>From: Charlie Stross <charlie@antipope.org>
>On Tue, Apr 11, 2000 at 05:03:10PM -0700, john grigg wrote:
> >
> > Just maybe, the man is a patriot and loves his country, warts and all.
>
>Just what on earth is there to love about _any_ country?
>
>Patriotism, IMO, is a very anti-extropian sentiment. For the proof of
>the pudding, just go read any history of the first world war (one that
>doesn't focus on the trivial US involvement in that struggle, but goes
>into the broad picture).
IMO patriotism is not necessarily a bad thing. I happen to be very
patriotic, but all that means to me is being appreciative of the freedoms
and opportunities available to me in the relatively fair, free and open
society in which I live. Where patriotism starts to go wrong is when it is
blended with Xenophobic nationalism, which says "we" are better than "them".
-Zero
"I like dreams of the future better than the history of the past"
--Thomas Jefferson
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