Monday 10 January 2022

Not a patriot

I'm not a patriot. By that I mean I'm not going to defend my country to the last and make out that everything it is or does is wonderful. That's just idiotic. Britain does some things well and does other things very badly.

To gloss over the failures and pretend they don't exist, and to magnify the successes even if they're simply the basics of a properly-run country, seems to me a cock-eyed way of looking at things.

But don't misunderstand me. When I say I'm not a patriot, that doesn't mean I slag off Britain and how it's run at every opportunity. It just means I take a realistic view of my country, with all its faults, and I don't mindlessly defend it like some blinkered fanatic.

When I say I'm not patriotic, what that means is:

  • I couldn't care less about the union jack
  • I couldn't care less about the national anthem
  • I'm not distraught if Britain doesn't win some big sports event
  • I don't wildly exaggerate Britain's achievements
  • I'm not at all proud of my country
  • I don't dismiss all other countries as inferior
  • I don't think the British are all fine, upstanding, law-abiding citizens
  • I don't believe the British have some unique cultural or spiritual quality
  • I don't believe Britain is the "cradle of democracy"
  • I don't see what's so special about the "village pub"
There's nothing wonderful about this very average country.  Alongside those with dazzling talents and abilities, there are many more with modest skills who're simply going through the motions till retirement - that is, if they can even afford to retire, when the state pension is so scandalously low*.

Not so much a wonderful country as a country staggering on chaotically from day to day.

* The basic state pension is £179.60 ($243.91) a week.

22 comments:

  1. I am the opposite. I am a hard core Nationalist Patriot who hoists the National Flag on our Independence and Republic Days on a portable pole in our garden.

    I perhaps have more complaints about my country than you have about yours but, I believe that they can be repaired and our present dispensation will eventually get it all done.

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    1. Ramana: Well, I'm impressed by your confidence that outstanding problems will be solved. Many of the outstanding problems in the UK (poverty, homelessness, low wages etc) were problems when I was growing up, and still they're with us.

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  2. I'd like the UK to win the Eurovision song contest again, but that's as patriotic as I get!
    Sx

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    1. Ms Scarlet: I don't even watch the Eurovision song contest, and I certainly don't care who wins or loses!

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  3. Yes ,yes and yes to what you said. Why be a patriot ? History has shown all the horrible events patriotism brought over the world. I am a German Jew and tell me how can I be a patriot ? Nations are artificial constructions result of wars, conflicts, revolution and so on. I do not respect borders , I am and will always be a World citizen.
    Hannah

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    Replies
    1. Hannah: I agree, why not just be a world citizen? Yes, as a German Jew, which country are you supposed to support, given that anti-semitism is rife in many countries? And yes again, patriotism has led to all sorts of unimaginable horrors.

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  4. I get it. Being an American, I feel we do ourselves a huge disservice with unquestioned patriotism. Currently, we have politically motivated patriotism that rots to the core with its divisiveness. Each side thinks they have the only right answer.

    I will say we take for granted a few rights and cultural norms that improve our lives.

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    Replies
    1. Ann: Indeed, unquestioning patriotism leads to dangerous divisiveness, as we can see in the States right now. Any kind of blind loyalty is ultimately destructive.

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  5. I'm glad I live in the USA but I'm not proud of her right now.

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    1. Linda: The crippling political turbulence in the States is worrying. Commentators here are wondering if there might even be another civil war.

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    2. It already feels much like an uncivil war to me but I don't know how they would draw battle lines in this one.

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    3. Linda: Joe Biden is struggling to maintain some sense of normality, but it's an uphill battle.

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  6. I’m very proud to be British and feel very lucky to live here. Yes we have faults, but we are free, our country is wealthy, we are basically a tolerant nation. But I don't care a fig about football!

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    Replies
    1. Polly: Britain is certainly a better place to live than many other countries labouring under dictatorships and armed conflict. Not sure about tolerance though - there's still so much racism, sexism and prejudice against minorities.

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  7. Replies
    1. Joanne: Agreed. There's still so much hostility towards people who're perceived as too different in some way.

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  8. I like the phrase... "I am a world citizen."
    to me people fall into two types... warm or cold.
    and it matters not where they come from. their basic humanity is there for all to see. maybe someday.
    but not in yours or my lifetime probably.
    Joanne Noragon is right!

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    Replies
    1. Tammy: Two types of people, warm or cold. I like that. And yes, we all need to just get along instead of picking idiotic fights with each other.

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  9. I'm glad I live in the US but there are a lot of things that should change.

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    Replies
    1. Mary: And no doubt a lot of things that should have been changed decades ago, but inertia took over.

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  10. It’s hot topic in America. I steer clear!

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    Replies
    1. Bijoux: Very wise. I try to avoid discussing it as well. People get absurdly heated!

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