well thats a very good question pimp.. i guess that wat happened on 9-11 was good in a way because it FINALLY united our nation.. ure right where were our flags b4 this? i hung my flag once a year and it was that holiday (i think it was flag day or something)
Because for a very long time America never had to worry about anything. Living in America is like living in a box. We were completely seperate from the rest of the world. Why show pride if you dont even have to. Of course it would take something big to open our eyes and realize that we take this land for granted. Oklahoma was withen America so that wouldnt make you look past our borders. Sept. 11 is the first time in a looong time we have actually been seriously attacked by another country.
When your born you cannot choose where your born or who your parents are. If you are born in America consider yourself lucky. You probably don't know what its like in many countries around the world. It is extremely different. If you have been in America all your life and consider yourself open minded i promise you will find it very depressing to travel to certain places.
I don't consider patriotism to be an especially good thing. All it does is cause war. the definition is Love of and devotion to one's country. This means you must think lesser of other countries. If you have never been anywhere else or met the people then it is ignorant to consider yourself truely a patriot.
There really is a whole different world out there and i'm very sure it isnt what you picture in your mind. Things like Sept. 11 are regular events for some people and have beent that way for peoples life times. No one else in the world cares or supports them. What kind of country are we you ask? becoming a normal one.
edit: evil-steven: what makes you think Xenn is so wrong?
Originally posted by King Kai 3 I don't consider patriotism to be an especially good thing. All it does is cause war. the definition is Love of and devotion to one's country. This means you must think lesser of other countries.
I believe you've got patriotism confused with nationalism. Patriotism involves loving your country and its freedoms, and wanting to keep them. Nationalism is the typical 'our country is the best' crap, and is also considered to be one of the factors that led to both world wars.
I think Sept. 11 awoke a feeling of patriotism (not nationalism) that people never knew they had because they took too many things (i.e. our national safety) for granted.
Originally posted by King Kai 3 I dont believe i confused anything. however its possible that i did. Im just going by the definition of patriotism that is in the dictionary.
Patriotism -- Please note that none of these definitions refer to thinking less of another country. Nationalism -- For the fourth entry, definition 1 is synonymous with patriotism. However, the second one states "2: the conviction that the culture and interests of your nation are superior to those of any other nation." This is what you were referring to as patriotism.
I think you missed my point badass gandhi. My point is that if you show love and devotion to one country (patriotism) that must mean you think at least somewhat lesser of another country. And you shouldnt think that way at all. Just because this one country is the only place you have ever been doesnt mean that theres not a whole other world out there. If your devoted to ONE country you would do anything for the country...this could mean war couldnt it?
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Where
were our flags waving proud when oklahoma was bombed???
Originally posted by King Kai 3 I think you missed my point badass gandhi. My point is that if you show love and devotion to one country (patriotism) that must mean you think at least somewhat lesser of another country. And you shouldnt think that way at all.
But you don't have to think your country's better than any other country to be a patriot, you just have to like your country better. The words love and devotion don't carry a sense of absolute favoritism. You don't have to dislike every other country in the world to consider yourself a patriot. If you do, then you've gone past patriotism and into nationalism.
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If your devoted to ONE country you would do anything for the country...this could mean war couldnt it?
Well naturally, as long as you feel the war is justified. And if you don't, that's why we have Conscientious Objector Status.
Originally posted by King Kai 3 When your born you cannot choose where your born or who your parents are.
Prove it.
"Stephen Wolfram is the creator of Mathematica and is widely regarded as the most important innovator in scientific and technical computing today." - Stephen Wolfram
The words love and devotion don't carry a sense of absolute favoritism
But it does carry out a sense of favoritism. How is it possible to love one country more then another but think of every country (including your own) as an equal? I dont think it is possible. I'm not talking about hating every other country...just thinking lesser of them. Which really is not fair.
Originally posted by King Kai 3 But it does carry out a sense of favoritism. How is it possible to love one country more then another but think of every country (including your own) as an equal? I dont think it is possible. I'm not talking about hating every other country...just thinking lesser of them. Which really is not fair.
All right, I think I may have been misunderstanding you then. I think the phrase "think lesser of" is kind of loaded. If you mean think lesser of in relation to your own country, then yes, patriotism does involve some (small) degree of this. But if you really mean think lesser of in general, I'm still going to have to disagree with you.