2Fluffy4U wrote:
Edit: I did some online reading. I realise now that nationalism and patriotism are considered colonialistic constracts and are frawned upon in some US views.. I didn't know that.
I will say I respect this. I appreciate when someone attempts to understand the context of another person's views.
More so than I respect this:
2Fluffy4U wrote:My apologies but I am out of this board.. Gap is too wide.. we will have to let history judge our views..
I wish you all the best.
Yes, historically Nationalism has been used as an excuse to paper over racism and sanctify genocide. Any belief system that says one set of people have inherently more value than another group can lead to abuse when there is a significant power imbalance. This sort of belief system leads to Inquisitions and Final Solutions and mass hysteria and xenocidal impulses.
Democracy presupposes that we are all in this together and that a majority vote will tend to support the best benefit of the mass of the people. That does mean a plurality of minorities can be marginalized and suffer unduly, so there should be safeguards in law to prevent that from happening. Prejudice exists, but should be minimized not codified, or worse: celebrated.
Are we trying to have Civilization in this world or what?
Yes we have tribes, but the reason why the US has historically been strong is that we have found ways of integrating different cultures. I'm eating tacos right now, had Ethiopian food for dinner. My kid's DNA represents vikings, all kinds of pirates, caribbean natives, conquistadors, and kidnapped africans. The mixing of the tribes makes us all stronger. Take the suggestion of biology, heterozygous advantage ought to work for cultures as well. It does in music. Ought to in countries.
The problem is, people get scared. Small differences get magnified into boogeymen. Often when seen through the lens of religion, which commonly propagates itself via fear. My god is a jealous god, and all that. To intentionally minimize it with absurdity: Here one group of falafel eaters has decided to murder another group of falafel eaters because they believe in slightly different prophets. As they have been doing since before burning bushes and clay tablets. Since someone imprisoned folks and forced them to build pointy buildings on the edge of a desert. Because I don't know why, aliens told them to.
But folks are learning the wrong lessons from history. The wrong lessons from the Pharoahs. The wrong lessons from those Nationalists in 1930's Germany. "Never again" should apply to everyone. Humanity. So whatever solutions you can come up with should apply equally to minority and majority alike. Irrespective of borders drawn on a map and defended by tanks.
The chickens do come home to roost. We are in a closed system of karma. The third law of physics does apply in human history, what you put out comes back to you. We all have to live on this tiny precious little bubble of air and water. If you attempt to exterminate people because you are afraid they might do the same to you, you will make that prediction come true in the next generation or the one after that.
So be f@ckin better. Stop killing babies, or you will give people reason to kill you. That goes for everybody. And the only way to make that happen is to agree to disagree, but agree to enforce laws that prevent uncivilized destabilizing behavior. And stop excusing it when it is committed by *your* people, but condemning it in others.
What part of Thou Shalt not, are you having trouble understanding? Because if you listen to the mystics of any faith it all comes down to the same thing. Have mercy. Be full of compassion. Those who have dominion over the world must be its caretakers. If you are smart, help the stupid be wiser. Teach the children. Don't **** crush them so their gentle souls are buried and leaking under a building just because some old men with wrinkled sacks are afraid of the world and need to feel powerful by making decisions at a desk for other people to carry out. And live and die from.
