This is a tiny step away from my normal witchy topics, but we'll circle back around I promise! I wanted to write about Patriotism and what it means to love your country, as we in the US are celebrating our independence day, and in light of some of the things that have been going on in the world as of late.
One of the reasons why I think that our issues with patriotism are so universal (applying not only to people of many nations, but also to concepts outside of actual patriotism) is because our understanding of pride has become warped. True and healthy pride is an appreciation of our own abilities and actions, though an unhealthy expression of pride is when we overvalue our own importance or merit (especially when we view it as a form of superiority).
Pride itself isn't bad, but pride doesn't actually require being 'better than' someone else. You can take last place in a contest, and still be proud of the work you did...especially if you did your best and improved from your previous efforts. We forget that our value isn't dependent on other people, we are worthy entirely on our own merit, and how well someone else does doesn't actually change how well we do. This is a key fact that many people overlook, and pride has become a way to show that you are right and everyone else is wrong.
And this is where we start to encounter problems. Because we have made pride into a contest, we feel a need to hide any issues or weaknesses that might exist. How can we be proud if we aren't the best, and how can we be the best if we are struggling with something. Instead of being honestly proud of the things we do well and trying to figure out how to do better in things we aren't quite so good at, we want power over anyone who is challenging us, and we create these crazy arguments as to why the things that aren't quite so great are "actually the best, and you would know that if you were smart!!!"
This deliberate wearing of blinders and becoming aggressive when challenged is what turns patriotism into nationalism. The distinction here is that patriotism is love for ones country, while nationalism not only includes the idea that your country is the best but also that people in your country should have some sore of homogeneous identity (often a cultural identity based on traditions local and exclusive to your region)/
Now, I know that many other countries have embraced cultural diversity and sharing, but I don't think many countries have as little of a 'core' national cultural identity as the US. We are a country of immigrants, a country made of people from all over. If you really want to argue about our national culture, it would be Native American culture, which is of course a highly problematic viewpoint. More accurately, our national culture is one of blending, of taking different groups from around the world, kind of mixing them together, and creating something new.
In this sense, we are a very young country, and our national culture isn't as steeped in tradition as others. This often makes people even more adamant in how they defend what they feel are their traditions, and they will fight harder for things that aren't as old or meaningful as they may think. This isn't to say that newer things can't have meaning, but there is power in practices that have been practiced by people for generations, and often these types of practices have deep seated (cultural) reasons for how and why things are done...and more modern practices are instead rooted in 'doing what we can with what we have.'
Does this sound familiar? Are we seeing the parallels between patriotism and nationalism and the historical versus neo-Pagan practices debate? Do we recognize how some of the arguments being made in the magical community are just as ridiculous? Can you see how we, as humans, have this tendency to identify with groups and to turn those groups into exclusive clubs....and the need to prove that the one we belong to is the best one of all.
So how do we address this trend, and how can we stop these types of destructive pride from running rampant? I think a lot of it starts with education and honest reflection. It takes learning to actually listen to what people are saying, and not just lashing out at what we think they are judging us about. It means really questioning what 'has always been done', and being honest about where practices originate from.
We need to stop ranking everything! 'Best' is a completely relative term, not only can the best thing change depending on who is using it, but it can change based on what it is being used, where it is happening, what the needs of the moment are, and any number of other variables.
We need to go back to valuing what is actually being done, not just what people say is happening. We need to look for evidence and facts and do our own research and checking, not just blindly share something because we read the headline and it made us feel stuff. We need to be especially critical of things that we feel strongly about (whether those feels are positive or negative), because we should always remind mindful that these are the areas in which we are the most blind...and most prone to believe what we have always believed.
We need to continually challenge ourselves to do better. Not better than other people, but better than what is and better than what we did yesterday. We need to think about what could be, and be willing to work towards it, instead of just accepting things as they are.
We need to speak openly about our experiences, and we need to listen when other people speak. It doesn't matter if something has never happened to ME....what matters is if it is happening. Just because my personal experience is one thing, that doesn't represent the whole of all experience.
And we need to challenge people when they spread falsehoods. I'm not saying that people can't ever be wrong our change their mind, but when someone deliberately tries to convince other people of something they know is wrong, JUST to prove that they are 'right'...we need to make that unacceptable.
There is a lot going on in the world, and a lot of things are starting to spiral out of control. But the way to stop the momentum isn't to squeeze our eyes shut and hope it ends soon, but to fight, and to make ourselves aware of what is happening and where we are headed. Don't be complacent because things 'aren't so bad right now', but be upset because things are moving towards someplace really bad. Take your blinders off and don't let yourself be led astray!
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