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May 25, 2005
The last taboo
"More people joined the Michael Jackson fan club. We've done picked all the low-lying Lynndie England fruit, and now we need warm bodies." - Bill Maher on the Army's low recruitment numbers for April."
Is this statement treason? According to Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Alabama) it is. "I think it borders on treason," Bachus said. "In treason, one definition is to undermine the effort or national security of our country."
I don't know what dictionary Bachus uses, but Dictionary.com defines treason as: Violation of allegiance toward one's country or sovereign, especially the betrayal of one's country by waging war against it or by consciously and purposely acting to aid its enemies.
Now, it's obvious that Maher had no intent of aiding the enemy or waging war against the United States. But let's take this beyond the partisan pissing contest and get a little philosophical.
Question: If you could do something great for humanity, that would improve the lives of millions around the world, but had to become a traitor in the process, would you?
In Ursula Le Guin's, The Left Hand of Darkness, in a complex sci-fi scenario involving a union of human-populated planets, the main character betrays his country in order to save the entire planet, and he pays with his life.
This is all fine and well in science fiction, but in the real world, nationalism is becoming the last taboo. You can argue about religion, politics, or race, but anything less than full-fledged loyalty to your country will get you booted from the discussion.
But what is a country? A common culture? Put a gay couple from Massachusetts in the same room with a Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson and show me the common culture. So what are we fighting and dying for? A land mass defined by arbitrary borders? Are the inhabitants of El Paso, Texas really that different from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, just a few miles to the south? And are those border-dwellers very similar to Americans living on the Canadian border?
What are we left with? What defines a nation? Arbitrary borders, common governance...a flag. If you really break it down, a nation is nothing real, yet it is more powerful than God. Aside from a few extremists, not many people are willing to kill and die in the name of religion anymore. But there are countless people across the globe who will fight and die for their country. Their piece of land. Their system of government.
Throughout history, humans have found ways to define and differentiate themselves. Nationalism is just the latest. At times it was religion, at times it was race. It doesn't seem to matter, as long as we have something that tells us who we are, and more importantly, we we aren't.
Let's be clear. I'm not saying we should do away with national boundaries or refuse identify as Americans. I am just tired of blind obedience and the incessant drumming of nationalistic fervor. I am tired of people who proudly proclaim this is the greatest country on the planet, even though they haven't visited the 197 other possibilites. And I am tired of nothing being accomplished by politicians because they are too caught up in trying to prove who is the most patriotic.
Like politics, religion, and status, nationalism is something we are born with and take as Truth. If you can acknowledge that, if born in another country, your allegience would be to another country, then you must acknowledge that your patriotism is not objective. Maybe this really isn't the greatest country on Earth. Or maybe it is. Who really cares?
This has nothing to do with Bill Maher, he was just a catalyst for these questions brewing deep within the wrinkles of my brain. So, back to the question at hand: If you could cure AIDS or prevent a war or feed starving children, but you had to betray your country, would you do it?
I leave the rest to the comments section...
More like this in the land of Ablogistan.
Posted by Elyas at 02:07 PM | Comments (13) | TrackBack
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Tracked on May 25, 2005 04:34 PM
Comments
Comment's like Bachus' strike me as distinctly unpatriotic. There are a lot of wanna-be tyrants out there who want to define "the nation" as "the state"--and of course, these people (like Congressman Bachus) are the state.
This reminds me of up a couple of quotes that represent healthy representations of patriotism:
I am a patriot, and I love my country, Because my country is all I know. Wanna be with my family, People who understand me. I got no place else to go. And I ain't no communist, And I ain't no socialist, And I ain't no capitalist, And I ain't no imperialist, And I ain't no Democrat, Sure ain't no Republican either, I only know one party, And that is freedom. --lyrics by Stevie Van Zant
and as H.D. Thoreau pointed out in Civil Disobedience
(The government) does not keep the country free. It does not settle the West. It does not educate. The character inherent in the American people has done all that has been accomplished...
Posted by: Adam at May 25, 2005 04:06 PM
Would you sell your family into slavery, murder your children or prostitute your wife if you could solve AIDs or do something great for humanity would you? Just asking.
