Do people even love their country anymore?

I have to ask. Is it not hip and cool anymore to love your country? Are the arguments against the abuses of nationalism so strong that we don't have any valid form of love for our people or our land?

I can't help it, I see us as shunning our identity for a corporate version of internationalism and nonsense.

Is it so antiquated to love ones country? Does it not hurt to see your people suffer? Is it not relevant to you if your people are in despair?

When does it matter? When is your political affiliation irrelevant and your responsibility to your people more important?

When does the chain of command not matter compared to the will of your people?
When is your duty to your people first? When is it enough to just coast by and not rock the boat, even if that means seeing your country transformed into a den of thieves and callus murders by proxy?

Maybe this belongs in the rant section. Most of what I have to say maybe. But really, what do you care?
Do you care? Or is this trivial emotional tripe by a dissatisfied person trying to justify his view. Am I that?

Is this just a form of justification? I hope not. I would love to see some love for our country. I doubt we can be both loving patriots and realistic adults.

I would love to be proven wrong. Actually no, I would be happy if you just didn't know better. I can't believe we are still in denial at this point.

I don't know. Maybe I am doing this for myself. Maybe I just need to feel special. Maybe I can't admit that I want to give up on us as a people.

I love my country . I just don't care for the majority of people that occupy it. To busy with their lives to even care they are being suckered.

What's the point in loving a country? Love life or at least people in it. We're all on Earth, love that maybe. But who cares about a country.

It's good to be patriotic, however some people take it to the point where it's arrogant and delusional. No one can claim to be the greatest country in the world, and if they do it's entirely personal opinion, I know that's not the point here though. I haven't seen a lack of people that are proud of their country, but people that aren't proud probably have a good reason.

The notion of patriotism is a life raft for a shallow and empty people to cling to.

Whatever country I'm in is of no consequence to me. A country doesn't speak for me, doesnt represent me, doesn't act on my behalf.

Why have pride in whichever mafia family lords over your existence when you should be bothered that one lords over at all?

If tomorrow I awoke to discover every nation-state on this planet ceased to exist my day would go on just fine if not better than the day before.

National pride is obsolete. Right up there with crusading for Christ and burning astronomers at the stake.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

reply to post by BIHOTZ


People have been programmed to love American Idol, football, and Tabloid TV.

Loving your country? Not on the menu of corporate brain washing, sir.

How can I be proud of England? Our goverment is a corrupt bunch of criminals, our military have done some attrocious things which I will never be proud of. And the weather sucks.

Also, how can i be proud just becasue I was born here? I didn't choose to be born here, I just was. Not really anything to be proud of, really.

Nationalism makes me laugh, all that flag waving BS, it just adds to the separation of nations. We should come together and realise that we live on 1 planet, in 1 solar system, in 1 galaxy ect ect.. All these land masses that people protect with their lives, are all connected under the sea by more land, because they are all on the same planet.

As a race, I'm ashamed of the things we do. We've wrecked the planet, hold no reguard for any other species other than our own, and blow the crap out of eachother. There is nothing to be proud of until all of this stops.

Originally posted by BIHOTZ
I have to ask. Is it not hip and cool anymore to love your country?

Only in one direction. Towards them.

People nowdays will suck up the "nationalism" of supporting their local sports team, local flag, local anthem... etc... and be very willing to tell all and sundry how proud they are of their country.

But they'd never get off the couch and away from the TV to actually go out and help it.

It makes no odds anyway, if you love your country or not.......

As you get older you realise that you are just a pawn in a game, a lottery.....Nobody gives a damn about your life...

Nobody gives a s**t about you, the only people who care are your immediate family and the few friends you have....

You are just here to earn money and pay your taxes to keep the country running and the fat cats fatter.....

We are just cannon fodder.........

The world and life used to be a great place to live, people used to say hello to each other, have some intelligence and people weren't so obsessed with unnecessary objects that they cling to as if their life is going to end......

