I'm just kind of curious and tossing this out, but why are people (You may or may not being included) patriotic? I mean isn't it kind of silly to love a country, a country that you had no decision in being born in?
Doesn't patriotism lead to bad things as opposed to nythig good
Why patriotism?
patriotism can be a very vague word. I think that many people in the USA today claim to be `patriots` without understanding what the word means.
Patriotism does not equal loving your country blindly.
As the child of immigrants to America, and as somebody who has studied American History in depth, I really can say that I love many aspects of what America was built on. Just as in a relationship with a person, I think that `love` (patriotism) means understanding all the faults of a person (country) but still accepting them, because you know their potential for good outweighs the faults. Somebody you love can let you down. So can your country. If you see somebody you love doing something stupid or bad, you will try to help them, if you really love them. If you find the person you loved has changed into somebody you no longer recognize... that can be a difficult situation.
I`m rambling a bit here. Sorry.
In closing though, if you haven`t read the US Constitution, you really should give it a read through. When you combine it with the Bill of Rights, it really is a hopeful, ingenious blueprint for an incredible country. Believing in and protecting the ideals stated in these documents is patriotism. Limiting and subverting them is not.
Patriotism does not equal loving your country blindly.
As the child of immigrants to America, and as somebody who has studied American History in depth, I really can say that I love many aspects of what America was built on. Just as in a relationship with a person, I think that `love` (patriotism) means understanding all the faults of a person (country) but still accepting them, because you know their potential for good outweighs the faults. Somebody you love can let you down. So can your country. If you see somebody you love doing something stupid or bad, you will try to help them, if you really love them. If you find the person you loved has changed into somebody you no longer recognize... that can be a difficult situation.
I`m rambling a bit here. Sorry.
In closing though, if you haven`t read the US Constitution, you really should give it a read through. When you combine it with the Bill of Rights, it really is a hopeful, ingenious blueprint for an incredible country. Believing in and protecting the ideals stated in these documents is patriotism. Limiting and subverting them is not.
What a sincere and intimate analogy, Ken.
Maybe you should become a politician
I think ppl become patriotic, esp. in the US, because the government and media present a serious issue in an 'us' vs. 'them' scenario. "Those strange Islamic terrorists over there threaten everything we Americans stand for...We must unite by a shared national culture, pledging allegiance to our government, to defeat the aggresive opposition."
alright, now im rambling
Maybe you should become a politician
I think ppl become patriotic, esp. in the US, because the government and media present a serious issue in an 'us' vs. 'them' scenario. "Those strange Islamic terrorists over there threaten everything we Americans stand for...We must unite by a shared national culture, pledging allegiance to our government, to defeat the aggresive opposition."
alright, now im rambling
It's set up like a deck of cards,
theyre sendin us to early graves
for the diamonds
they use a pair of clubs to beat the spades(ratm)
Cloud9-Juan Rangel
theyre sendin us to early graves
for the diamonds
they use a pair of clubs to beat the spades(ratm)
Cloud9-Juan Rangel
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Senor Grommet
- Post Master General
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Ken,
you should be a libertarian. Strict adhesion to the constitution and bill of rights is what they (we) stand for . . . although Im a bit of a wanna be libertarian. I was born into it really.
you should be a libertarian. Strict adhesion to the constitution and bill of rights is what they (we) stand for . . . although Im a bit of a wanna be libertarian. I was born into it really.
My name: Jeremy Mirken, AKA Chocolatey Shatner, AKA jerk enemy rim.
I kick it with trunk chef elf and liz luck key my.
I kick it with trunk chef elf and liz luck key my.
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sPinko-Mania
- Multidex Master
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- Location: Palmy Army HQ
^^^ Sometimes I can't tell if you're joking or not, heh.
Patriotism is an intriguing concept. I have none of it, or very little. I will still root for New Zealand in sports, but that's about as far as it goes, but even then it'd something I do basically involuntarily, it's just the pervasive part of the culture which grows on you.
I really just associate patriotism which a 'my country right or wrong' ethos, because patriotism is such a powerful thought suppressing force really. It prevents you, as an individual, from assessing a given issue (like war) from a straight up rational perspective. I mean you should feel good about something if you helped (even in a small way) to be a part of building it, I love x because of a b and c. If that is patriotism that would be fine, but I think that patriotism is far more blunt than that, it lacks the nuance to compare and criticise and then celebrate - it's closer to a herd mentality.
Plus, time and again governments say 'trust us blindly' while they engage in dodgy activities, villainous even, and it is those times when patriotic fever is high and lets them run loose. Patriotism really is the last refuge of a scoundrel. Whenever politicians or leaders talk about patriotism I think your alarm bells should be ringing:
Patriotism is an intriguing concept. I have none of it, or very little. I will still root for New Zealand in sports, but that's about as far as it goes, but even then it'd something I do basically involuntarily, it's just the pervasive part of the culture which grows on you.
I really just associate patriotism which a 'my country right or wrong' ethos, because patriotism is such a powerful thought suppressing force really. It prevents you, as an individual, from assessing a given issue (like war) from a straight up rational perspective. I mean you should feel good about something if you helped (even in a small way) to be a part of building it, I love x because of a b and c. If that is patriotism that would be fine, but I think that patriotism is far more blunt than that, it lacks the nuance to compare and criticise and then celebrate - it's closer to a herd mentality.
Plus, time and again governments say 'trust us blindly' while they engage in dodgy activities, villainous even, and it is those times when patriotic fever is high and lets them run loose. Patriotism really is the last refuge of a scoundrel. Whenever politicians or leaders talk about patriotism I think your alarm bells should be ringing:
Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.
-- Herman Goering
Ben Spink McCarthy
They say God lives inside us. If this is true, I hope he likes salmonella. Because that's what he's getting.
They say God lives inside us. If this is true, I hope he likes salmonella. Because that's what he's getting.
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BainbridgeShred
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Beware of the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry, [who] infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How will I know? For this I have done. And I am Julius Caesar.