This short article talks about how federal governments look for public endorsement of their policies through Nationalism.
In speeches and on Vietnam memorials it constantly mentions that the soldiers, who passed away, died for our flexibility. This is really strange and illogical. We really lost the war. Did the victorious “Charlie Cong” storm America and oppress us? As soon as we left Vietnam, we barely had anything to do with them and they no longer positioned a problem.
However did they ever present a problem? It seems the word “Communist” was the genuine problem. When Ho Chi Minh declared that North Vietnam was Communist, America’s cold war Red-phobia associated Vietnam with China and Russia despite the fact that there was no initial connection. North Vietnam threatened nobody however South Vietnam. It was their war not America’s.
But the US demanded helping South Vietnam. How is this associated to the freedom of specific Americans? The US soldier was told that he was fighting to protect the liberty of the homeland, however this was a vicious lie. To compound the problem much of the armed force of the duration were drafted. They were drawn from their household and professions and sent out to fight for a cause that was entirely unfair.
They did not die for our flexibility. Instead they died in vain mostly to fill the wallets of military arms makers and specialists. Why is it that no one wishes to confess that? Whenever somebody in federal government makes a speech, words like liberty and liberty are constantly used rather of words like needless or mistake. If no one confesses that Vietnam was a mistake, how can we ever gain from it?
The problem with Nationalism is that a number of the perfects that are being preached by the country’s leaders are not in the best interests of the country’s people. Yet disagreeing is considered unpatriotic and sometimes even traitorous.
Why did the Germans ever listen to the ravings of Hitler? A few of what he said made sense, however a lot of it was favorably insane. When the propaganda maker grabs the individual he/she has trouble separating fact from fiction. Hitler just had radio, papers, and magazines. We now have television and the Internet to confuse us with much more propaganda.
Presently we are involved in another unjust war, the Iraq war. The words such as “freedom” and “liberty” are again being abused by the government. Saddam Hussein was certainly a cruel totalitarian, however he had the ability to keep Iraq unified. He had no nuclear weapons and no connection to 9/11 as the US federal government now reluctantly admits. Iraq is a fanatically religious country deeply divided in their beliefs. By “releasing” it from Saddam’s rule for a “democratic” guideline, we sentenced the people to decades of possible civil war. Some nations require to develop at their own pace, even if it implies dictatorship. If left alone things would have exercised for the better.
We all understand that the real factor for getting into Iraq was to get control of the Iraqi oil fields. However once again we are informed the troops are defending our freedom along with Iraqi freedom. The US interfered where they had no company; they screwed up a nation, unnecessarily sacrificed American and Iraqi lives, restricted American resources for dealing with natural catastrophes and wasted the taxpayers’ cash. What type of freedom is that? The very best thing to do now is to end the war and bring the soldiers house.
Federal governments like to use the flag as an instrument for individuals to proclaim their loyalty. Around this time (September 16th: Mexican Self-reliance Day) the streets of Chicago are full of Mexicans in cars waving their flag. The majority of them lawfully and illegally immigrated to the United States due to the fact that they could not make a good living in Mexico. It puzzles me, if their nation implies so much, why not stay there and try to repair its problems. Patriotism is amusing thing, individuals don’t even know or care why they wave the flag, yet they still wave it. I presume, that for Mexican immigrants, flag waving should just represent an indication of their heritage and not a recommendation of their present federal government.
Americans likewise like to wave the flag. Throughout the Vietnam War some would burn the flag in protest. The burners associated the flag with the policies of the federal government. Others associated the flag with a much deeper meaning: “One country under God with liberty and justice for all.” These types of patriots wish to imprison or even shoot anybody defacing the flag. Business aliens like to make flag jeans, underclothing and tee shirts as well as ash trays and coffee cups, however it seems nobody considers that type of thing ill-mannered.
Once again we are faced with the flag issue due to the fact that of the Iraq war. My personal policy is this: Do not wave, don’t burn. I refuse to wave the flag (or use any flag tee shirts) till government policies change, however neither will I burn it so as not to upset those that deal with the flag as a sacred symbol.( I wonder if t-shirts and coffee cups should be dealt with as sacred symbols too?).
I personally prevent nationalism by considering myself as a person of the world. Since God is the developer, he must be the leading person of the world. I support anything I feel is right for my fellow man and reject the important things that protest good sense despite what the city government has to state. As long as I’m alive the world is my nation. I reside in consistency with a God that rejects all “holy wars” and “wars for business profiteering”. There is no need for flags or anthems. I respect all simply laws and overlook those that I feel are unjust. Everybody everywhere is a person of the world too. Why decline it. Stop thinking in the narrow sense of regional politics and faith. Believe in terms of what is finest for everyone. Together we will be helping to construct a much better world no matter where we live.