The world is slowly spiralling backwards and the intelligence of folks is just shocking. Even the ability to talk in a rational and courteous manner has now gone. People just openly stand there and just yell and scream at each other and they are only a couple of feet away from each other. Most people can't even read and write to a standard compared to when I left school just over thirty years ago......

I am glad I was born when I was, I am so scared of what the world is going to offer in years/generations to come. I am so glad I am not going to be here.....

Maybe the world has now gone a full circle and is now going backwards and then maybe it will start afresh again....

But I don't think so, it is just gonna carry on until the whole thing explodes..............One day I believe that a piece of bread will buy a bag of gold.........

Take care...............

Originally posted by BIHOTZ
I have to ask. Is it not hip and cool anymore to love your country? Are the arguments against the abuses of nationalism so strong that we don't have any valid form of love for our people or our land?

Actually, it is quite the opposite - it is hip to bash one's country now. It is viewed as enlightenment to be able to talk down the achievements and successes and to highlight the problems and failures of one's nation. See, I am hip...I think the US is no more special than Zimbabwe or Sudan, heck I can be even more hip if I point out that I think even those 3rd world crap holes are somehow morally superior to the US because they struggle while we thrive.

Originally posted by BIHOTZ
I can't help it, I see us as shunning our identity for a corporate version of internationalism and nonsense.

Belongingness is the third tier on the Hierarchy of Needs. All people have the strong desire to be part of groups if those groups are exclusive or special the better.

Being an American used to be enough for most people and they rallied around it and identified with it in the abstract. However, the trend used to be that people derived a sense of worth from the groups into which they fit and identified.

Now we have to be African- American, Asian-American Gay-American etc., (see I'm different and special...pay attention to me!)While my generation struggled to not stand out from the crowd to fit in as it were, the new generation struggles for attention - to be a unique and special butterfly unlike any other.

To have a label is to be non-hip, to have a unique set of views all to yourself and be one's own Army of One is the way people think now.

Ask someone born in 1966 what they wanted to be in High School and they'd say rich, successful etc. (and by that I think they meant, at least I did to be financially stable with a house and such) However, ask the same question to a kid born in 1995 and 90% will say - famous! Even infamy will do... This generation strives for attention - perhaps it is because more one parent homes exist or something and they didn't get enough attention in the key developmental phases.

yeah I figured as much.

well at least give those of us who do love their people and their land long enough to die in peace.

You won't get any trouble form the young ones. They are almost like nice looking zombies.

Just give us a few more years of peace and we won't get in your hair.

let us die without being completely humiliated as the UN and all this world unity BS comes to a head as you eliminate the last countries not inline with your way of thought.

Good luck with your new identities and enjoy the world you are making. I hope it works out. Just don't you or anyone you love get in any form of trouble. Lord knows that nothing is worth personal discomfort.

thanks for the responses. I guess I was not too far off.

Originally posted by Golf66

Belongingness is the third tier on the Hierarchy of Needs. All people have the strong desire to be part of groups if those groups are exclusive or special the better.

That tier is actually love and belonging and can be satisfied by anything from a pet to a best friend to a harem of women.

The desire to be part of a collective doesnt stem from the third tier but from a failure to self actualize and are attempts to clear up identity uncertainty.

Doesnt matter what the group is, national identity, political party, Facebook group or international terrorists. The behavior of joining an external group is a disorder.

I'm looking for a list of lovable countries. I bet it is the same list as the most hated countries.

Originally posted by BIHOTZ
well at least give those of us who do love their people and their land long enough to die in peace....
let us die without being completely humiliated as the UN and all this world unity BS comes to a head as you eliminate the last countries not inline with your way of thought.

...Lord knows that nothing is worth personal discomfort.

Couldn't help but notice the hypocrisy in this post. Most patriotism has a "til the death" sentiment to it. If you can't be bothered to fight for it then you can't really judge others for avoiding personal discomfort.

And, if your people and land are the US then why would you feel that your country is being eliminated? The UN is just a larger version of the American model. If anything it's your country that is trying to get the others to fall in line.

