Piss on the Flag

That title sums up my attitude toward national flags, including the American flag, but I would probably not urinate on them in reality. Doing so would simply offend people rather than change minds. I don't want to be offensive just to get attention or to insult other's beliefs. However, in the right context, meaning here on this site full of relatively radical ideas, the offensive title catches attention and invites you to read what I have to say, without my throwing it in your face. If you are too offended after all, you can close the page.

When I was a child, I watched as a young boy threw the American flag on the ground in front of his father. This didn't mean anything to the boy, who hadn't yet been poisoned by sacred symbols and patriotism. His father, however, immediately turned red, violently grabbed his son, and shook him while screaming about how the flag can never touch the ground. The boy, once released (and probably with bruises on his arms), ran away in terror, crying.

The above is just one example of how patriotism and flag worship lead to violence and irrationality.

Patriotism: A Definition

The Latin "patria" or "fatherland" is the root of the word, and patriotism has been defined as: "The loyalty that all citizens owe to their country or nation." This definition makes it clear that loyalty is assumed to be a obligation, and not to ideals, but to a nation. A person is presumed to be loyal to a place and group of people because he happens to have been born there or lives there, and regardless of what that nation does in his name.

Naturally, patriotism is useful to governments for controlling a population. For example, it is insinuated or stated outright that citizens are allowed to argue about the course of things right up until a war starts (how generous), but then they must support what "their" country is doing, and stop any rational discussion about whether it is a right or wrong course of action.

There are more benign definitions of patriotism. "Love of and devotion to one's country" is one, and suggests a simple feeling of wanting what’s best for the people and nation around us. But in practice all forms of patriotism tend toward a blind following of whatever powers are best at manipulating the magic symbols we call flags. And it is a sort of irrational, magical thinking. Consider, to get back to the example of the father and child, the mysticism required to think that something terrible might happen if a certain colored piece of cloth touches the ground.

Patriotism is based on the ideals of their country, some people will claim. For example, they believe in the "freedom," that a flag is supposed to represent. What freedom means is not examined very deeply, though, and they will stand by as real freedoms are attacked in the name of their flag, which goes to show that ideals are not what they are saluting or bowing before.

One particularly dangerous effect of patriotism, even the "positive" types, is a crude group identification that separates "us" from "them," and often leads to hatred and violence. If patriotism was about political ideals, like "equal rights for all," then patriots would have equally strong feelings of solidarity with people in all countries that shared such values - not something we see in our experience. The "us and them" mentality is obvious, and it leads inevitably to conflict.

Strong loyalty to a group or country almost has to preclude loyalty to peace or truth in practice. This is why patriotism is so dangerous. Patriots might like to pretend that their flag-waving is all about the values they share and believe in, but in the end it is simply a matter of nationalism.

Piss on the Flag continues here: The American Flag is not My Flag