question including the phrase "bad guys" and my friend said something like, "It's funny you should say that" and then we got into a bit of a discussion about "bad guys" and "good guys" and point of view and the like as it regarded the movie. But it's definitely a moment where the guy sees that his country's actions will lead to very bad things for the world, and takes definitive action to stop them.
Gemmifer: I don't get the second quote. It is your mother, drunk or sober, isn't it?
Daibhid C: And it is your country even if it's wrong. But if you care about your mother, and she has a drink problem, you do what you can to keep her sober; you don't think that caring about her means accepting that she's drunk.
Gemmifer: Okay, thanks for answering.
Praetyre: I'm in favour of revising this trope's definition. The original writer seems to have intended it to be "Person who fights for evil thing but does not personally commit the evil regimes deeds himself". The current definition is very vague and frankly could apply to virtually any soldier, be it a Democrat fighting in Iraq (and thank goodness the original had a disclaimer to leave out most RL examples, since it had just that definition) or someone like my Chinese communist friend in the Canadian Army. Any soldier who does not agree with the policies of his government and fights for his country would fall under the present definition, and few soldiers agree completely with the policies of their government (in some countries, militaries tend to be apolitical, and for good reason, in my opinion). That way, this is kept under a less nebulous definition and also keeps the original authors point, a deconstruction of the idea that one can fight for an evil regime and be good.
The current definition also leaves itself open to the rather queer possibility of the original definition being inverted. A Neo-Nazi fighting in the German Army could easiy fall under this.
Random Unknown Troper here: The impression I got from reading the original definition was that it was just like the current definition, but restricted to people serving under dictators and the like.
Daibhid C: Even under the broad definition, I'm not at all sure about Captain America. When I think about modern Cap's relationship with the US, I think of a) his time as "Nomad", and b)Civil War.
