Is Patriotism Detrimental?

Patriotism assumes that our globe is divided into little spots, each one surrounded by an iron gate. Those who have had the fortune of being born on some particular spot, consider themselves better, nobler, grander, more intelligent than the living beings inhabiting any other spot. It is, therefore, the duty of everyone living on that chosen spot to fight, kill, and die in the attempt to impose his superiority upon all the others.

I preface this with an apology and a personal statement. First I apologize for writing this in what is otherwise a ‘technical’ blog. However I feel this issue needs talked about or at the least I need a place to vent. It feels to me that any thing that isn’t considered ‘patriotic’ is enough reason for someone to be a terrorist. When I was in high school and the Patriot act was new I was furious and was vocal about the bill trying to get people to understand the implications it held.  I was told that if I don’t like it I should leave and if I had nothing to hide I shouldn’t be worried. This, to me, is the height of ignorance. Just because I say “I don’t like where America is headed” I should leave? This brings me to what the point of this article is, that patriotism is detrimental to any society. If you love your country, thats fine, if you love it and want to fight for it, thats ok, but to say that your country is better than the rest of the world and that “god smiles on us” is border line  retarded. Lets do some reading shall we?

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index 2008, the United States has a government functioning score of 7.86 out of 10, which makes the United States tied for twenty-fourth with Austria, Brazil, Cape Verde, Slovenia, South Africa, and Spain in that category. Finland and Sweden are tied for first, scoring a perfect 10.

http://rankingamerica.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/functioning-governmentxlsx.jpg

Tied for 24th? How can this be we’re gods land! What dies this actually tell us though? Well it tells us the minimum quality of functioning of government. If democratically-based decisions cannot or are not implemented then the concept of democracy is not very meaningful or it becomes an empty shell”. This next statistic is a shocker to me. We rank THIRD in poverty. That’s right we have a poverty rating of 17% as of April 26 2009. Mexico, ranked number one in poverty (Africa wasn’t included in this list) with a poverty rating of 18.6%. That’s not much different than our poverty rating is it? (source). We do rank first in calorie intake per day – per person though. (source). We’re also 34th in overall math scores. (source). We LOST ground there and are sitting at -9. France has -15! Come on, if this is supposed to be the best country in the world why aren’t we kicking more ass with our education and other areas? Because as much as it pains me to say, America is not great anymore. Sure we’re still a first world nation but we’re arrogant, cocky, and have nothing to back it up with other than a military. Sorry but I’d rather have a smart population than one obsessed with war. Lets try to get America back up shall we?

Brave New BigBrother

1984 and Brave new world, both books bring us the respective authors views of a futuristic dystopia. Orwell feared those who would seek to enslave us, ban media, deprive us of information. Orwell’s view of the world was very depressing. Blatant fear would keep us shuttled away from each other and would force people into giving up those who committed the crime of thought or doublespeak. Orwell envisioned a captive society where man was beaten down emotionally and physically. What was truth one day became untruth the next. With the Ministry of Truth (or minitruth) destroying all documents containing data that would prove BigBrother wrong. After all who else can protect us from the Goldsteins and Winstons?

Huxley on the other hand had a totally different but equally valid idea. There would be no need for outright fear or censorship to control the masses. No instead the populace would be too placid to do anything. Content watching their American Idols and their reality TV. So banning books would be a non issue, no one reads anyway. That we could accumulate so much that we would in essence entertain ourselves into a coma. Ever noticed the useless gadgets that have no use other than to distract us? Huxley feared that the news that matters would be drowned into a sea of nonsense and useless trite. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny ‘failed to take into account man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions’.

Orwell envisioned a future controlled by inflicting pain and fear. That what we feared would control us
Huxley envisioned a future controlled by inflicting pleasure and hedonism, and that what we loved would consume us.

Where is the truth? Somewhere in between I think if the controlling body came out and tried to control the masses with outright fear as in 1984 there is the risk that people will be so scared they will think about the issues. On September 27th 2001 Bush said

Fly and enjoyAmerica’s great destination spots. Get down to Disney World in Florida. Take your families and enjoy life, the way we want it to be enjoyed.

In a speech he gave shortly after the terrorist attacks.  In one speech he not only gave a subtle nod to Orwell but to Huxley.

So what do you think? Are we in a Huxley world or an Orwellian world?

Language Design

Lately I’ve started YET ANOTHER project of mine. This time its a spin off of the Z80 assembly language. Yes, yet another useless programming language released onto the world, and yes, I enjoy pain. So why am I doing this project? Why don’t I finish my terminal or start building that z80? I don’t know. I start many things and finish only a select few. Hope I finish this one