I’m not sure if this is a naive question to ask or just a taboo question to ask but, really, what is the deal with patriotism? We don’t ask to be born in a specific country and our country didn’t reach out an adopt us. We grow up where we grow up, but that doesn’t make an American any more special than a German or a German more special than a Tunisian. We all live on the same planet. We eat foods provided by the plants and animals that exist here. We all require fresh drinking water, clean air, decent shelter, and warmth. If I eat Idaho potatoes I’m no more unique than the people who eat Irish Potatoes.

Diversity is a Treasure

The really special thing in the world is diversity. Schools, corporations, and governments strive for diversity but how diverse is a school full of Americans? Sure there are students of Latin, Asian, European, African, and other decent….but guess what, everyone in the school is still full of Americans. How can we learn about other cultures by surrounding ourselves with people of the same culture…? What is even more amusing to me is that we strive to be more diverse than other countries but by collaborating with other countries we would actually achieve diversity in the academic and professional worlds.

The Danger of Patriotism

My government supported me because I paid a tax. If I immigrate to a new country and follow all the difficult steps to be accepted there, then I can pay taxes there and also be cared for by the government there. Keyword, “difficult.” I recognize that OUR country makes it easier for US to live. Just like Italy makes it easier for Italians to live than immigrants. We fabricated this difficulty, though. We decided what “our kind” means and in terms of government the “kind” that belongs is the “kind” that was born within the borders of the man-made maps we drew up.

Excluding foreigners seems to do nothing but cause problems that are totally unnecessary. The borders WE made is the reason for terrorism. If we didn’t have borders, there wouldn’t be extreme patriotism except towards aliens and other extraterrestrial beings.

Ultimately

The real problems we are facing don’t even recognize race, ethnicity, skin color, gender, age, sexual preference, or any other human-generated ideal for that matter. My research reminds me every day that ice-caps are melting, which will impact humans all over the globe. Sea level rise will submerge American cities as well as European cities and anywhere else in the world that is currently at sea level or below sea level. The extreme heat waves are problematic for people all around the world, the extremely cold weather is killing people all around the world. We currently live in a world where patriotism doesn’t do anything to address the real world problems we are facing which are entirely environmental and entirely contributed to by humans as a whole.

These are just some Friday thoughts, and they could be naive, but I’m ok with not being a patriot if it means connecting with all my people which are the people all around the world. I want to learn from everyone so I can be a well-rounded person and, frankly, I don’t have much respect for people that live their whole lives trying to be patriotic even if it is at the expense of others. I love you no matter where you’re from as long as you are a decent person.