A line in the sand

I suppose the main reason I dislike patriotism so much is because it's following something that has no importance at all. It is declaring allegiance to lines on a map rather than to anything that actually means something. It is claiming that a constitution or a set of arbitrary rules is more important than people are. People put countries up on pedestals and think themselves better because they were born in a particular country. But they are not better. All a country is, is a line painted on the ground. And to idolize everyone born on one side of that line and hate everyone on the other side is the most barbaric and baseless idea on this planet.

Let's say for instance that I were to paint a line on the ground. This line does not act as a barrier, it is not a wall or fence or anything of the sort. It is nothing more than a line of paint. I stand on the left side of the line and face my fellow Left-side-of-the-line-ians and proclaim our side to be better than the right side. We on the left side follow all the ideals and philosophies that are inherently good, while all the heathens on the right side follow insane ideas that can only lead to ruin and Chaos. I give absolutely no reasoning on why my side of the line is better, I just say it is. Would you believe me? No! Of course not! But that's all a country is! It's a line on the ground that separates people. It isn't a matter of philosophy, ideology, race, or religion. It is nothing more than a line.

So why do you patriots follow something so baseless? Why follow something so inhuman and soulless as a country?

A Simple Request

To those of you who consider yourselves Anarchists and express your viewpoint by terrorizing people and painting the letter “A” on stuff, I have a simple request. PLEASE STOP! You people are ruining what was once a respectable philosophical viewpoint.

Right now there are two sides to Anarchism:

There are the true Anarchists who have made the philosophical decision that government is not conducive to a stable society. These are the people who have read the works of Mikhail Bakunin or Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and have found merit with the socio-political implications of the movement.

And then there are the pseudo-anarchists. These are the ones who give the party such a bad reputation. They consist mostly of rebellious high school students, punk rockers, and biker gangs. These are people who are simply looking for an excuse to act like immature assholes. It's a movement of whiny teenagers who don't want to follow any rules, and find philosophical justification for their actions via their fundamentally flawed views of Anarchism.

You people need to grow up and stop tarnishing the name of those of us who are actually trying to make the world a better place!

Troops

Being an Anarchist, people often try and make me feel guilty about the troops. "You don't support the troops?" "Don't you appreciate how many people have died to give you your freedom?" "How can you hate this country when there are people out therer giving up their lives to protect you?" The list of questions seems to go on forever, all of them accusing me of being a terrible person simply because of my anti-state philosophies. So I spent this thanksgiving thinking about the troops, and how they're putting themselves in danger. After mulling it over for a bit, I think I have come up with a good answer to all the questions nationalists have been throwing at me.

When you ask a person in the military why they joined, what response do you think you'll get? How often do you think somebody says, "I joined the military to protect your rights and freedoms"? I can almost guarantee that nobody joind the military for that reason (with a few possible exceptions). People don't put themselves in danger for lofty idealistic reasons like that. They joined because they needed the money, or they wanted the government to pay for their college, or they wanted to get some direction in their lives. A person killed in Iraq wasn't fighting for our freedom; they were fighting for their own selfish goals. They put themselves in danger to try and get a free ride through college, or because they were bored and wanted to shoot some guns. I know at least three people off the top of my head who all joined the military thinking it would be like the game counter strike, and they wanted that kind of excitement.

So, do I support the troops? Yes, I support them. I want them to live and come home soon. However I have no obligation to this country simply because we have military personnel who are in danger.

Agree or disagree, please comment. I like discussing stuff so please make rebuttals.

Free

I have many strong convictions that are, shall we say, unpopular. Much of what I have to say will prove controversial, un-American, and almost radical at times. I have no illusions about the fact that some people are going to hate me for the things posted on this blog, some people won’t care what I have to say, others will applaud me. You are free to think whatever you please of me. You are free to love me. You are free to hate me. You are free to agree. You are free to disagree. You are free to agree to disagree. You are free to call me crazy. You are free to call me an idiot. You are free to do whatever you wish with the information posted on this blog. The bottom line is “YOU ARE FREE.”

And you are not free because your government says you are. The powers that be are not what give you freedom, because those same powers can take your freedom away. They can imprison you without cause, they can watch your every move, and they can listen to your every conversation. Government doesn’t supply freedom. You are free only if you choose to be.