8-13-2025

The Poison within Patriotism

I felt like a visitor in my own home.

During a group date, my date's friend wanted to go to a bar. He asked if I could get in without ID because he didn't think I was living here legally. One moment I felt like I belonged with them. The next, I was reminded that I'm not really part of the group. It made me sad to hear that question.

This was years ago, but I still think about it. It shows who they think I am: a visitor. My hard work doesn't matter. My taxes don't matter. My legal status doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm not on their team. They keep telling me this. I have to behave and prove I can handle the duties they give me.

Why?

They remind you this is their country. They want you to drop your other citizenship when you swear to theirs. But even after, they treat you like a stranger. Now you're stuck in between. The citizens here don't want you, and you just gave up your birthplace. But we are all human. No one is above the other. We should not have to prove our loyalty. Why would I want my home to fall apart when I live in it?

In 1996, Martha Nussbaum wrote about patriotism. She was an American philosopher. She said patriotism blinds people from seeing the big picture. Nussbaum wanted schools to teach "world citizenship." Students should see themselves as citizens of the world, not just one country. She thought patriotic education was harmful. It teaches loyalty to your own country first. This can make people blind to what happens in other nations. People stop caring about global pain and unfairness.

My ESL classes had flag pledges every day. Cultural celebrations were rushed through in one week. Sometimes we got just one day for "international festivities." It felt like loving your background was wrong. When did we last learn about Native American massacres? The ones done by "patriots"?

Nussbaum criticized this kind of education. She said patriotic teaching makes people love their country without question. This stops us from thinking clearly about other nations. It hurts our sense of duty to the world. She wanted education that shows our shared humanity. We all have duties to each other, no matter what country we're from.

We live in conflict. Everyone is angry. We can't talk to each other. Some people strip away others' humanity with a simple line in the sand. We have immigration fights, border walls, and "America First" policies. Nationalism blinds us to the real problem: we stop seeing each other as human.

I want us to do the opposite of what politics promotes today. We are all world citizens. We need to see our shared humanity. We can work together to make life better for everyone. I'm tired of answering questions about my citizenship. But I have hope. We can teach each other that we're all on the same team.

You should read For the Love of Country? by Martha Nussbaum and shoot me a line if you have any thoughts. Rant over.