• Allero@lemmy.today
    406·
    3 months ago

    Patriotism also sucks, because it implements a bias that can then be exploited, and brings very little to the table.

    State-level patriotism also makes you complicit in the division of people by countries and nations, as opposed to classes and other valid groups of people.

    And there is no valid reason to have some special relation to your country. It is natural to feel ties with the place you were born or the place you spent a lot of time in, this is human psychology, but your country is nothing but a piece of land that was marked by somebody as belonging to some virtual entity.

    We should ditch state-level patriotism as a concept and treat local-level patriotism as a natural bias. We should strive to help people of all places and origins, and come together as one.

    • MonkderDritte@feddit.de
      4·
      3 months ago

      also makes you complicit in the division of people by countries and nations, as opposed to classes and other valid groups of people.

      I don’t think we need to do any division between people.

      • ameancow@lemmy.world
        6·
        3 months ago

        Our obsession with owning land and borders will be the death of us all.

        Like, without hyperbole, if we all die, it will be because of our attachment to the concept of “owning land” and having to draw imaginary lines across ground and rock and water to signify who owns what.

        But when you step back and really think about it, it makes zero sense if you actually care about an equitable world where people aren’t hurting each other. It makes zero sense from a cosmic perspective, as this is a rock flying around a star, it has been here longer than us and will outlast us to a degree that our presence here, no matter what we do, will be a brief blip in cosmic time. We have no legacy, no real connection to the dirt below us other than how it gave us life. And yet claim ownership over it?

        It makes no sense from a material perspective either, all borders do is reduce the flow of goods and services, creates artificial limits on who can go where creating “pressure zones” that eventually explode over and become migration disasters, and of course the people who pretend to rule these patches of dirt and rock and water and will send millions of people to death to preserve this roleplay. And we all cheer and defend this concept with all our heart.

        Make it make sense.

        • Allero@lemmy.today
          2·
          3 months ago

          Moreover, the entire concept of ownership is really just “you’ll face violence from other people if you try to take that away, one way or another”. That’s it.

          Universe doesn’t care who owns what, those are just objects in space.

          Sometimes this concept is helpful; you probably want the police to step in if someone breaks into your house (universe couldn’t care less). Sometimes it’s extremely dangerous, like when country leaders threaten others with nuclear war.

          In either case, we should seriously revamp our relationships with land and property - that is for certain. Current ways are not sustainable and may lead to a disaster.

        • Allero@lemmy.today
          2·
          3 months ago

          Which will be the time to ditch planetary-level patriotism as well.

          For now, it’s good enough.

    • Katana314@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      3 months ago

      There’s no “special” reason to view the adults you grew up with as better or worse caretakers. Statistically, it’s likely they’re equivalent to many others.

      Still, this over application of logic refuses to let us be enthusiastic about anything unless there’s a scientifically documented reason towards it. It’s nice to have reasons to adore something, even if that thing is a country - but the comic is making the point that you should still want to find flaws in and improve that thing.

      • Allero@lemmy.today
        1·
        3 months ago

        Sure! I just think that this particular flavor of enthusiasm often serves as a slippery slope towards nationalism, and is often intended that way.

        Which is why I see it as a rather toxic kind of mentality. There are many things to be enthusiastic about - people’s unity, new discoveries and achievements, or simply your cat coming for hugs.

        None of them have terrible potential outcomes.