Nationalism
This article discusses how governments seek public endorsement
of their policies through Nationalism.
In speeches and on Vietnam memorials it always states that the
soldiers, who died, died for our freedom. This is really strange
and illogical. We actually lost the war. Did the victorious
"Charlie Cong" storm America and enslave us? Once we left
Vietnam, we hardly had anything to do with them and they no
longer posed a problem.
But did they ever pose a problem? It seems the word "Communist"
was the real problem. When Ho Chi Minh declared that North
Vietnam was Communist, America's cold war Red-phobia associated
Vietnam with China and Russia even though there was no initial
connection. North Vietnam threatened no one but South Vietnam.
It was their war not America's.
But the US insisted on helping South Vietnam. How is this
related to the freedom of individual Americans? The US soldier
was told that he was fighting to preserve the liberty of the
homeland, but this was a vicious lie. To compound the problem
much of the military of the period were drafted. They were taken
from their family and careers and sent to fight for a cause that
was completely unjust.
They did not die for our freedom. Instead they died in vain
mostly to fill the pocketbooks of military arms makers and
contractors. Why is it that no one wants to admit that? Whenever
somebody in government makes a speech, words like freedom and
liberty are always used instead of words like needless or
mistake. If no one admits that Vietnam was a mistake, how can we
ever learn from it?
The problem with Nationalism is that many of the ideals that are
being preached by the nation's leaders are not in the best
interests of the nation's people. Yet disagreeing is considered
unpatriotic and at times even traitorous.
Why did the Germans ever listen to the ravings of Hitler? Some
of what he said made sense, but a lot of it was positively
insane. When the propaganda machine takes hold of the individual
he/she has trouble separating fact from fiction. Hitler only had
radio, newspapers, and magazines. We now have TV and the
Internet to confuse us with even more propaganda.
Currently we are involved in another unjust war, the Iraq war.
The words such as "freedom" and "liberty" are again being abused
by the government. Saddam Hussein was undoubtedly a cruel
dictator, but he was able to keep Iraq unified. He had no
nuclear weapons and no connection to 9/11 as the US government
now reluctantly admits. Iraq is a fanatically religious nation
deeply divided in their beliefs. By "freeing" it from Saddam's
rule for a "democratic" rule, we sentenced the people to decades
of possible civil war. Some countries need to evolve at their
own pace, even if it means dictatorship. If left alone things
would have worked out for the better.
We all know that the real reason for invading Iraq was to gain
control of the Iraqi oil fields. But again we are told the
troops are fighting for our freedom as well as Iraqi freedom.
The US interfered where they had no business; they screwed up a
nation, needlessly sacrificed American and Iraqi lives, limited
American resources for dealing with natural disasters and wasted
the taxpayers' money. What kind of freedom is that? The best
thing to do now is to end the war and bring the troops home.
Governments like to use the flag as an instrument for people to
proclaim their loyalty. Around this time (September 16th:
Mexican Independence Day) the streets of Chicago are full of
Mexicans in cars waving their flag. Most of them legally and
illegally immigrated to the US because they couldn't earn a
decent living in Mexico. It puzzles me, if their country means
so much, why not remain there and try to fix its problems.
Patriotism is funny thing, people don't even know or care why
they wave the flag, yet they still wave it. I assume, that for
Mexican immigrants, flag waving must only symbolize a sign of
their heritage and not an endorsement of their current
government.
Americans also like to wave the flag. During the Vietnam War
some would burn the flag in protest. The burners associated the
flag with the policies of the government. Others associated the
flag with a deeper symbolism: "One nation under God with liberty
and justice for all." These types of patriots want to imprison
or even shoot anyone defacing the flag. Corporate aliens like to
make flag jeans, underwear and t-shirts as well as ash trays and
coffee cups, but it seems no one considers that type of thing
disrespectful.
Again we are faced with the flag problem because of the Iraq
war. My personal policy is this: Don't wave, don't burn. I
refuse to wave the flag ( or wear any flag t-shirts ) until
government policies change, but neither will I burn it so as not
to offend those that treat the flag as a sacred symbol.( I
wonder if t-shirts and coffee cups should be treated as sacred
symbols as well?)
I personally avoid nationalism by considering myself as a
citizen of the world. Since God is the creator, he must be the
leading citizen of the world. I support anything I feel is right
for my fellow man and reject the things that are against common
sense regardless of what the local government has to say. As
long as I'm alive the world is my country. I live in harmony
with a God that rejects all "holy wars" and "wars for corporate
profiteering". There is no need for flags or anthems. I respect
all just laws and ignore those that I feel are unjust. Everyone
everywhere is a citizen of the world too. Why not accept it.
Stop thinking in the narrow sense of local politics and
religion. Think in terms of what is best for everyone. Together
we will be helping to build a better world regardless of where
we live.