Job Discussion Forums

[nomadder]

How unbiased are people? Just because you were born somewhere or spent most of your life there, is that any reason to support and agree with everything the government does? Do you totally support the government that supplies your passport? Seems many get upset when their country is attacked here without looking at the facts.

My country recently took over a week to deploy their rescue team to the Tsunami relief. Do I support that? No. They were fools. Yet they think they're great. Sure they'll help some but they should've been there sooner. Must've been those xmas holidays and then the long winded deciding committees who will waste our tax dollars after the fact.
Do some just get defensive because outsiders put down their country or do they truly look at it from the outside? Do you really agree with everything your country does?

[Guy Courchesne]

I agree with very little of what my country does and how it acts in the international arena. Canada.

Never saw how that poll came out. Is Canada the most intelligentest?

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

Nationalism is opposed to individualism. In the West, most people are in favour of individualism (and despite what people say, Japanese kids seem to be in favour of it, too). I would much rather hang out with people from the US or Australia or the UK or anywhere else than fellow Canadians, if the Canadians happen to be total jerkwads. So I don't feel like I should have to agree with anything or everything any Canadian government does. Nor do I feel like I should have to disagree with any of it. I feel the same about every other country's governement(s) as well, the only difference being that I can actually vote in Canada. But just because I vote for someone doesn't mean that I agree with everything they do or say (especially considering the gap between what parties say before an election and what they do after) even if they do get elected. (Plus, in Canada, the elected official hardly ever has 50% of the vote, because there are three major parties).

[dajiang]

Some quotes here on Nationalism:

�It is not wrong for people to feel at home in a country, a region, or a city. You are born somewhere and grow up in a particular culture. You learn the customs and your language. You have reference points: eating one way, dividing your day up in another way; you dress in certain clothes, live in a typical house in a specific climate. Without realising it, you organise your mind-set. Often, you recognise this only after going to another country; then you see which particular characteristics you possess.
It�s wonderful that not everyone is the same; this makes the world a richer place. It makes a difference, however, if you respond patriotically or nationalistically. A patriot is happy with his or her own nature. If one does not love oneself a bit, one cannot possibly love others. But a nationalist lets his or her own identity dominate that of others.�
Professor Patrick Weil.

�Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism when hate for people other than your own comes first.�
Charles De Gaulle

�Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.�
Albert Einstein

�For the honour of flags, how much blood has been spilt! Yet humanity clings to those q ueer looking things.� Fred Emerson Brooks

�Nationalism is paranoia � collective and individual paranoia.�
Danilo Kis

�The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them.�
George Orwell

[The G-stringed Avenger]

Interesting topic! There was a poll conducted recently in Australia that put negative comments about Australia to respondents. When the quotes were attributed to Australians, the respondents tended to agree. When the quotes were attributed to foreigners, the respondents got defensive and disagreed with the comments.

Shows how people sometimes put image ahead of substance and will not admit fault to those looking from the outside in. Self-criticism doesn't hurt, but outside criticism does.

[homersimpson]

[moonraven]

I agree with nothing that the US does--one of the reasons why I haven't lived there since 1992.

[marblez]

[nomadder]

Interesting and so true especially about people criticizing their own country but getting pissed off if you do.

Another question is why are we so apathetic? Canadians have sat by during pathetic tax increases and other things being eroded yet in Buenos Aires recently there were days of demonstrations to get rid of the mayor after a night club fire which killed too many especially because the fire doors were locked.

Maybe if we don't like things we just go teach English somewhere. Then again I remember protesting tuition hikes and nothing came of it. They've gone up many times since then. And we call other governments corrupt.

[Roger]

There also is the danger of hating one's own county, people or head of state for the simple reason that one disagrees with the nation's political elite!
I find this no less worrisome than xenophobia is.
It is characterised by adding the national adjective in front of every perceived or real evil, and ignoring the brighter sides of one's country.

[moonraven]

Brighter sides of the US? For example?

[struelle]