The Cyber Kazbá

I hope this article is more intriguing than it will be cynical. But here are some thoughts that have been on my mind lately. Have you ever been aware at the amount of nationalism and patriotism that goes on in our great country of the USA? To be honest I never really noticed it much, and if I did I just assumed that every other country in the world was just as enthusiastic about their country as Americans are about theirs. But having traveled across the globe to a few different countries, and especially those who are post-communistic I have come to realize that American patriotism comes frightfully close to the nationalism of Communists and other totalitarian regimes.

Take for instance the American flag… it is everywhere: Perkins, car dealerships, baseball fields, schools and even churches. When I was in the Czech Republic there were two places you could see the flag: the embassy and the border, and that’s it. Foreigners have brought it to my attention that the ubiquitous appearance of the American flag is similar to that of the Russian use when they invaded Eastern Europe. The flag is just one thing, but lets not forget the amount of occasions one could hear the national anthem, along with all the other songs dedicated to our country i.e. God bless America etc. And of course let’s not forget the seemingly brainwashing activity of the Pledge of Allegiance that occurs in grammar school all over the nation.

Patriotism is one thing, but I have also observed of how this patriotism has led to culture ignorance of the outside world. Many Americans think our country is so good they don’t bother to engage with the world outside. This too is a common characteristic of Communist countries: The government gets the people to believe that their situation is the best on earth and force the desire never to leave the country. The amount of passports issued to Americans is astonishing low, I think like around 20% or so; which means that 80 percent of Americans have yet to really engage themselves in the world around them. I mean, I was astonished how many people asked if there was ever snow in the Czech Republic (a.k.a Czechoslovakia); the country is about the same latitude as Calgary Canada!

Lastly, it has been especially interesting to me of how the church, primarily the evangelical church, has engaged itself in such patriotism. Certainly the privileges in our country have allowed the church to grow and be the church, but it is astonishing how now the church is playing a role politically. I could go on but I think this is enough for now. Once again please remember I am not being too cynical, I am NOT anti-America, I am an American, but these are just some interesting thoughts that could raise some good responses.

# posted by Velmer @ 12:19 AM 21 comments