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I am not quite willing to say that staying invested is patriotic. However, I think it is clearly for the common good. Selling puts downward pressure on the market, lower prices of financial assets creates additional stresses on the financial system.
We see these stresses in the form of decreased credit, lower confidence, and just outright panic in many cases. The real economy is affected not only directly in the form higher credit cost which hampers expansion etc, but indirectly in the form of a reverse wealth effect, people who feel poorer spend less. Decreased spending results in lower sales profits which in turn leads to increased unemployment. Increase unemployment leads to lower tax revenue, higher spending for social spending unemployment benefits, assistance for the poor. Higher social spending leads to increase deficits and either higher inflation or higher interest rates or both. Higher interest rates of course mean a tighter credit market and we are in dangerous feedback loop.
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