Of the two friends I’ve spoken to who I know intend to vote ‘Yes’ in the forthcoming Scottish Referendum, one by his own admission has never done a proper day’s work in his life, and the other, by his own admission, is a racist. I’d add that they have some redeeming factors as well, of course :-).
On the other hand, the most sensible, and possibly successful, person I know, who in the past has voted for the Scottish National Party, wrote the following: “What is on offer is vision only, no substance, limited upside and no prospect for years of any material changes in Scotland, versus a whole lot of unquantifiable risks especially to jobs. Therefore I have come to the conclusion that the SNP’s tactics have been to deliberately obscure the facts in a sea of bluff and rhetoric and no one in their right mind should vote for independence. If we get it, there will be disappointments down the line.”
I came upon a website with the following interesting quotes:
“Nationalism is an infantile thing. It is the measles of mankind.”
― Albert Einstein
“So it is the human condition that to wish for the greatness of one’s fatherland is to wish evil to one’s neighbors. The citizen of the universe would be the man who wishes his country never to be either greater or smaller, richer or poorer.”
― Voltaire
“Why must I cling to the customs and practices of a particular country forever, just because I happened to be born there? What does it matter if its distinctiveness is lost? Need we be so attached to it? What’s the harm if everyone on earth shares the same thoughts and feelings, if they stand under a single banner of laws and regulations? What if we can’t be recognized as Indians any more? Where’s the harm in that? No one can object if we declare ourselves to be citizens of the world. Is that any less glorious?”
― Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
“The logic behind patriotism is a mystery. At least a man who believes that his own family or clan is superior to all others is familiar with more than 0.000003% of the people involved.”
― Criss Jami
“We are very defensive, and therefore aggressive, when we hold on to a particular belief, a dogmas, or when we worship our particular nationality, with the rag that is called the flag.”
― Jiddu Krishnamurti
“Our true nationality is mankind.”
― H.G. Wells
“Patriotism is, fundamentally, a conviction that a particular country is the best in the world because you were born in it….”
― George Bernard Shaw
“Nationalism as we know it, is the result of a form of state-sponsored branding.”
― Bryant McGill
“National boundaries are not evident when we view the Earth from space. Fanatical ethnic or religious or national chauvinisms are a little difficult to maintain when we see our planet as a fragile blue crescent fading to become an inconspicuous point of light against the bastion and citadel of the stars.”
― Carl Sagan
“Nationalism is not to be confused with patriotism. Both words are normally used in so vague a way that any definition is liable to be challenged, but one must draw a distinction between them, since two different and even opposing ideas are involved. By ‘patriotism’ I mean devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life, which one believes to be the best in the world but has no wish to force on other people. Patriotism is of its nature defensive, both militarily and culturally. Nationalism, on the other hand, is inseparable from the desire for power. The abiding purpose of every nationalist is to secure more power and more prestige, not for himself but for the nation or other unit in which he has chosen to sink his own individuality.”
― George Orwell
“Nationalism is a form of cultural self-centeredness, and as a collective thought-form, can only exist because the dominant in-group is itself comprised of self-centered and narcissistic individuals.”
― Bryant McGill
“Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one”
― John Lennon