Quote:
Originally Posted by sjonit  I dont believe where you are born is sheer luck, as you are usually born in the same country you are concieved, so pretty much your parents are choosing your nationality for you. |
I wasn't particularly aware that the reason parents gave birth to their kids in a specific country was because they'd went 'shopping' for their kids' nationality. Seems to me that a great deal of people simply raise their kids in the countries in which they themselves were born.
Even so, I can't see how having your parents deciding your nationality is in any way a
positive aspect.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sjonit I agree with Gadafti Inc., having pride in your common ancestory, culture etc is not a bad thing. |
Culture is a fluid thing which is constantly shifting, and which, in its contemporary form, owes a great deal to the convergence of various international influences, over a wide range of time. The point is that pride in a 'common ancestry' hinders cultural developments by trying to tie down and anchor certain cultural characteristics as being the rigid 'birthright' of one sole nation, one people, and therefore does not contribute anything of much worth to cultural development in the long run.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sjonit Sure be patriotic about your country as that is where you come from, the way you live, the people you know, the beliefs you have on how life should be lived. |
Most of that paragraph is simply saying "you should be proud of your country because it's your country", which, frankly, seems like an utterly
inane argument to make. As for the part about beliefs, not everyone's beliefs are exactly in line with those of the ruling national government; in instances where this is the case, it's with people who are already extremely patriotic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sjonit I was born here, I want to continue to live here, and I dont want to be forced to live my life the way people in other nations do, I'm patriotic to be a Scottish Brit. |
No one said
anything whatsoever about being 'forced' to live the way people in other nations do.
It might be worth pointing out that anyone who does wish to make such impositions would be likely to do so out of a fervent patriotic belief that their nation is vastly superior to others. If you think there are good things about the values, traditions, and philosophies expressed in Scottish culture, then surely the reasonable approach would be to elaborate on the actual values themselves, rather than merely spout empty patriotic rhetoric?
