Patriotism For GrownupsPatriotism is loyalty to a group. We regard the person without it as paltry at best. Historically the size of the group to which most of us have been loyal has increased from the family to the tribe to the city to the state or province and now to the nation. Today our children use the Internet as if there were no such things as national borders. We all know the radioactive clouds, viruses, the clean air from healthy oceans and rainforests and the polluted air from uncaring human acts do not notice the fences and custom offices that mark off spaces as separate countries on our only beautiful planet. We have for the first time in history an opportunity and necessity to continue the great slow movement of patriotism toward inclusion of all human beings. This book is a handbook on how to do this: not to make our loyalty to our native country less but to make our loyalty to the entire human race more. The great Utopian goals have all failed and we have little interest in them today. The way to go forward is in small steps and actions that can be done without major changes in our everyday life. Eleanor Roosevelt wrote: It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. If enough of us light one candle each we will have a blazing light to guide us to a brighter future. |
