07-07-2022, 08:36 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-07-2022, 08:37 PM by Eric the Green.)
(07-07-2022, 05:44 PM)JasonBlack Wrote:(07-06-2022, 06:40 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: See my above post. Patriotism is fine when the nation is healthy. Under sick leadership patriotic expressions become obscene parodies.
Depends on what you mean by "patriotism". My take is:
It's a good statement. Of course Twain lived in an age of nationalism. As I see it, I can support all the countries of the world, and the people there in need, as I can or choose to; not just mine. I support my country because it is where I live and it's my responsibility. I pay my taxes, I vote, and I have worked as a sworn precinct voting official because I believe in the country's elections and the right of everyone to vote regardless whether I agree with them, unlike most Republicans today who do not. But I don't see my country as more-deserving of support than others are from their own citizens, or as necessarily better than other countries, or any deserving of lording it over others--- with the second phrase added. My country is really the world, and Twain was a good citizen of the world, to the extent that he understood this in his time.