July 5, 2007

On July 4, Put Away the Flags

Is not nationalism -- that devotion to a flag, an anthem, a boundary so fierce it engenders mass murder -- one of the great evils of our time?

Um. Yeah.

Read the rest.
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2 comments:

Bonnie said...

I think they're talking about obsessive non-rational nationalism. They've got to be, right? No one could POSSIBLY be that stupid as to confuse being proud of your country with being evil?

...right?

:-P

8:08 PM
Randy Anderson said...

I think the point this person is trying to make is that nationalism has led people to commit many atrocities throughout history.

My question is what good comes from nationalism?

I see nationalism as something that separates the people of the planet and something that fosters animosity among us. Using nationalism, it's easy to rile up the people of one nation against those people of another nation.

So, what it boils down to is that humans are not any different than most other species on the planet. We set up domains and protect our territories. Then we invade other territories for various reasons. Nationalism makes these invasions easier to facilitate.

Then there's the whole issue of how nationalism is used to essentially say: "I'm better than you because I live in 'whatever' country." This in turn can foster anger, hatred, envy, etc. from the perceived "lesser" countries. Thus, we humans are always at odds with one another because one group is looked down upon by another.

Now, I don't know if nationalism should be called "evil" or not, that's for everyone to decide on their own. But for some it's a very useful tool to further their agenda.

11:12 AM

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