Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all others because you were born in it-George Bernard Shaw
"Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism - how passionately I hate them!"
--Albert Einstein
Being an American is an accident for me it is not an accomplishment or something to take pride in. The USA is just the place where I happened to be born it would be no different if I was born in Canada,Egypt,South Africa,Russia or South Korea.In my mind it is no different than me being proud of being blonde or brown eyed.
I remember watching about a report on racial profiling of Arabs and Muslims. I am against racial profiling or religious profiling. They had several Muslim families on their both native born and naturalized Americans as they talk about the discrimination they faced and one thing they said as that they where all proud Americans despite being Muslims even though it was clear they had many bad experiences here.
I have notice atheists doing the exact same thing where in interviews they will say along with having 'good old' traditional values and they are proud Americans just like the Christians like Christians are some how the moral standard just for being Christians. Even in place where they have lost their jobs and faced serious discrimination.
I know very well from both online and face to face that most religious and racial minorities are very critical of the USA. Yet why do we put up this facade of being wonderful traditional patriotic Americans.
I think we need to stop this because what we are realy doing is apologizing for not being White Christians. Where just bullshiting lies about how many of us truly feel about this country and politics.
Think about it so many Christians want to have all the Muslims and Arabs racially profiled. I wondered what would happen if their was a law that said Christians would not be allowed to own guns because of George Tiller. They would be up in arms over that, I always found it interesting that so many Christians are pro-gun despite it being pretty damn clear in the Bible, Jesus was a pacifist.
I guess their just continuing with the old religious tradition of only sectioning parts of the teachings you like and to hell with all the rest.
Back on patriotism I believe the Olympics is just a replacement for a world war with slightly less blood shed. Ever notice how most countries where patriotism is not common at all is flag waving at sport events like Canada and Germany.
Me being an American is an accident it is nothing to be proud of and I think it only divides people more.
I would never die for my country. I would die to protect my family and friends but not my country.
Republics only last about 200 years anyway.
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Since our Olympic coverage is by NBC, I always wonder if other countries have people chanting their equivalent of "USA," dressing up like their equivalent of Uncle Sam, etc. Like you, I'm not sufficiently wild about our government and its policies to be outspokenly patriotic. I see our country as having good points and bad points, but outspoken patriots always insist that we're the best in every conceivable way. Even though, in regard to medical care, for example, this is demonstrably false, it doesn't slow them down. I therefore think of patriotism as being a good bit like religion in terms of blind faith and irrationality.
ReplyDeleteI honestly think patrotism has a lot of parells with religion when you think about it.
ReplyDelete/Since our Olympic coverage is by NBC, I always wonder if other countries have people chanting their equivalent of "USA," dressing up like their equivalent of Uncle Sam,/
That always embarrass me. I never liked hearing the US was the best country even though that's what all the adults thought and had very limit knowledge of the outside world.
I guess I also been worldly sense an early age.