Patriotic Nonsense

Patriotic duties? You probably don't realize your own arrogance in telling me what I should do for you. What's that you say? You aren't telling me to do anything for you? Well, actually, you're doing precisely that if you claim I have some duty to "our" country.

You might respond to this by saying "You do owe something to your country, but I'm not asking something of you for myself."

Really?

What is a country if not the people in it? Surely I don't have a patriotic duty to the rocks and water and squirrels. If you claim I have a duty to the country, what else can this mean except that I have a duty to some people in the country? If that doesn't include you, who is included? And by the way, exactly how did this obligation become mine if I never agreed to it?

You might try a new tack, claiming that this duty implies an obligation to uphold the values of the country, but for whose sake? If it is for my own, then your simply saying I should look out for my own interests. I can agree with that, but I don't think this is what people mean by patriotism or duty. If my obligation to uphold these supposed values is for other people's sake, then we are back to the question of what you think I owe you and why, or if not you - and then there is the question of why not you - then who?

It could be said that I agree to certain obligations because I choose live in a country. Fortunately saying something doesn't make it true. I still don't recall agreeing to any such "social contract," and the concept brings up another question: What if I don't agree to the obligations upon me that are presumed by any country in the world? Do I then have no right to life? That seems a bit contrary to the inherent right to life and liberty that this country was supposedly founded upon.

You might rightly claim that if nobody fought to defend their homeland it could be overrun by the armies of another country, but that doesn't imply any duty. That is just a trite observation like the fact that if I don't eat I will starve. Practicality might urge me to fight if I think it is useful and good to do so - and I suspect that without any concept of duty people would defend their homes and freedom - but I don't recognize your right to tell me when to fight for you.

At this point you might object that you're not asking me to fight for you, but that we have some duty as citizens to defend our country. Again, I have to point out that a country is people, which includes you. If I have no duty to fight when you wish, I have no duty to fight just because you elect others to choose the time and place for you.

I am sitting here peacefully writing. I try not to harm anyone. I allow all others the freedom that I think is right for all of us - myself included. I ask nothing of you other than to leave me alone. Now, what do I owe you and why? If you cannot find a sufficient answer to that question, the entire concept of patriotic duties falls apart.