Fun Stuff > CHATTER

patriotism/nationalism

<< < (28/44) > >>

E. Spaceman:
... the shogunate?

While the official party line has always been that Showa was merely a figurehead, this was fostered by the occuation government so as to ot damage the imperal family and prevent any possible revolts, and to secure a basically puppet figurehead in the imperial family, despite the direct involvement of several members of the family in war crimes. There is also increasing debate and evidence that Showa had far more control and decision aking ability than it is normally assumed, the constitution explicitly placed the emperor as the head of the armed forces and he formed part of many decisions concerning the war effort. Furthermore, what can't really be argued is that he used his position fo anything beneficial, the best that could be said is that a man who had unmeasurable power and influence did not choose to act, and that for me merited him a place alongside Tojo.

RedLion:
:Shrug: That's just what I've come to learn through school, what I've read, and in talking about it with my dad, who's a History major with an emphasis on Japanese history. But I could totally be wrong. (I'm not being snobby or sarcastic there. I really could be wrong.)

Leonidas:
I find the idea of patriotism quite strange to be honest. Much the same as religion. Why should I feel patriotic simply because of the country I was born/raised in and the family/situation I was born into? It's nothing more than sheer chance. A one in billions chance even. I would rather look at things from the outside and refrain from getting drawn into the whole my country is better than your country argument.....

I was born and raised in Scotland, a country which is well known for being very patriotic and even has a percentage of the popualation who could be described as nationalistic (i.e. seeking independance from the UK). This patriotism is most obvious in certain members of the population after a few units of chemically enhanced alcohol and a late night viewing of Braveheart.

Personally I have no feelings of patriotism towards either the UK or to Scotland. It's hard to feel patriotic about a country you don't really like. One where the culture revolves around complaining about the weather, celebrity gossip, "lads mags", binge drinking, political correctness, and heavy state intrusion into your daily life.

Scotland itself is a small-minded, biggoted, miserable, angry little country. One where Catholics and Protestants still march up and down the high streets celebrating events that most of the congregation know nothing about, only that it winds up the other side (and that's what's important after all). Where a person's social life revolves around alcohol and those who don't drink to get drunk are seen as the strange ones.....

I have no ties to Scotland or to the UK. I've lived in both Scotland and England and I can't say that I have any real desire to remain and settle into a life here. As such I've felt very temporary for years, always with the desire to emigrate and make a better life for myself. As such I have plans to emigrate through my job (police officer) to Australia or possibly New Zealand in 2010. Whilst I am well aware that neither country is exactly the land of milk and honey, I have to do what I feel is right for me.

Fact is I don't fit well into Scottish life. I don't support either of the Old Firm (soccer), don't fall into either biggoted camp of Protestant or Catholic, I don't consider getting pissed at the weekend to be the only highlight of life to live for, and don't believe in socialism. From that point of view I'm pretty stumped!

Thlayli:
As an American, I've always drawn a pretty thick line between nationalism and patriotism. Patriotism is in-your-face flag waving; it's treating your home country as a brand-name, which I refuse to do on principle. I see nationalism as an educated version of patriotism. Nationalists take the time to figure out all the reasons why they'd rather not be a citizen anywhere else. I'm an American nationalist mostly because I know I wouldn't be fully accepted anywhere else in the world. When your family comes from everywhere and nowhere, a mutt of a country like America is the only glove that fits.

Hat:
The funny thing is that even though I share very similar definitions of nationalism and patriotism, the closer I look at these definitions the more I feel that they should be switched. However with WW1 (taught to me and many others in an oversimplified manner as nationalism gone to its most horrific extreme)  so far away, and the Patriot act so very close, it makes a lot of sense for us to look at it the other way around.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page