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patriotism/nationalism

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fatty:
I think I made a thread along these lines before, but I think this one follows a slightly different track, and hopefully leads to different discussions.

I was in the countryside and wondering how I should feel about it. I've heard about the Man from Snowy River and all the kind of cultural reference and signifcance this place has, but I have only really encountered it a few times as a teenager. This let me think about all the other australian landscapes and natural wonders that I've always known but never seen.

Basically, being born in Australia and raised here, I am wondering how I should feel about my homeland. Am I attached to it? Am I attached to it because it's Australian and it's part of my national pride? And how far does it extend. Do I feel a sense of kinship with all Australians, and attachment to all Australian landscapes. I'm not really one for patriotism, I think it's lost some of it's shine for a lot of people now. I won't deny that I love Australia as a country, I love the people and the culture, I love sydney as a city and my home.

What do you think is nationalism, how do you feel about it?
Is nationalism outdated?

Are you attached to the place you were brought up/homeland?

My dad spent his first 18 years in Vietnam, but the last 30 years here. Some would say he'd probably consider vietnam his homeland, and feel a sense of national affiliation to it. But to be fair, the Vietnam he was brought up in before the war was not the one that existed after. And by ethnicity, he is chinese, and ethnic Vietnamese always regarded him as a different type to them. But he's lived in Australia longer than he's lived there, would support Australia over Vietnam in sport etc. How is it for people who have lived in multiple countries or have citizenship in more than one country?

*Sorry if it feels like I'm thread flooding, I start uni next week, might as well get my thoughts out now while I have time! I am just writing about what interests me and things I want to hear about from other perspectives.

CamusCanDo:
I live in New Zealand, I feel very mehh about this. Like you I love my country, but I wouldn't say I'm batshit insane for it.

Jimmy the Squid:
I wouldn't even go that far. I don't love Australia, or the place I was born (which is still Australia). I like it. I'm happy that there aren't any wars here and that the chances of me being shot are significantly lower here than other places but I honestly feel no sense of pride or loyalty to the country. It could have something to do with the fact that while, yes, I was born here both my mother and my father are refugees from Sri Lanka and Hungary respectively which means that at the schools I went to I wasn't seen as Australian but because my family has tried very hard to fit in (to the point of changing the family name so that morons can pronounce it properly, though they still can't) I don't have much of those cultures either. As such I see patriotism/nationalism as really pretty dumb as it seems mostly reserved for either stupid or horrendously uneducated and openly anti-intellectual people. I especially don't see why people get so worked up over where their ancestors are from when they were born somewhere else and have, most of the time, not even been to the place in question; they just mimic their parents over and over again until they fool themselves into believing that they actually care about a place they have never been and wouldn't be accepted into were they to go (that's probably not the case a lot of the time but I know people who have gone to where there parents are from and they were treated as total outsiders because they are not actually from there).

negative creep:
Personally, I believe that nationalism is a reason for quite a lot of bad things that happened throughout history and continue to happen even today. I think that it is necessary for us, as mankind, to take what i believe to be an important step inthe development of civilisation, and finally leave nationalism behind.

Other than that, I probably won't say anything here. I also think that this is a pretty dangerous topic.

waterloosunset:
I like the UK, I'm proud to be British and proud of her achievements, and if there was a major war, I'd probably fight for my country. But I'm not blindingly patriotic, I don't believe in "My country right and wrong", am aware of problems and mistakes made by the UK, have no xenophobia and recognise the value of other countries. I have dual nationality with America as well, but feel nothing for it, no loyalty, exactly the same as I feel about Canada, or Denmark, or Latvia.

That said, patriotism can be quite amusing, especially in the case of some Americans who have such a blinkered view of the rest of the world, and feel no need to see or learn anything about other countries.

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