Just recently, after reading an essay of mine, a reader angrily questioned my commitment to the U.S.A.. My instant response was that I’m not an US person. I therefore tend to observe the US in cold blood, just as I ‘d observe any of the almost 200 “foreign” nations worldwide.
But, as I’m British, what if he ‘d questioned my loyalty to the UK? Would he have a legitimate point? Well, at least, he ‘d certainly have a question worthwhile of a response.
I, of course, have a legal right to live and operate in the UK, and yet I pick not to. It’s merely not my idea of a fantastic nation in which to reside. As much as I concern the conventional English village to be a perfect environment in which to live, I reside elsewhere. The factor is that I position a very high value on individual freedom, a nonintrusive federal government, and a population that doesn’t feel that it’s entitled to largesse that’s been by force drawn from another segment of the population.
But that doesn’t precisely address the concern of “commitment,” does it? Well, there, I need to admit, I tend to respond to the question with another question. Whenever someone speaks with me of his loyalty to his nation, I tend to ask him to define “country.”
In the majority of jurisdictions, the term “country” seems to be bandied about more by governments and the military than by the average person. Whenever a federal government desires blind compliance from its individuals, politicians mention “loyalty.” Whenever a military looks for to send out people off to perhaps be eliminated in battle, again, “commitment” is the reason provided.
But if the question is asked, “Loyalty to what!.?.!?”answers vary.” Loyalty to the flag “is a common one. Another is “Commitment to this fantastic land of ours.”And, not surprisingly, these answers prevail, no matter which country is under discussion. But is one flag remarkable to another? Is one land better than another (which would recommend that all those who feel their land is better are inaccurate)?
Let’s have a closer look at some possible definitions and representations of “country.”
The Flag
One of my earliest memories is of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. But this is not so much due to the occasion itself, as it’s due to the fact that my family’s house was littered with all the flags, pop-up books, biscuit tins, and other memorabilia that celebrated the coronation. Your house was dressed up like Christmas in June and I have actually always remembered it, although I was only 5 at the time.
So I was taught what the Union Jack represented at an early age. Yet I regard it primarily as a piece of fabric. I’ve resided in various nations and they all have their own bit of cloth that they add the flagpoles. The reader might ask himself, “Am I loyal to this piece of material, no matter whether the leaders of my country represent the principles in which I think?”
A Specific Portion of Property
A country can, naturally, be specified geographically. If we’re born within the borders of a nation, we’re asked to take excellent pride in that reality, even though it’s a simple mishap of birth and has absolutely nothing whatever to do with our own choice.
So, if we feel faithful to a particular piece of ground, is it the ground on which our home sits, or does it encompass the town closest us, or is it a whole country, the majority of which we’re unlikely to ever even visit? It would appear natural to value one’s immediate environments, however it would earn less sense for large numbers of individuals to collectively value huge locations that have no relevance to their personal lives.
If not geography, are we loyal to a government? When polled, a bulk of participants, in a lot of any nation, say that they don’t trust their federal government and do not feel that their government exists to serve them, but rather, to serve themselves. Exists any logic, then, in feeling loyalty to a government that is not likewise faithful to our own principles and goals?
A Concept of Governance
The UK claims as one of its crucial files the Magna Carta, which, in 1215, tried to set out certain inalienable rights of all people, not simply those who were well-born. In 1776, the United States did the UK one better by producing the Constitution, which combined components of the Magna Carter and the Athenian republic of the fifth century BC. The Constitution’s focus was on the rights of the specific and, in essence, mentioned that an individual should have the ability to have the freedom to live his life as he pleases, as long as he does not aggress against another person or his residential or commercial property. Yet, nearly instantly, this concept was infringed upon by those who wished to change it with democracy— the idea of which is majority guideline. Thomas Jefferson explained democracy as “Absolutely nothing more than mob guideline, where 51% of the people may eliminate the rights of the other 49%.” Since that time, succeeding federal governments in the US have continued to break down the original principle of a republic until, today, the fantastic bulk of specific rights have been lost by Americans. Like never in the past, Americans are now being shamed by universities, the media, and the federal government into apologizing if they do not concur with a collectivist eclipse of individual rights.
To be fair, much of the rest of the world has done the very exact same. After all, it’s the nature of governments to progressively remove liberties from their people and increase their own power over all. It’s a slow process, frequently taking generations. If it’s set up too quickly, the people rebels, as we observed in Venezuela.
For me, the meaning of “nation” is a simple one. I do not value any specific portion of property. In all countries, there’s dirt beneath our feet and the dirt in one nation is much the same as in another.
Neither do I feel any loyalty to a particular federal government. If one government is prepared to serve my interests better than another one, it will be most likely to earn my loyalty. I’m certainly not persuaded by any accident of birth.
On the other hand, I have rather a strong loyalty to one principle of governance– that of liberty– minimal government. The Athenians were on the best track but were not able to sustain their concept over the long run. Likewise, the Magna Carta was an outstanding action in the right instructions. Better still was the United States Constitution. To all of these efforts I feel loyalty. But, as specified above, such a high-minded idea is elusive and, when it takes place, may not last throughout the life time of the person. When it does not, I believe that the person is absolutely within his rights to stop any sensations of loyalty to a nation that has stopped to serve him well. If the freedoms he treasures disappear in a particular geographical area, he ought to feel no regret whatever in voting with his feet and looking for another location that comes closer to his suitable.
Needs to an existing federal government evolve far from his perfect, there’s no factor that he must feel forced to feel loyalty to it.
My own “nation” is wherever the concepts that I live by are appreciated, and I have the ability to live with the greatest degree of flexibility possible. I’m devoted to a concept, not a flag, a specific piece of dirt, or a government.
Today, more than ever before, I’m fulfilling people who worry over the thought that they may be disloyal to their country, need to they select to diversify themselves geographically. But they need to feel no regret. Any government that stops to deliver on its founding principles is worthy of to be either changed or abandoned.
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