Patriotism

[PaulC]

So, after reading this fascinating article (news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2842493.stm), I started wondering whether people here consider themselves patriotic to whatever country they live in, and whether they think "patriotism" in general is a good or bad thing. Lately, I've begun to think of it as bad - in the context I've heard it used, it is blind faith in your country to do what is right mixed with the concept of your country's superiority (ESPECIALLY in the case of the United States).

The fact that my country's legislative body is renaming its French Fries "Freedom Fries" strikes me as ironic, since what they are in effect protesting with the move is France's exercising of their freedom to disagree with us, to choose whether or not they should send their soldiers to fight and die for this cause. This kind of petty idiocy is what comes from patriotic fervor - the raw hatred some people seem to have for any country that disagrees with our plans, even when not they are not able to support those plans effectively themselves.

Whipping yourself up into a fervor for your country's war effort without examining whether or not war is justified or the motivations of your leaders is, in my opinion, dangerous. The more blindly a populace follows its leaders, the easier it is for the leaders to lead them any way they want to.

[Mr. Fangora (Wum)]

Firstly I'd just like to say that in my belief, there's no such thing as justified war. I can't think of a single reason how sending masses and masses of innocent men (and women, no sexists here) to another country to go and shoot other innocent men (and women) can possibly be justified.

Next that stuff about the 'Freedom' fries was the single stupidest thing I have ever had the misfortune to come across.

"We are going to war and if you don't agree with us then we're going to sulk like stupid little bickering children."

In fact I think the whole reason for war is childish. To my understanding Bush has all his nice little nuclear toys and he wants to be the only one to play with them.
"I'm only allowed to play with these, so all you people give me your ones. And if you cause me any trouble, then I'll get ya!"
I think that this is effectively causing a more subtle reign of terror. If this keeps up, America will be the only country with nuclear weapons and everyone else will live in fear of them.
I think that if anything productive is to be acheived, a TOTAL WORLD disarming is required.

That may have strayed off a little (lot) but I really need to get that out.

[Liu]

the whole french thing is just stupid....without france AMERICA WOULD BE PART OF ENGLAND and without france THE STATUE OF LIBERTY WOULDNT EXIST
this whole war is stupid....i agree with Wum about the "toys" if some little country gets a toy then the big bad country comes and takes it from them and adds it to its collection of "safe toys"