It makes sense for someone to feel guilt or shame based upon things—good or bad—that he has personally done, but being proud of things you had no control over (such as your race, what country you were born in, etc.) is just silly. When Americans try to revise, whitewash and “pretty up” American history, that’s an illustration of how irrational patriotism and nationalism can make people. Why should anyone be psychologically or emotionally invested in what happened before they were even born?
A lot of very evil crap, and a lot of very good stuff, has been done by human beings residing on the big piece of dirt now known as “the United States of America.” People today should be able to learn from the good and from the bad. We should not exaggerate or gloss over either. Unfortunately, “American exceptionalism” seems to mostly be about how all the nationalistic flag-wavers in the U.S. are exceptionally oblivious to reality, past and present.
What makes this particularly sad—and ironic—is that many Americans think that “Old Glory”—the red, white and blue—represents liberty. As a result, they proudly wave the symbol of an authoritarian ruling class, while repeating bunk about the “land of the free.” If you are comfortable and content feeling pride and loyalty based on fabrications and bogus mythology, you might want to stop reading now, because the following indisputable facts expose the silliness of all those uber-nationalistic Americans.
1 - This was never a “free country.” In fact, there is no such thing as a free country at all since the word “country” refers to the territorial jurisdiction of a ruling class. Every “country” has a “government”; freedom and authoritarian domination are incompatible, and “government” is always the latter.
2 - Whether measured based on economics or social issues, several nations have more freedom than the United States. Therefore, the claim that the United States is special because it is the freest country in the world is patently false.
3 - Being a democratically-elected constitutional republic does not make the United States special, nor does having a “bill of rights.” Many other countries, including the most murderous regimes in history—such as communist China under Mao Tse Tung, the Soviet Union under Stalin, the Weimar Republic which gave rise to Nazi Germany, and modern day North Korea—are or were all democratically-elected constitutional republics, each with their own version of a “bill of rights.” So such qualities do not at all make the United States unique or special.
4 - Those who think we just need to get back to how things were right after the nation was formed have to ignore some pretty horrendous stuff, including: a) slavery—the absolute antithesis of freedom and individual rights; b) the forced evictions and genocide inflicted upon the people who were living here before Europeans showed up; and c) several almost immediate violations of the spirit and the letter of the Constitution, including the crushing of the “Whiskey Rebellion,” the Aliens and Sedition Act, and the Louisiana Purchase.
5 - The annual celebration of “Independence Day” in the U.S. is extremely ironic given the fact that Americans are now drastically less free than they ever were as the subjects of a king, when these were still a collection of British colonies. Indeed, as predicted by the anti-federalists, the new constitutional republic very quickly became more oppressive and less free than life under the rule of a monarch. The list of grievances found in the Declaration of Independence is pretty damn trivial compared to what Americans have to put up with today.
6 - There have been quite a few American tyrants who have made mince-meat of the constitution, including Lincoln, FDR and LBJ. It is beyond lame to argue that the U.S. is special because of what the U.S. Constitution says, when the U.S. government has not acted in accordance with that document at any point in the last two centuries.
I could go on, but that will suffice for now. And no, this isn’t about “blame America first.” Obviously injustice and oppression is not at all unique to the U.S., and state-sponsored murder and oppression in other countries has often been far more blatant than it is here. The point is not that one authoritarian regime is nastier than another. The point is that all countries, all nations, all governments, and all systems of political power and man-made “law,” are—and have always been—immoral, anti-freedom, and horribly destructive. Proudly waving the symbol of a ruling class, and pledging allegiance to its flag, is not a sign of bravery or greatness. If anything, it is a sign of a profound case of Stockholm Syndrome.
So given the choice, do you prefer the comfortable, familiar fairy tale? Or do you prefer the sometimes ugly reality? As Patrick Henry put it, we human beings “are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts.” But Mr. Henry went on to proclaim that “whatever anguish of spirit it may cost,” he was willing “to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.” If you share that view, and want to know how the “land of the free” really measures up, today and in the past, then I invite you—no, I DARE you—to carefully watch and absorb my video entitled "It Can't Happen Here!"
Nationalism is an illness, its cure: traveling
Abso-fucking-lutely. :)
This goes along with the article I just flung up on my blog this morning. Great work, my friend, and as usual the logic is airtight.
https://steemit.com/politics/@dragonanarchist/government-is-not-corrupt
Luckily it's not all doom and gloom. I dug into some statistics this morning showing that we are living in one of the safest times in decades.
https://steemit.com/politics/@chris-bell/statistically-the-united-states-is-safer-than-ever
Even when I was a statist I never understood the need of some to protect their country's "good name" by ignoring obvious moral travesties.
This tendency among "loyal citizens" tends to rear its ugly head most often when in conversation with people from other nations. It's like they need to prove, "My masters are better than your masters!"
@larkenrose I saw this quote yesterday and thought you would enjoy it.
The only thing that separates us from the animals is superstition and mindless rituals. - Daniel Klein
I'm pretty sure animals have those too...
You are so right... history is the remaining lie of the winner.
If Orwell would have seen the technical possibilities of today and the "efforts" in political correctness , he would litterally rotate in his grave.
Would you say there is a distinction between patriotism and national pride, and cultural heritage and pride towards that?
