Oklahoma Republicans: AP U.S. History Test is Anti-American

[Simon_Jester]

Patriotism can serve the useful function of mobilizing the populace to do difficult or strenuous things, like throw out an invading army, or build up national infrastructure.

Or murdering innocent people in order to prevent the country from losing face. Patriotism is a tool arguably only as good as those wielding it.

Others had done a very thorough job of covering the ways in which patriotism can be used for evil, so I didn't feel any need to emphasize that. Although I do not disagree.

But no discussion of patriotism is complete without talking about, say, the role of Russian nationalism in allowing the Soviets to rally and oppose the Nazis by defending the 'motherland.'

Or the way that, say, Arab nationalism encouraged Middle Eastern countries to seek independence and secular government and economic development... although it also suckered them into fighting costly wars and provided a prop-up for corrupt strongmen, so meh.

Personally I've always looked at the refusal of various pro-austerity factions in the developed world to invest money into their own nation's infrastructure and underclass... and attributed it to lack of patriotism.

Because if you truly love someone, you will be willing to feed them when they are hungry.

Hence humanism. Same idea, but you get to love everyone except just those within arbitrary borders.

Given how hard it is to even get people to be decent to everyone within their own borders, even as they proclaim loyalty to "their country," I figure it's a matter of taking baby steps.

[Flagg]

I dunno, I guess my position is that it never made sense to me to be proud of something you have absolutely no control over. I mean I get patriotism if you fought for your countries independence or against an occupying force, but otherwise it's just chance.