No, because I don't feel I'm a 'part' of this country. I live here, sure, but I don't feel camaraderie between me and the other sixty million I've never met...
Poll: National Alienation
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This is very, very true. I love Britain, and the things we've accomplished over the years. I feel proud of my country and it's people, but I can see that we might now be traveling down a bad path.Mr Wednesday said:
Being patriotic isn't about loving everything your country does, and believing it is always right, especially when compared to other countries. That's nationalism. Being patriotic (to me at least) is accepting that your country has flaws, but loving it in despite of them, and trying to better the country and address those flaws.
Dont know if that made much sense...
by the gods i never thought i would see an american think this way, please you must not become extinct enrol into some sort of conservatory for endangered species or something you and your kind must live and prosper!... it is a bit of an exaggerated way of saying i agree.Plazmatic said:
OT the current government in my country is nothing but a bunch of indecisive puppets, held on a leash by a very vocal and narrow minded right wing. and the media is doing everything it can to copy what ever is going on in america, whether it is the news format(one of our news programmes is doing everything it can to copy CNN), tv shos, advertisment or even censorship. shit man there was a time in this country where the ads on tv would swear and where nudity wasnt something to be squeamish over. that is actually what annoys me the most, that american squeamishness is affecting the media in such a degree. i swear it wont be long before we have a bunch of idiot evangelical christian protesters of our own.
the greatest irony of it all is that the politicians are "oh so concerned" about islam and how it is a "changing and corrupting" influence on our culture, despite the fact that our culture is being willingly cannibalized by american culture. dont misinterpret this as a typical "america sucks" rant i just dont want our own culture and values to be supplanted by any other, be it german, french, turkish or whatever. and unfortunately you cant call yourself a patriot in my country without being associated with right wing islamophobes
in terms of people my age, i suppose i do feel alienated, every body seems to feel alienated from one another, it seems as if the only time we dont feel alienated is when we drink. which is sad since when it comes to excessive drinking, the youth in my country are at the top of all the lists, in fact it is part of the social structure, it is almost impossible to socialize unless you are drinking.
But surely you feel like you have some kind of stake in your country? I mean, you live there, work there (maybe?) and your children will probably live and work there too. Therefore I think it is important to care about your country and what it does.Assassinator said:
Patriotism isn't necessarily divisive, you dont have to look down on other counties, its just about wanting the best for your country, appreciating what it has done for you, and if it hasn't done enough, then give enough of a shit to try and change it for the better.
I can understand your point, and I'm not trying to change your opinion. I just think patriotism is something you feel, or you dont. Those who are patriotic will never really understand those who dont, and visa versa.
Nope, not more than any other part of the world. It's not like this little patch of land that's called The Netherlands is some kind of isolated thing, we're all living on 1 big planet, the rest are man-made illusions that are doing us more harm than good. If we want to get somewhere as humans, we should unite under the banner of being from the same species.Wadders said:
I mean, look at the clusterfrak that is international politics. Everyone's tied together in 1 big economical knot so that practically nothing substantial can be done about horrible situations all over the globe. People being suppressed, slaughtered, anything, people that deserve to live good lives just as much as we do and who should not be set aside and treated like second-rank people just because they live a certain distance away from you, they're just as human as we are.
Why just for your country? Are the people living in say Scotland (if a Scottish patriot would say that, just an example) any better than in say Mongolia? Why single out a group of humans living on a certain patch of land? I don't understand why one would do that, why not include every other human? Humanity really needs to grow out of that sillyness, it's hurting us.
Did to me.Wadders said:
From where I'm standing, to be a patriot is to believe in the core of your society, to beleive in its most fundamental purpose. Democracy, liberty, these are things the British patriot geninely cares for. They're also words purposed by nationalists for their own ends, but there's a difference between talking liberty and really believing in it.
And on the other note, surely it isn't always good to be a patriot. North Koreans are firecely patriotic. Just a thought.
Many Ontarians are very embarrassed that people say things like that about Alberta, and I am also from Alberta, and this is just what I've heard. You can't possibly expect everyone in Ontario to scream at you like that. Do you really think there aren't a huge amount of people who are very embarrassed that someone from their province would do that to you just for being from Alberta? Also, they're idiots because the top 100 largest environmental crimes in the world aren't even in NORTH AMERICA, much less Canada. Environmental groups make money just like media does: attention. They completely overblow things because it's how they get money. They get people riled up and the money circulates up. That or they're just retarded, so I wouldn't worry about it.lacktheknack said:
People think my country is full of hockey loving, beer swilling, eh-saying people. There are a lot of them. I am not one of them.