Thanks Wil. I completely agree with you of course and you would have noticed from a post or two I've circulated my pride in Western culture — I can't believe my luck as the heir of such a patrimony. And yes, it also brought us black chattel slavery. The historian John Lucaks wrote a book on the subject of the difference between patriotism (good) and nationalism which I recommend.
There's a lot of simple silliness about sadly, so I ignore most of it. It's a great pity that there was such a cultural vacuum that Billy Bragg felt the need to write a book about it. We're all proud of what we appreciate about the world we're part of — or we should be, and with that, keen to live up to the best values within it. And propagate and improve them.
Billy Bragg, who isn't one of the world's greatest thinkers, but whose values and ability to articulate a view I greatly appreciate, wrote a book a while ago called The Progressive Patriot. I found it useful to help me thinking through my patriotism towards Australia while avoiding nationalism and jingoism. In the modern world of identity politics this is a slightly challenging needle to thread, and not one that I'd usually discuss with my lefty friends, some of whom have fully bought into the official set of values that one must profess in order to be part of the In Group, allowing one to be derisive and snarky online.
Thanks Wil. I completely agree with you of course and you would have noticed from a post or two I've circulated my pride in Western culture — I can't believe my luck as the heir of such a patrimony. And yes, it also brought us black chattel slavery. The historian John Lucaks wrote a book on the subject of the difference between patriotism (good) and nationalism which I recommend.
There's a lot of simple silliness about sadly, so I ignore most of it. It's a great pity that there was such a cultural vacuum that Billy Bragg felt the need to write a book about it. We're all proud of what we appreciate about the world we're part of — or we should be, and with that, keen to live up to the best values within it. And propagate and improve them.
Billy Bragg, who isn't one of the world's greatest thinkers, but whose values and ability to articulate a view I greatly appreciate, wrote a book a while ago called The Progressive Patriot. I found it useful to help me thinking through my patriotism towards Australia while avoiding nationalism and jingoism. In the modern world of identity politics this is a slightly challenging needle to thread, and not one that I'd usually discuss with my lefty friends, some of whom have fully bought into the official set of values that one must profess in order to be part of the In Group, allowing one to be derisive and snarky online.