A Note from Banksy

"People who enjoy waving flags don't deserve to have one"

I disagree with this statement but I think I agree with Banksy's general frustration with those who do wave flags. Patriots are not up for a rational discussion of patriotism in the same way a religious person is not up for a rational discussion of their beliefs. This is perfectly fine, and I would hope people have the right to be unreasonable as long as it isn't harming anyone else. In this case however it does seem to be causing harm.

While moral imperatives are supposed to be universal it often seems that our moral obligation to others stops at our boarders for the arbitrary reasons of closeness and legal proximity. Though cultural relativism is in vogue, it is still the case that justice is universal for many things that are not culturally specific. Murder is murder, rape is rape, ect. And while patriots seem to value the lives within their nation more than others, it is a moral imperative to break down these artificial barriers to moral action.

Often American interests are put ahead of the interests of other nations full of people who are and should be considered equal in value to any other human citizen. A particularly strong example of this is the United States continuous physical and diplomatic interventions in Latin America. These interventions often happen to the detriment of democracy and human rights in that region. Here is an (admittedly bias) cronological list of US interventions in Latin America.

Q&A Four Question Two

• If you dislike America so much why don't you leave? [finding an appropriate philosophical response to this question]
  
  
  This question seems to tie into weather patriotism is a specific gradation in love of place. Patriotism seems to be a special love or favor of a place to the detriment of other places. Which is a more extreme form of attachment to  a place than simply liking it more than other places, but not letting that get in the way of moral judgments.
  
   This is the place that I am from, and though I do not agree with the polities actions that does not man that there is not a nonpolitical culture that I am involved in.
  
  Even more practically, moving is a bit of a hassle.
  
  

Q&A Four Question One

• Is patriotism necessary to maintain a nation state?
  
  
  Patriotism is historically tied to the concept of the nation state. When the land in Europe was owned based on inheritance there was clearly no or little concept of national sovereignty  For example the crown of Spain gained a significant part of the Netherlands through inheritance  and the resistance to this was largely religious, and unlike you may see today, Dutch nationalists did not raise a fit. It would seem that patriotism is integral to the survival of the nation-state because patriotism occurs everywhere this sort of concept of governance occurs.
  
  
  Fundamentally I do not think patriotism is necessary.  There are other groups that we function as part of just fine without fanatical devotion. These groups include states (as in Massachusetts), universities, businesses, and non-profit organisations.