"For the love of one's country is a terrible thing"
Don't panic, this isn't a politics post.
One thing I don't think people realize is that I don't love my political views. I don't. I don't espouse them because I like to be right or make my point or push my agenda. I talk about them because I love my country. Believe it or not, as critical and scathing as I am, I am a patriot to the bone. I honor my country with the same level of reverence as my self; and given I'm fully into a belief in self-interest, that says a lot.
I don't think most people love this country as I do. i think a lot of people love -their version- of our country and would gladly expel opposing view points. But that isn't the country, that's an idealized version. Our country is a system that fights within itself, that pits ideas against one another. Hopefully, the best ones survive. Even when they don't, it doesn't stop us from talking about it, from living and breathing our wills and means. I love that.
I treasure the fact that every statement I make about politics creates debate. I love that. The debate and trial is what our country lives on. It is Liberty's bread and water. Even as I am infuriated by the blindness some espouse, I love it, too. Because that is the very thing that makes our country great.
Let me give you an example: I hate flag burning. I was raised under that flag. That flag flew over men that protected, in a losing, dying battle, the city I was born in. That flag has seen hell and come back, torn but soaring. It is the blue of the seas every one of our ancestors travelled. It is the stars of every state in the union that illuminate even the darkest night, it is the white purity of hope that a great, vast, challenging land stands for, and it is the blood of the men, women, and indeed, children that did to ensure us the very freedoms we so often take for granted. That flag represents so much to me and I treasure it -dearly-.
And some people burn it. They burn it in celebration and in protest; in joy and anger. they burn it to mock, they burn it to inspire, they burn it with malice and with hope. They scorch, every time, that symbol I would suffer to protect. I would gladly be burned to smother those flames.
But I would rather be beaten protecting he rights of those who burn it-because that is our country too, and I love it even as it hurts me.
So you see, I consider myself a patriot and I think I love my country, even when I don't agree with what I see, as much as myself. I don't think most can say they love this idea-for a country is not a border, but a concept-in the way I do.
One thing I don't think people realize is that I don't love my political views. I don't. I don't espouse them because I like to be right or make my point or push my agenda. I talk about them because I love my country. Believe it or not, as critical and scathing as I am, I am a patriot to the bone. I honor my country with the same level of reverence as my self; and given I'm fully into a belief in self-interest, that says a lot.
I don't think most people love this country as I do. i think a lot of people love -their version- of our country and would gladly expel opposing view points. But that isn't the country, that's an idealized version. Our country is a system that fights within itself, that pits ideas against one another. Hopefully, the best ones survive. Even when they don't, it doesn't stop us from talking about it, from living and breathing our wills and means. I love that.
I treasure the fact that every statement I make about politics creates debate. I love that. The debate and trial is what our country lives on. It is Liberty's bread and water. Even as I am infuriated by the blindness some espouse, I love it, too. Because that is the very thing that makes our country great.
Let me give you an example: I hate flag burning. I was raised under that flag. That flag flew over men that protected, in a losing, dying battle, the city I was born in. That flag has seen hell and come back, torn but soaring. It is the blue of the seas every one of our ancestors travelled. It is the stars of every state in the union that illuminate even the darkest night, it is the white purity of hope that a great, vast, challenging land stands for, and it is the blood of the men, women, and indeed, children that did to ensure us the very freedoms we so often take for granted. That flag represents so much to me and I treasure it -dearly-.
And some people burn it. They burn it in celebration and in protest; in joy and anger. they burn it to mock, they burn it to inspire, they burn it with malice and with hope. They scorch, every time, that symbol I would suffer to protect. I would gladly be burned to smother those flames.
But I would rather be beaten protecting he rights of those who burn it-because that is our country too, and I love it even as it hurts me.
So you see, I consider myself a patriot and I think I love my country, even when I don't agree with what I see, as much as myself. I don't think most can say they love this idea-for a country is not a border, but a concept-in the way I do.