And since that will never happen, we're all boned.
A country, a political unit, is a concept that hangs togather on the simple idea that I have shared interests with the rest of the people in that unit. Therefore, for country X, as an X-ian, what's in the best interest of most X-ians is probably in mine too. But not always, and so sometimes in the interest of preserving a mutually beneficial arrangement I have to take one for the team.
Now that's fine when it's you and five other people. But eventually, you fall for the hot X-ian next door, get married and produce X-ian number 6. And while your interests still coincide with the group's, you come across that situation where they don't more and more, especially since you interests now include the interests of 5 and 6. But the good news is, you've got a voting block; get one more X-ian to go your way and whatever you want passes in the X-ian Council. But you'll only use that in the case of dire emergency.
And so one day you need something that's not really in the best interest of the whole group, but is in the interest of your voting block. And it's really small. And your wife's nagging constitutes a dire emergency. And you need that last vote, and so you offer X-ian 4 a cow, and since that's the high bid you get his vote.
Congratulations, X is now America 2007.
But didn't you know, patriotism is a dirty word; it's jingoism, and ethnocentrism at it's worse. Suggesting that the country come before your tribe? The horror!
Everything is fine when Americans understand that politically, the goal should be what's in the best interests of America. Even if you disagree as to the method, you can operate in good faith because of the common goal. But realistically the only units that function in America society are the tribes; black, white, conservative, progressive, religious, non-religious. I gave up on this country once I realized that even here, where there should be a single uniting factor, a conceptual glue upon which to build coalition, many members view each other as the Enemy because of their religious choices, skin color, party affiliation, heck over their musical preferences. With no coalition, you can't unite under that concept of common interest. Without that, you don't have a country, you have a bunch of people that vaguely share geography.
Unfortunately, countries exist for a reason. Human rights and international law are fine ideas, nice to have. But nine times out of ten the actual existence of those things is in direct corelation to your possession of lots of guns and troops, and a willingness to employ them. Countries are very useful for that sort of thing. Humanity relearns that lesson periodically. And eventually after enough destruction and bloodshed we remember that there are worse things in the real world than disliking whom your neighbor prays to (or doesn't pray to), provided he's a decent shot and willing to stand the night watch.
If thats your real name...
or something like that.......
