Have we lost our Patriotism?

Patriots and non patriots of Ireland, ye are stuck with each other 😂

unfortunately vicious murders have occurred on this Island since the start of recorded history. I can’t see more patriotism some how reducing the occurrence of these events. It probably was the case when the population was hovering around the 3 million mark in the mid 20th century that such murders became incredibly rare due to the low population. Nothing to do with patriotism. But go back two and three hundred years ago when there was 7-8 million people living here and you will find some truly horrible grisly events and intense violence the likes of which you would never see today as the population numbers climb back to that level again. This country and modern life in general is a much safer place than it ever was. And it is getting increasingly safer as time goes forward with more CCTV and more robust DNA science making murder and criminality an incredibly hard endeavor to pull off. But that is an incredibly hard story to sell. How many hits would a story get proclaiming this obvious fact. How many copies would a newspaper sell lauding the fact that the streets and byways of Ireland are multiple times safer than they were in 1823. That stuff doesn’t sell. People don’t care about that. But it still is a fact. A boring fact. An abstract fact that no body can get hits for stating or sell newspapers or get attention or whatever. But to think there is something back there in the past that “we need to get back to” that is just horseshite. The narrative of a “glorious past “ certainly doesn’t apply to this country .

I lived in the US for years, the vast majority of people are totally fine. Like any place.

Those people you see as patriots are made up in a large part by people who fetishize a piece of cloth mostly because of the manner in which it is used to subjugate anyone who disagrees with their mindset as to what life should be about. And for each of these people, there's one who hates so much about what the US is, the capitalism focus, the knowing the price of everything and the value of nothin that exists in a lot of mindsets, the hypocrisy etc.

As for the UK, I lived there also but its some time ago so can't claim to know exactly what it feels like right now, but as with America, there is very little about those who see the flag as the ultimate sign of patriotism that actually is something to aspire to.

As percentage of the total population, I'd say there's more people in Ireland genuinely proud of the country and wanting to see it, and everyone in it, do well than exists in America.

The country was never better at any point in its history than it is today. It’s the amount of contrarians complaining about nothing that’s increasing.

It must be an interesting world in your head... if that's what you've taken from the thread.

Not everyone owns their own home or has health insurance you know

I rented a house in Skokie. IL for a year. One day 4 big muthfers knocked on the door asking was I the owner. I said no im just renting.

They said they noticed i wasnt flying the starts and stripes and why was that. I said none of us are American in this house. They said its customary here to fly the stars and stripes, and off they went. We got the impression there would be consequences if we didnt. We were leaving the house about 3 weeks after anyway.

I think patriotism is only for stupid people with no brain of their own tbh.

Were you ever in some pubs down the country here when a band is playing and and the end they play the national anthem. And you have all these locked mongs having a go at people who are talking when the national anthem is on. Its pathetic. If you asked them a question on history they wouldnt have a clue.

Or another one I saw on RTE years ago someone was being interviewed after there was some trouble in Darndale. and she said "Im proud to be born in Darndale.". I would have thought that you have to be proud of an achevent of yours or someone elses, but being born in a certain place is not something you have any control of so why the pride.

Why? Because you have never been to the US? Or because you have never been in a place in Ireland that played the national anthem at the end of the night. Or maybe just because you couldnt possibly know if either event happened, but decided that you are psychic and we should all bow to your amazing knowledge of the world?

No, the first two were already in the post. I only edited in the last one because you reminded me of that person.

my post shows what I quoted. It shows your original post.

The world is so ridiculously connected that I don’t care what I am. Pride in one’s nationality was very important when we weren’t nearly as accessible and connected. Now we’re all just people of the earth. I can’t understand in 2023 folks getting bent ouha shape about nationality and identity issues.

Except those aren't the same thing as yours involves him being asked why by people who know him and presumably know he's American and served, and the other involves strangers calling to random houses in an apparent threatening manner due to the absence of a flag when a lot of houses in general wouldn't.

A patriot loves his country, a nationalist hates everyone else's.

First world problems