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Happy St. George’s Day on 12:03 - Apr 23 by Herbivore
Fair dos. I just don't really get it, I guess. Where you happen to be born is really down to chance and what a country has done before the time of your birth is completely outside your control. I find it a bit odd to be proud of it, especially as such pride for the good we've done is rarely matched by comparable shame for the things we've done that are abhorrent. Each to their own though, I just genuinely don't get it.
I think another part of the problem is that patriotism has been somewhat co-opted by EDL types and their successors, who peddle a view of the country that is hugely off-putting to many of us. Patriotism is also seized upon by opportunists and populists to gloss over their own failings and often to create an us and them mentality that enables them to foment their own power. We've seen it here and in the US recently, but more dramatically still in continental Europe in the 20s and 30s. I think that's why a lot of people seek to distance themselves from patriotism.
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