You know what are some of the dumbest words ever penned?
"My country, right or wrong."
It is a phrase which may well be adopted by many who have never had an independent thought in their lives.
This is similar to saying "My mother, drunk or sober." Of COURSE she's still your mother, but if you think her drunkensess or soberness makes no difference in how you respond to her actions, you're insane.
The statement "My Country, Right or Wrong" gives absolute permission to conduct oneself not only with nobility and honor, but also permission to conduct oneself in the most hypocritical manner possible.
When a country is in the right, it deserves all the support its citizens can give it. But when a country is in the wrong, it deserves all the criticism its citizens can give it.
Blind patriotism, which some seem to have, is no more than primitive tribalism dressed up in a new suit.
It is choosing your actions and your morals entirely on your accidental place of birth.
They shouldn't even be CALLED patriots. They give support to the most reprehensible of actions and the most noble of actions equally and without regard to consequences as long as it is done in the name of "my country." That's not patriotism.
True patriots are those who, when things turn evil, will speak out against it. True Patriots do not place national symbols ahead of ideals. And true patriots are those who are willing to say "my country is doing wrong and I must do all in my power to stop it."
When you put patriotism into automatic drive and let it lead where it will it ceases to be anything good, and becomes something horrible.
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