Originally posted by BIHOTZ
Maybe I am doing this for myself. Maybe I just need to feel special. Maybe I can't admit that I want to give up on us as a people.

edit on 1-8-2012 by BIHOTZ because: (no reason given)

This.

People are brainwashed into falling in love with notions like nationalism and patriotism when those are ridiculous concepts when we all share this world together as human beings.

No people is favored over another, it's time to unite as one species, cooperate and leave the ego centrist alignments as a sad thing of the past.

We can do this within a Resource Based Economy, unlike in this self perpetuating fail of a system that's falling apart as we speak.

The word COUNTRY - is rooted in the word CONTRA.

You can see it in the word itself -- COUNTR-

Similar to COUNTeR. As in the word Counter-strike.

www.merriam-webster.com... -- to be opposite

CON-TRA is by definition to be against something else as well.

So...of course we have CON-flicts (related to in-FLICT) in our world....for we have been programmed to take sides, be for or against various ideas. It is reflected in our collective cultures...

For me, I want to know, who wants to be -- UN-CULT-ured?

Patriotism is just another form of control. And there are many forms.

Originally posted by MrUncreated
Patriotism is just another form of control. And there are many forms.

PATRiotism
PATRiot

PATR is equivalent to FATHER, as in FATheR (Silent h and vowel) or even Darth VADER/Father. Vader - Dutch spelling.

"Fight for the Father-Land!!"


Shortened even further -- PA, as in Papa (dad) / grand-PA.

When we learn to remove our feelings for the land (And people) we have attached ourselves to...then there will be no more patriotism. But, that goes beyond this thread.

How can you like a country run by puppets, placed there by useless votes,
that are run by greedy corporations !

AND, those corporations go steal stuff in poor countries, where the small
people can not defend themselves !
AND, those corporations do BIG damage$ to the poor countries.

And the puppets in the damaged country do nothing ! !
and the puppets in the damaging country do nothing ! !

Soooooooooo, there is almost NO country in this planet to "love" !

My country is damagED by outside country$ greedy$, and
my country IS damagING OTHER country$ because of our greedy$ ! !

Blue skies.

If you want to see people that love the USA... I suggest you shut off the computer, get in your car or truck or catch a ride... and go about an hour or two from the city. I assume you live in the city, you may not... I don't know.

About 6 years ago, I too became disheartened at what I saw as a world rolling out of control and off a cliff... many of the traditional ideals I loved and grew up with seemed faded andout of vogue. Then I started driving a box truck and running a sales route selling and delivering flowers and plants to florist and nurseries and garden centers and hardware stores.

What I found was America. Things have changed, but I still found the old men sitting down at the country store, folks gathered on the square at the couthouse, businesses big and small with everyday people working hard and waving as you drive by... and all of them... everyone of them demonstrated their love of America.

Be it a crisp, fresh flag waving in the summer breeze, bumper stickers with red, white, and blue, main streets closed off for 4th of July Parades and watermelon eating contests, little kids selling lemonade with patriotic bunting around the table.

It might be signs advertising for the Veterans of Foreign Wars fundraiser or monuments... new and old, that were well kept with fresh flower beds and a family actually reading the granite words, or a cemetery full of small American flags marking a veterans grave.

Maybe it was streets... dozens of little towns with mainstreets lined with American Flags and signs out in peoples yards telling a returning son or daughter how proud they were of their hometown hero. It might have been a little crossroads community with a suprisingly long and enduring Christmas Parade with the country lanes lined by literally thousands of locals and visitors from 3 counties and 2 states... and to open the parade officially, everybody Pledges Allegiance to the US Flag... and it echoes across the fields and up and down the roads... and people have tears in their eyes... the old men and vets get misty, women blowing their noses into cupped crumpled Kleenex... and then the crowd cheers very loudly as the Honor Guard and US Flag comes down the parade route...

Yes... there are still lots of everyday, hardworking, ideal believing people that love this country...

and I am one of them.