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A quotation from Bertrand Russell
If you wish a man to commit some abominable crime, from which he would naturally recoil in horror, you first teach him loyalty to a gang of arch-criminals, and then make his crime appear to him as exemplifying the virtue of loyalty. Of this process, patriotism is the most perfect instance.
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Education and the Social Order [Education and the Modern World], ch. 1 “The Individual vs. the Citizen” (1932)
More about this quote: wist.info/russell-bertrand/855…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #bertrandrussell #virtue #coercion #conscience #influence #loyalty #patriotism #wrongdoing
For quite some time I was suspicious about the idea of patriotism and now I pretty much despise it.
Main problem with patriotism is that by itself it offers no guidelines or safeguards. It is just about blind support of "what's ours" and "us versus them".
Your vision of your nation core values might be fine but for society in general this can change over time. It is not like Hitler always ruled Germany but at some point it became patriotic to follow him and those who resisted (or even questioned) became traitors.
Patriots were in KKK and they were in Soviet NKVD. Nazis of all breeds are patriots. All wars are fought by patriots of their respective sides. Patriots made 9/11 happen. Almost every act of terror or atrocity is seen as patriotic by someone.
This is why I would rather reject patriotism outright and stand for specific values and ideals, not abstract "serving the nation".
#JustSaying #thoughts #patriotism
Main problem with patriotism is that by itself it offers no guidelines or safeguards. It is just about blind support of "what's ours" and "us versus them".
Your vision of your nation core values might be fine but for society in general this can change over time. It is not like Hitler always ruled Germany but at some point it became patriotic to follow him and those who resisted (or even questioned) became traitors.
Patriots were in KKK and they were in Soviet NKVD. Nazis of all breeds are patriots. All wars are fought by patriots of their respective sides. Patriots made 9/11 happen. Almost every act of terror or atrocity is seen as patriotic by someone.
This is why I would rather reject patriotism outright and stand for specific values and ideals, not abstract "serving the nation".
#JustSaying #thoughts #patriotism