tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post4707296611857981854..comments2024-03-18T12:50:08.098-05:00Comments on Free Association: Can You Really Love Your Country?Sheldon Richmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15672237234580563637noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post-77702618331596011872008-06-10T12:30:00.000-05:002008-06-10T12:30:00.000-05:00Come on our slave masters have done wonders for us...Come on our slave masters have done wonders for us. Without them we would all be cannibals and running around naked.AzraelsJudgementhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16025494392509737070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post-67205109712949962252008-06-02T10:05:00.000-05:002008-06-02T10:05:00.000-05:00It's all just old tribalist thinking..possibly wir...It's all just old tribalist thinking..possibly wired into the DNA somewhere.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post-87649389793447238902008-05-31T06:06:00.000-05:002008-05-31T06:06:00.000-05:00Your point about boundaries is excellent. They hav...Your point about boundaries is excellent. They have been the result of a political process, usually conquest or intrigue.Sheldon Richmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15672237234580563637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post-82120799361995143492008-05-30T13:18:00.000-05:002008-05-30T13:18:00.000-05:00One issue to consider is what we mean by "country"...One issue to consider is what we mean by "country" in this context. Strictly speaking, "country" refers to a geographic area defined by some lines drawn by government cartographers. I see no reason to love such a geographic area, certainly not just because some guys got paid to draw lines around it. I may love the land itself contained within a country (indeed, I love the Sierra Nevada mountains, the Pacific coast, and the Champlain Valley, to name a few examples), or I may love the people or culture contained within a country, but that is entirely coincidental and has nothing to do with the "country."<BR/><BR/>However, people often use the term to refer to a nation-state, which is something related by different. People often feel like they have a part in the maintenance of their nation-state, like a garden tended with special care. People truly do believe in the so-called "democratic" republic; they believe that by voting, petitioning one's representatives, etc., they have played a role in self-government. Of course, this can be disputed, but I still think it's valid reasoning (if we can call it reasoning)...just not sound. If I lived in a community organized along libertarian socialist principles, I would probably love it.<BR/><BR/>I hope my little analysis provides some insight.Balls of Steelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14985792734554059533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post-62899487214495358522008-05-30T12:09:00.000-05:002008-05-30T12:09:00.000-05:00"Nationalism is a secular religion — and a collect..."Nationalism is a secular religion — and a collectivist one at that."<BR/><BR/>Indeed. Thank you, Sheldon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com