Posted by: TJ Jackson at May 25, 2005 04:11 PM
(The government) does not keep the country free. It does not settle the West. It does not educate. The character inherent in the American people has done all that has been accomplished...
But that's what I'm questioning: Is there something inherently different about American people? The answer is a definite no, if you use the word inherent. Unless Americans are biologically different from the rest of the species.
Nationalism isn't just about government. It's about a belief that the people living in arbitrarily defined borders are somehow different from the rest of the world. If it was just a different government, that would be simple enough. But believing in being inherently different, inherently better, is what makes nationalism so dangerous.
And if the difference is not inherent, is it learned? And what is it? If you ask some people, they will say it is an ideal of freedom. If you ask others, they will say it is a strong Christian background that defines America. Nationalism isn't very different than religion: It's learned from birth, it means different things to different people, and it establishes a collective identity. At times, these things can be very affirming and beneficial. But they can also be very dangerous as well.
Posted by: Elyas at May 25, 2005 04:14 PM
TJ, valid question. In light of that, let me clarify the hypothetical situation a little:
- No one dies or is injured in this act of treason (at least not directly).
- The net gain to humans (globally) outweighs the loss to humans (in America) in terms of quality of life.
In asking the question, I am not taking about waging war against one's country. The direct effect will be on you: You'll be thrown out of the country or prosecuted as a traitor.
It can be something simple, like stealing a government secret.
As for TJ's scenario, I would not be prepared to do a cost-benefit analysis on human life, and I don't think being a traitor necessarily involves harming or killing Americans. It could reduce the quality of life, or have no effect at all, other than being a symbolic defiance of the national interest.
Posted by: Elyas at May 25, 2005 04:24 PM
The discussion is based upon a false example. Mr. Maher acts like a child, albeit a spoilt child. He makes nasty rude comments, but it cannot hurt him and he will never suffer the consequences. Sorry, "not making as much money" is not a consequence on par with receiving a savage beating or being arrested and later having your bullet riddled body found after the police "lose" you in their booking system.
Perhaps publically advocating a position anethma to you to secretly advance your beliefs - a liberal/leftist loudly support "W" to advance democracy, AIDS funding, et al. Yet it is easier to let your cause burn (and be self-righteous) than to challenge your own self concept/ego.
Posted by: Californio at May 25, 2005 04:31 PM
I quoted Stevie Van Zant because I think he accurately describes nationalism as being self-referential. We love our own country for the same reason that we love our own family--because it is OUR OWN.
Along those lines, I think that there is something real to nationality, even if there isn't a clear line dividing one nationality from another. Put two Chinese in a room together and see how they act. Put two Americans together, and see how they act. Compare this to what happens when you place a Chinese and American in the same room. The dynamics are completely different. Two persons of the same nationality speak the same language--literally and figuratively. Even if they don't share the same values, they tend to be familiar with each other's value system. They know the same stories and they often share acquantances or at least they have interacted with the same institutions, such as their own state. If they have to coordinate themselves to accomplish some goal, they often have some basic agreement about the form that this coordination will take.
There are no sharp lines separating nations, and a person can easily have a dual national identity (Irish-American, for example). The borders between nationalities are quickly disintergrating, such that I expect the idea of nationality to be obsolete in a couple of hundred years, just as the concept of race is becoming obsolete. One of the things that distinguishes America from the "Old World" nations is that we've never had a well-defined national identity--we've always been blurry at the edges and we've always had internal divisions. Anyone who ignores that or tries to prevent the merging of America with other nations is a fool.
Finally, we come back to the idea of “betraying our country.” I can only think of two definitions for this: attack one of your countrymen or disobey the state. The first option is eliminated because I wouldn't attack anyone who isn't clearly threatening an innocent person so we're left with the second option: disobey or undermine the state.
That's why I brought up the Thoreau quote—-the essay Civil Disobedience was his justification for refusing to pay taxes during the Mexican-American War. His argument was NOT that Americans are better than anyone else, his argument was that the American nation is separate from the state, and refusing to help the state commit an injustice is not betraying your country.
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