Is patriotism a crock?

Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week.

 

Check the number of people from those countries coming here vs. the number of people from the U.S. going to those countries.

They don't arrive here on a raft. They come by airplane.

 

Perhaps the number is higher for people moving here than people moving away to particular countries. That's certainly possible. I don't know the numbers, but I'll just grant you that point for the sake of argument.

Does that mean the quality of life is worse in those other countries? Not at all. There are all kinds of reasons for someone to come to the U.S. from another country. Many people have to move here for their jobs, or maybe they want to start a business under fewer economic restrictions. Maybe they want to get healthcare that they're struggling to get in another country, especially if they're pregnant, which poor women attempt to do all the time. Maybe they can get paid more money for doing a shitty job here. Could be another reason entirely.

The U.S. is a nice country. It's got its flaws but, all in all, I like living here. I'm not contemplating moving. However, I'm not of the delusion that it's the only country I would consider "nice" to live in with a certain amount of education and skill. If things got bad enough here that I felt like I needed to leave, I'm confident there are numerous countries in which I could live comfortably and happily.

And if you're of that opinion (as most should be, I'd argue), what's the point in patriotism?

 

I think something good has been mentioned about the difference between nationalism and patriotism.

It seems nowadays that a lot of what's being passed off as patriotism is in fact nationalism. Perhaps my views are tainted from living in the south, but most of the self-professed patriots I run into are actually more nationalistic in their views without realizing it (of course, most of the self-professed patriots I run into around here work at Jiffy Lube and are named Otis.)

A good argument can be made that protest is patriotism. After all, weren't the original patriots the ultimate protesters? But it seems like, in some parts of the country, patriotic protest is being drowned out by people with sleeveless t-shirts and hairy shoulders telling folks that if they don't like this country, get out.

I consider myself a patriot solely for the fact that I don't like this country right now. I don't like its leaders. I don't like its chosen religion. I don't like how it has come to be perceived by the global community, and I don't like its foreign policies and I don't like its obsession with homosexuality.

But I guess as long as I continue to educate myself about issues that are important to me and vote accordingly, I'm somewhat of a patriot. As long as I understand and respect the fact that this country allows equal voice to liberal douches like myself and redneck conservative dolts like others, I'm somewhat of a patriot.

Maybe its a weird way of looking at it, but I think patriotism only ends when someone fed up with the state of things opts to totally ignore that aforesaid state and remain purposely uneducated.