Patriotism

Along with the rest of the world, I watched the “We are One” concert last night and my immediate impression was one generally shared by most non-Americans….”Dam these yanks lay it on thick”, “listen to all this feel-good BS”, “America thinks they are important enough to have a world wide concert with every star (mostly black) on the face of the earth promoting democracy, hope and the power of the United States” and on and on and on….

Eventually what I began to think was whether or not I really hated their viewpoints, got irritated with their patriotism, felt dis empowered by their desire to rule the world or…..was I just jealous that I had never felt such feelings of patriotism for my own country.

In truth, I have never known what patriotism feels like, I have never felt a desire to protect and defend my country and its honour and why should I, I live in South Africa.

I have heard my best friend, who grew up in Israel talk about how he would fight for his country, maybe even die for his country. This seems so foreign to me, I argue the point and how stupid patriotism is when in fact, I will I had it.

What a weird feeling to love your country, I am sure the majority of the world would respond to this, What a weird feeling to have no love for your country.