Patriotism, Division, and Countries

[Mune]

Patriotism, Division, and Countries

-> I would REALLY like to make clear that this is NOT an insult upon a patriots intellect- Moreso a questioning of why they are patriotic. I've had to delete some posters posts because of their inability to understand the point. I am more than happy for you to disagree with me- However any posts seeking to start a flame-war will be deleted. Thank you.

One thing I will always find hard to comprehend, is how people can devote themselves to placing pride in something. I'm tired of all the different places in the world always trying to raise themselves above what they truly are.

I'll start by insulting my own country. Britain. I don't care what we've been through, what gave us the idea of going around telling everyone how great we are. Everyone refers to Britain as 'great' Britain. The currency I use is GBP, Great British Pounds. It's even official.

Though I must say, and I'm not just being selective- A country that also irritates me with their constant speeches on how good they are is America. Even when Barack Obama was made president.

"I am proud to be president of the greatest country on Earth."

Who gave America that title? I certainly didn't. There is no such thing as 'the greatest country on Earth'. It's like saying "I have the best emotion on Earth!" - What? How? A country is an abstract principle. Not a physical thing. In reality we are all just on different places on the Earth. There's no reason to be *proud* of where you are on this planet. Only when aliens invade this planet will the human race realise that we are all essentially on the same 'mound of dirt' and that 'country' or 'no country', we're still 'human'.

And as the reader can probably tell from the previous paragraph, I'm also hugely against leaders of places. The automatic response for when I say "I don't believe in authority." is "Without authority this world would tear apart."

Well... Not necessarily. I've pretty much dropped all beliefs that were drilled into my head by authority figures from when I was a child, and not forgetting the fact that I was pushed through a religious school. I certainly don't believe in teaching a child something, without telling them the reason. When people ask "Why do I have to do this?" and the reply is "Because." or "It's the rules."- I have a mental-facepalm. I've now become what is referred to as Labelless, which rather ironically is a label. But still, the closest I come to, ideas-wise is Nihilism. Specifically existential nihilism. I don't believe that 'countries' should be taken so seriously. I'm alright with the label for the reason of recognition and recognition ONLY. I'm certainly can't be in the presence of, in real life, anyone who has been brought up to be proud of their country -and- will defend it, disregarding logic to the point of brawling. Religion, Countries, Football teams- There are so many things that are heavily defended with pride.

If you're truly proud, then keep it to yourself. If you feel the need to tell others that you're proud. (even if indirectly) Then just how proud are you. It's almost a "Pride doesn't mean anything if no-one is there to watch me express it."

I am reminded of the warcraft lore, where Saurfang (a warrior) has a son, and his son tries to kill the man who is causing destruction to the entire planet. His son dies by the sword of this man. But Saurfang is filled with pride. To quote the lore directly "Saurfangs heart swells with pride." That is healthy pride. Keeping it to himself, a silent respect.

But even if one does learn to control their pride- It's still quite a dangerous thing to hold close to you. There are some people whom attend the same school as me who will clench onto their pride with every last fiber of their being. No exaggeration. There's a child (no names will be given) whom when he lost in a game of 'dodge-ball', ran around in circles shouting profane comments towards members of staff. What's the point? I don't understand this way of thinking.

Pride seems to have come along with sentience, and as a result, I find animals (excluding humans) to be of the most favourable company. With animals, there is no pride, only survival instinct.

To some people, reading through this may prove to be infuriating, even to the point at which you want to rant back. I welcome any rants or comments, but I must make the point:

This was not intended as an attack on anything specific. My intentions are purely to spark debate- Not to make anyone go blind with rage.