Every time I'm reminded of such history I drop in again on the concepts of agency and collective action vs mindlessness and groupthink. Nationalism/patriotism is always an amalgam along a continuum between these two poles; it's only ever a matter of which component is called forth or emphasized at any given point in time. I would posit that a healthy patriotism *is* possible insofar as the citizens of a nation are sovereign individuals, empowered at each step to chose educated participation OR dissent. Cooerced or manipulated participation/consent, esp that which is fostered behind a scrim of morality, is of course the opposite: a top-down effort to birth the Mindless Mob to do the will of those in power. They might call it "patriotism" but mindful people must call it something else. This might be thought of as the macrocosim to the microcosm that is happening with the manipulated "mental health" of individuals these days: rather than supporting integrity (i.e.wholeness from personal sovereignty) from the inside out, the broad effort has become to map all the power onto environments and amorphous outside forces, such that the suffering are necessarily herded into identifying only *as* their trauma -- and then experiencing/participating in a diminished shadow life, and only via groupthink. On either level, those who foster such states of being in others may even fool themselves that they are being expedient or are doing "good." But -in or out of religious thinking- they are committing a sin against life. It is my feeling that THIS is the primary evil one must seek to address, one person at a time.
It is powerful irony that in certain circumstances the most patriotic thing one might do as a citizen of the USA is burn the flag. Such tangible proof that full-throated dissent is not only possible, but necessary to the health of the ongoing *practice* of self-governance was once subject to regular discussion. That is (was?!?) the power of the ideals which provided the foundation to this experiment known as the USA. But in the internet age...?? That is why I fear the partnership between corporate and government interests far more than any "terrorist" or "virus." The manipulation of information and the censorship necessary to stifle dissent and manufacturer consent is something long practiced by the psychologist trained in marketing and sales, long since honed to a deadly edge. That this tool is in the hands of "our elected government" should frighten us enough to wake us from this nightmare - but will it??
Every time I'm reminded of such history I drop in again on the concepts of agency and collective action vs mindlessness and groupthink. Nationalism/patriotism is always an amalgam along a continuum between these two poles; it's only ever a matter of which component is called forth or emphasized at any given point in time. I would posit that a healthy patriotism *is* possible insofar as the citizens of a nation are sovereign individuals, empowered at each step to chose educated participation OR dissent. Cooerced or manipulated participation/consent, esp that which is fostered behind a scrim of morality, is of course the opposite: a top-down effort to birth the Mindless Mob to do the will of those in power. They might call it "patriotism" but mindful people must call it something else. This might be thought of as the macrocosim to the microcosm that is happening with the manipulated "mental health" of individuals these days: rather than supporting integrity (i.e.wholeness from personal sovereignty) from the inside out, the broad effort has become to map all the power onto environments and amorphous outside forces, such that the suffering are necessarily herded into identifying only *as* their trauma -- and then experiencing/participating in a diminished shadow life, and only via groupthink. On either level, those who foster such states of being in others may even fool themselves that they are being expedient or are doing "good." But -in or out of religious thinking- they are committing a sin against life. It is my feeling that THIS is the primary evil one must seek to address, one person at a time.
It is powerful irony that in certain circumstances the most patriotic thing one might do as a citizen of the USA is burn the flag. Such tangible proof that full-throated dissent is not only possible, but necessary to the health of the ongoing *practice* of self-governance was once subject to regular discussion. That is (was?!?) the power of the ideals which provided the foundation to this experiment known as the USA. But in the internet age...?? That is why I fear the partnership between corporate and government interests far more than any "terrorist" or "virus." The manipulation of information and the censorship necessary to stifle dissent and manufacturer consent is something long practiced by the psychologist trained in marketing and sales, long since honed to a deadly edge. That this tool is in the hands of "our elected government" should frighten us enough to wake us from this nightmare - but will it??