William Blum on patriotism

William Blum shares some worthwhile thoughts and quotes on one of the more crippling mental afflictions, here.  Some tidbits:

I'm sick and tired of this thing called "patriotism".

The Japanese pilots who bombed Pearl Harbor were being patriotic. The German people who supported Hitler and his conquests were being patriotic, fighting for the Fatherland. All the Latin American military dictators who overthrew democratically-elected governments and routinely tortured people were being patriotic -- saving their beloved country from "communism".

General Augusto Pinochet of Chile: "I would like to be remembered as a man who served his country."

P.W. Botha, former president of apartheid South Africa: "I am not going to repent. I am not going to ask for favours. What I did, I did for my country."

Pol Pot, mass murderer of Cambodia: "I want you to know that everything I did, I did for my country."

Tony Blair, former British prime minister, defending his role in the murder of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis: "I did what I thought was right for our country."

And more.

Comments

[angryman@24:10]

From Blum:

At the end of World War II, the United States gave moral lectures to their German prisoners and to the German people on the inadmissibility of pleading that their participation in the holocaust was in obedience to their legitimate government. To prove to them how legally inadmissible this defense was, the World War II allies hanged the leading examples of such patriotic loyalty.

Then today over at ThinkProgress today:

Media blackout on ex-prosecutor’s bestselling book accusing Bush of murder.

[John Caruso]

As you'd expect, one of the exceptions to the Bugliosi blackout rule was Democracy Now! In watching that interview, though, I couldn't help but think that the traits that likely made him a good prosecutor also sound like they'd make him a nightmare dinner guest.