I tend to think of any form of nationalism as being destructive and limiting. Do you feel that there is a positive form of it? How do you express it?

Right now I would say REVOLUTION!

In a time of such rampant corruption and governmental malfeasance, ACTIVE DISSENT may be the most valid form of patriotism.

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

I like Chomsky's take on patriotism -- that fan support of professional sports teams is a rehearsal for irrational jingoism.

Joanne,

<<I tend to think of any form of nationalism as being destructive and limiting. Do you feel that there is a positive form of it?>>

as that word "patriotism" has been so perverted, I think my answer would be:

no

Omega Wrote:
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> I like Chomsky's take on patriotism -- that fan
> support of professional sports teams is a
> rehearsal for irrational jingoism.

Omega is an intellectual.

I was in Europe for a few days in 97. I never felt so good about being American until I returned--stepping out of the plane and into the airport at Philadelphia, I was struck by the contrast between the staid and uptight Germans I had been around and the relaxed, smiling, happy faces of Americans. For all the problems this country has, yes there are some things to be proud of. But I think they do things better in Scandanavia and in Canada.

Negative form of patriotism: Choosing to sanction every injustice originating within the country where we reside, as a demonstration of our loyalty to "our country". ("America, Love It Or Leave It"

Positive form of patriotism: Doing our best to improve whatever we can, originating within the nation where we reside, as a demonstration of our commitment toward all our fellow planetary beings (human and otherwise), of all nations. ("America, Change It Or Lose It"

---------------------------------

Nationalism: Determining that our own nation is superior to all others, and therefore our own nation takes precedence over all others. Similar to negative form of patriotism, but requires comparison of "our" country to other countries, and a view that other countries don't measure up.

Examples:

-The belief that God is on our side.

-Mourning the deaths of 4000 US soldiers in Iraq while at the same time ignoring the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians, and the disabling and displacement of untold millions more.

-The belief that "our" country is a "superpower", must continue to be a "superpower", and must be the only "superpower".

-The belief that every nation we conquer and occupy, exploit and explode will "greet us as liberators".

-etc.

<<<-The belief that every nation we conquer and occupy, exploit and explode will "greet us as liberators".>>


deserves to be italicized

Hmmm...maybe the appreciation of your countries unique qualities. But I think the general understanding of the word has the implicit overtone of priorety. So I think no.

I'm a Forest patriot

i love the Forest

i wear my pride of the forest proudly

i would wear a flag with a picture of a tree on it if i could

hey.. not a bad idea.. maybe i will

LaV for president!

LaV--

I like your tree flag idea. I've been semi-seriously thinking for awhile now of creating something I can wear all the time that expresses a similar idea--- maybe a flag with a beautiful butterfly and clouds on it, in shades of blue and purple.

I think images work better than words to inspire people. Words often just end up dividing people, according to their preconceptions, but a beautiful image can be understood by just about everyone, at a level that bypasses the filtering of the programming in our language banks.

Sharrhan:


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arugula Wrote:
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> Omega is an intellectual.

Nah, I just reference Chomsky so people think I'm smart.

It worked!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/2008 10:34PM by Omega.

i chomp on raspberries while i read chomsky

but reading chomsky is like consuming half a cup of cacao

arugula

will u vote for me?

kwan:

butterfly with clouds.... be sure to also have sunlight streaming from the clouds and emanating from the fragile beautiful wings of the butterfly

laV-

Sunlight!-- yes, that would make it even better. The stained glass effect of the light through the wings will be gorgeous.

I'm serious about doing this flag. I don't know when I'll get around to it-- soon, I think-- or if it'll take exactly the form I envisioned, but I feel such a need to express myself in this way. Thanks for the motivation, LaVeronique.

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

blue morpho butterfly is my fave butterfly

a stain glass window would show off their wings so well when sunlight goes through it

if i can't have a forest dress... i will just wear the tree.. if i find it hard to wear the tree, i will just BE the tree

just drink their blood ( chlorophyll) like i always do

that is the closest for me to being a tree