Warning: This is being written by someone with uncommon political views and not all the facts. This is a rant.
The common theory for why a very small piece of the United States of America was attacked is because one group (the Taliban) disliked the USA and western customs. What they did was join together — separate from the rest of the human species — and attacked what they considered a major point in the western culture. We retaliated with nationalism — the joining together of a group of people separate from the rest of the human species.
At times of crisis and change, why would anyone want to be segregated from the rest of society? Segregation only causes more segregation. Should we, as people, proudly stand behind the USA; or, should we simply stand behind the ideals of what is right and help the entire human species? As far as I can see, artificial segregation such as religion and political borders only serve to hurt the common goal of working together.
Therefore, my plea to those nation-lovers out there is to shut-up and let the rest of us play nicely. You have had your time, and all that has been shown is that political or religious borders only show which side of the war one is on.
Pride in a chunk of ground does not help anything but hatred of "the other side". Sorry.
Oh, and another thing: the defense of it's the best we have
is not a reason to defend one government model against other ideas. Sure, a democratic republic such as the USA might be the best we have, but that does not make it perfect. Likewise, the claim of well, it works
is true, but only because so many people are chanting it. There is always room for improvement. Always.
Thank you and shut-up.
Mike Burns <mike@mike-burns.com>No gods, no borders, no masters.
I'm filing this under the "well, I wasn't wrong per se" category. Nationalism and patriotism are closely tied with — a major part of — xenophobia and surely part of the problem more than they are part of the solution.
But affinity groups are an important mechanism for making (selected) people feel more welcome and for accomplishing goals. It's a long way from an affinity group to a nation, but it's also the same mindset the entire way. I can see how we got here.
Anyway, I replaced the dead link to An Anarchist FAQ with a working link that additionally features a 10-year retrospective. Nerds of an era flock together, eh?