tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post8816617618013671386..comments2024-03-29T09:08:05.850+00:00Comments on THE SMALL THINGS: In which I examine my patriotic pride for bugs, and cheer on the great British ridersTania Kindersleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355967725006605825noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-54142519354912035222012-07-30T13:42:09.858+01:002012-07-30T13:42:09.858+01:00Such interesting comments; thank you. Hurrah for e...Such interesting comments; thank you. Hurrah for excellent blog debate!Tania Kindersleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18355967725006605825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-48982623944849209042012-07-30T12:10:54.547+01:002012-07-30T12:10:54.547+01:00I was the one to kick off this debate (if that'...I was the one to kick off this debate (if that's what it is) by my comment which was only meant to be a musing about partisanship, not an attack on all aspects of patriotism. I love my countries (England and now Wales) and cannot imagine living outside the UK, but I don't seem to have the patriotic gene, like some people don't have the religious gene. <br /><br />It's all a matter of degree, I suppose. And Elle has hit a chord with me when she observes that in the USA the right wing has annexed the expression of deep feeling for one's country and turned it into something much less charming than just loving where one lives. It is, in their hands, not anything that others can easily sign up because of the sense of superiority over the rest of the world.<br /><br />The UK press coverage has not been spread evenly over all our 500+ Olympians, but focused obsessively on those it is imagined are most likely to win a medal, preferably a gold medal. I am pretty sure that's not how things should be done. It's focusing on hoped-for superiority, not the immensely impressive human endeavour that gets a person to the level in their chosen sport where they have the chance to appear at the Olympics.<br /><br />Now the Team GB cycling hype has taken a kick in the pants perhaps the coverage will just calm down and let us enjoy these games as a sporting event, not an orgy of nationalism.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13702475308562601190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-52689531114620531612012-07-30T03:01:05.905+01:002012-07-30T03:01:05.905+01:00Very well said, Ellie.
BirdVery well said, Ellie.<br /><br />BirdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-44023135227095945152012-07-30T03:00:24.215+01:002012-07-30T03:00:24.215+01:00I want the best at each sport to win, and I hope t...I want the best at each sport to win, and I hope that sometimes that means an American. If it doesn't, then it is not the end of the world.<br /><br />That said, a friend I have known since she was 14 is married to one of the US's dressage riders. So for purely personal reasons, knowing what fine people they are, I hope he wins. But really, that is saying, "I hope this year is his year"--not that the outcome of the competition makes him any better or worse.<br /><br />I love that the Brits cheer for the underdogs. Can you even imagine what it takes for those lone athletes from remote, poor countries to even get to the Olympics? I want them to hear the roar of the crowd for them, to have great memories that no one can ever take away from them--to know that all the effort they put in and the sacrifices they made were, ultimately, recognized.<br /><br />BirdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-78147908128064864662012-07-30T00:28:53.507+01:002012-07-30T00:28:53.507+01:00I was really chuffed to see four young Belgian men...I was really chuffed to see four young Belgian men stride into the Olympic pool area tonight to compete in the Men's 400 meter relay FINALS...and I'm not even Belgian! (They finished eighth out of eight.)<br />Sometimes it really isn't about winning or losing. Getting there at all is a major and most remarkable achievement.Pat (in Belgium)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02367089351412953926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-51550383435085336602012-07-29T19:52:12.391+01:002012-07-29T19:52:12.391+01:00As one of the Readers who may have come across as ...As one of the Readers who may have come across as scorning patriotism yesterday, I would like to clarify that I absolutely agree with you that patriotism at its best is a positive force to be encouraged-- I am sorry that I seemed to say otherwise! I think that what I wanted to convey has more to do with the particular nature of specifically American patriotism as it seems to a leftist in the US, where it has been almost entirely coopted by the right wing, and takes such a contemptible and stupid form ("Mr. Obama, why aren't you wearing a flag pin?") that, over the years, those of us on the left have gradually come to the conclusion that we want nothing to do with it. Certain people have made US patriotism exactly that exclusive, negative emotion that you revile: My country, right or wrong, because dammit, we are better than you. The Left is aware that the world sees "us" saying this, and we are ashamed, and it has become with us a very hard thing to say that we are proud to be Americans, though we might be (I was yesterday, when I went to a Mexican grocery store and got a bag of chickpea flour on sale as a "Ramadan special"-- multiculturalism is not exclusive to us, but I love it about us). I am given to understand, though I may be wrong, that a similar problem exists for some Germans-- "I am proud to be German" is a slogan adopted by the far-far-right, and so one must exercise caution in saying it. I hope this clarifies. <br /><br />There is the additional irony (?) that your cultural references mean more to me than my own do; I'm not entirely sure what my own are. I think that the Left handles patriotism by becoming patriotic about our home regions, or cities, or even neighborhoods-- but our nation as a whole is often too large and too problematic, and we must shade it with grey.Elliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04888019230555832929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-720642692556636422012-07-29T18:43:48.451+01:002012-07-29T18:43:48.451+01:00Being partisan is admittedly tapping in to the pri...Being partisan is admittedly tapping in to the primitive tribal instinct, but that doesn't mean we should scorn it. Primitive instincts are behind a lot of really pleasurable things: the nurturing of small, helpless creatures; sex ; home-building; to name just a few. As long as we recognise the origin of our emotion I see nothing wrong at all in screaming for Team GB. I'll be doing that tomorrow. Only wish I could have found myself a ticket.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com