If so, what do you think about those that feel pride towards their culture rather than their nation?
I like this one. Short and sweet.
I watched the entire 1st season because of this clip... Show is full of propaganda but this clip is full of honesty! thanks for sharing... Cheers
well, until the sappy nostalgic bit at the end. We never were the greatest country in the world; unless you count the meanest, nastiest country in the world.
The USA invades and murdered millions of people in Iraq and Afghanistan, but "Muslims are bad" is the slogan of the day! Some people are so far mentally gone or are suffering from extreme low self esteem to continue praising the Troops... Patriotism out of control is a sure reason why history continues to repeat it self..
Wow! Makes you think about what is really going on here and what needs to change so everyone can prosper!
I agree with you. I am convinced that the concept of free land is not had already exist in nature. While as I understand it they had been stranger invaders free land.
I am against borders and chains (Government) that keep us and every year more and more Us tighten the straps on belts. In America happening in a year more than 1,000 murders with firearms. If this freedom? To me that freedom - not need ...
I did not consider myself a patriot. I believe that all people are the same. Even if they speak different languages and do not look like each other. I still have the hope that in the future we will all be one nation and one big planet. That's when I'm a patriot.
Just followed you, cause boy are we on the same page. Our "Freedom " is being eroded bit by bit every day and I'm sad to say that it's going to get worse as the Western economies goes down the tube.
We can't change what's going to happen as we are going to have to hit rock bottom before people will "hopefully " stand up and demand change, BUT we can be prepared for what's about to happen, and happen it surely will.
Make sure you have at least a month of cash stashed at home for the long bank weekend. Hold silver, gold, Bitcoin and if you are wealthy enough other hard assets, for example land. It's important to have at least 6 months of food , water and other things you use from medical supplies to batteries.
To any sceptics out there reading this post ,who may think this is over reacting, just look up what is happening in Venezuela at the moment.
Don't forget the "saying " Chance Favours The Prepared.
Sounds like there's someplace you'd rather be.
1 - Did you miss this part? "Obviously injustice and oppression is not at all unique to the U.S., and state-sponsored murder and oppression in other countries has often been far more blatant than it is here."
2 - If I moved somewhere else and THEN pointed out these facts, what would your excuse be then for not actually addressing them?
1 - Pretty much the whole world is plagued by the superstition of "authority." There are pockets of people trying to live without interference by ruling classes (including in places in the U.S.), with varying degrees of success.
2 - If someone pointed out that something was wrong with your house (termites, water damage, structural flaws), would your response be to point out that your neighbor's house is even in worse condition? Why play the comparison game at all, unless you're trying NOT to address what is wrong here?
Would you try to get RID of the termites, or would you try to find some termites who would "serve" you?
In case you couldn't guess this, the HOUSE is not the problem. The PARASITES are. Likewise, neither the place nor the people existing on the piece of dirt called "the United States" is what I am against. I am against the swarm of parasites stealing the efforts of decent, productive human beings. And that's what "government" always is.
I would try to fix my house! I wouldn't become an anti-houseist.
Spot on, Larken, as always. This goes with my post today I just put up. :)
https://steemit.com/politics/@dragonanarchist/government-is-not-corrupt
The house is your home. The government is the termites.
You didn't read the full article, did you?
I did. It was hard to go beyond the words "indisputable facts" but I forced myself to continue!
Feel free to point out any you think you can dispute.
It's not 'think I can dispute', it's simply dispute. It is the "if you disagree with me you are wrong" mentality which leads me to comment without upvoting. I'll not bother you any more if you prefer comments solely from those who disagree! Apologies if I've offended.
I believe that jsteck was disagreeing with Larken's contention that there is such a thing as an indisputable fact, not the particular facts that he stated.
An "indisputable fact" is sort of like "the science is settled". There is always room for dispute. And the science is never settled. The nature of science is that it is always only an approximation of reality, useful in a particular limited domain.
Even 2 + 2 = 4 only holds in particular integer groups/fields with particular definitions of 2, +, =, and 4. Since most people are only familiar with the one standard integer field, that statement is largely "indisputable", but widen the domain, and it isn't.
I still haven't figured out how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
Keep up the good work, Larken. Always inspiring. Always challenging for those who still worship authority.
Is this a variation on the old, "if you don't like it here you should move!"?
No. More of a question as to whether someplace else has done a better job. But now that you ask, I think I would move if I hated where I was AND there was a better choice. Kind of like the old "this is the worst place in the world, except for everywhere else".
If it came across as 'leave' let's blame it on a lack of coffee at the house this morning.
Great article, and even better video!
As always, @larkenrose hits the nail right on the fucking head
I like your style @larkenrose. Definitely going to tune into more of your stuff. While I think I've always been a little more educated on American history than your average citizen, it's only recently that I've awoken to some of the realities you describe above. All government is certainly authoritarian rule, and there's no such thing as a moral authoritarian ruler. There's only less bad ones.
Thanks for everything you do @larkenrose! I just wanted to let you know that my new post "The 40 anarchists you want to follow on Steemit!" is up, and you're on the list :-) You can find it here
This is American exceptionalism...
https://steemit.com/money/@vee.kay/u-s-federal-government-deficit-last-week