Nationalism

[The Monkey]

I'm glad to live in Sweden and I consider myself very lucky to be born here. I belong to richest, freest percentage in the world, and the quality of live in my country is among the very top. Am I proud, though? I'm not sure. In one way, yes, in another, no.

 

[PvtRyan]

Proud? No. Happy to live here? Yes. I wouldn't fight and die for my country, screw that. Wouldn't care if I suddenly lived in "New Germania" tomorrow, as long as it has no detrimental effect on the quality of life. Countries are imaginary lines in the dirt, but the quality of life is worth fighting for.

 

[Pulse]

See that's what the great debate in German History is, whether Nazism is simply a product of German national character and other factors at the time, or whether it represents something entirely un-german.

The Weimar Republic was an absolute disaster, weak politically, and suffered badly after the wall street crash.

They couldn't have picked a better time to introduce a new currency in an attempt to eradicate inflation. Lawl.

 

[ríomhaire]

Nationalism shall bring us victory!

 

[theotherguy]

Proud? No. Happy to live here? Yes. I wouldn't fight and die for my country, screw that. Wouldn't care if I suddenly lived in "New Germania" tomorrow, as long as it has no detrimental effect on the quality of life. Countries are imaginary lines in the dirt, but the quality of life is worth fighting for.

precisely. I am not proud of my nation, I just consider myself to be lucky to be born in such a nation where the standard of living is so high. When I study history I do not feel pride for the U.S, I only admire the acheivements of her people. I would never go to war for my country unless I absolutley had to; that is, the state of the world was in danger.

 

[Walter]

I'm nationalistic for other countries; those netherlandish nations seem to really have their shit together.

Instead of pride, I'm really more thankful to live in the best first-world country this side of the pacific, and in the top ten or twenty overall. It's just nice having good living conditions and, importantly for me, relatively unskeezy politicians.

Yeah, the thing i like about Canada is that people often forget that it exists, tells how peaceful they are i guess.

 

[Dan]

Nationalism ought to be dying. Borders are just lines on maps (except for North Korea). We freely trade information and goods across the planet. We can get news from Moscow as fast as someone in Stockholm. Businesses are as powerful as governments and know no boundaries.

 

[99.vikram]

I believe that a basic amount of nationalism to your own country is required for smooth government. If a person does not respect the country he lives in, why would he obey it's rules or perform duties like voting? (Keep in mind that not everyone is rich enough to move to a country of their choice).

 

[repiV]

These are fairly nebulous concepts, they're not really tangible, if you asked someone what it meant be British, I'm pretty sure that's not how they'd respond. Even if that is what's felt, it doesn't nessarily follow that it is true. For example, there is a lot of evidence to suggest that the British justice system was less concerned with providing fair justice for all, but more concerned with protecting the rights of the propertied classes. Read 'Albion's Fatal Tree' - for essays on that subject. I've done archive work that somewhat supports that arguement.

You'd probably find that most "proud to be British" immigrants from less advanced parts of the world would most definitely cite those things as what it means to be British. The difference is, they really appreciate the freedoms and prosperity we enjoy, whereas most of us just take them for granted.
Couldn't argue either way on the original purpose of the British justice system, but isn't the situation today more relevant?

Again, artificial constructs - used to fufil ideological needs.

Every country has a flag. It doesn't have to fulfil any kind of ideological need - flags have many practical uses.
Harmless tradition only adds character (and brings in millions of tourism dollars...)

This I agree with, the ideology of America HAS to be strongly enforced, as they have only a limited supply of History to draw upon to tie people together, and as it is also very much an immigrant nation (and was founded as such)

I actually think the practice of pledging allegiance to the nation in school is repugnant. It's just brainwashing.
However, it doesn't all come from brainwashing. The American ideology is righteous and laudable in very many ways - which, I think, is where the arrogance stems from. Some would tell you America can do whatever it likes because their way is the right way. It was a country very much ahead of its time.

But what is there to be proud of? An altered narrative constructed to serve ideological needs, to create hegemony?

To me, it has nothing to do with pride. Being proud of your nation is foolish and illogical. It's about respect, appreciating what we are fortunate enough to have and looking out for one another.

 

[ComradeBadger]

You'd probably find that most "proud to be British" immigrants from less advanced parts of the world would most definitely cite those things as what it means to be British. The difference is, they really appreciate the freedoms and prosperity we enjoy, whereas most of us just take them for granted.
Couldn't argue either way on the original purpose of the British justice system, but isn't the situation today more relevant?

It's relevent, as the it's the tradition of fair British justice which is being called into question - i.e. it's an invented tradition

Every country has a flag. It doesn't have to fulfil any kind of ideological need - flags have many practical uses.
Harmless tradition only adds character (and brings in millions of tourism dollars...)

Every nationstate has a flag. It DOES serve an idealogical need, as a flag it denotes the country the country itself, as a sign, but it signifies various other things (for example, colonialism and the British flag) and is intend to instill pride and reverence.

I actually think the practice of pledging allegiance to the nation in school is repugnant. It's just brainwashing.

Indeed, it's a necessity for the US though, that's what I was saying.

However, it doesn't all come from brainwashing. The American ideology is righteous and laudable in very many ways - which, I think, is where the arrogance stems from. Some would tell you America can do whatever it likes because their way is the right way. It was a country very much ahead of its time.

The arrogance comes from the same sources that it came from when England was the greatest world power - it's self-belief as they can do what they want.

 

[Direwolf]

I've always kept my views on nationalism and patriotism pretty simple: if I'm gonna be proud of being an American its going to be for the Blues, the Internet, and Baseball. Not because of anything as shifting as politics, religion, or world standing.

 

[Bull Goose Loony]

Im proud to be a new zealander, cos it's such a beautiful place, and people are generally pretty laid back and friendly, and seem to have a pretty good reputation when we go overseas