Patriotism and the Mythology It Creates

Having lived in Canada for half my life, one thing I noticed upon my return to the United States was how much more patriotic Americans are than Canadians. I actually like that and wish Canadians were more vocal about their support and appreciation of their own country. I say that for context because I have also noticed how patriotism often leads to unsupported beliefs in one's country. Let me give you a few examples.

I was talking to a professional the other day and the topic of health care came up, the cost of prescriptions, how medicine has become such big business, and how much we are at the mercy of for profit insurance companies that will drop you if they can if you are ill. He agreed this was a problem, but he said two things as well: he said, "Well at least we dont have a Canadian health system" and he said: "Still, the USA has the best health care system in the world."

I asked him what he knew about the Canadian health care system. He called it social medicine but he really couldn't explain what that meant or why it was bad. Truth is he knew next to nothing about the Canadian healthcare system. Now before you get all rankled about this, I am not suggesting the Canadian system is better than here. I will offer there are components of the Canadian system that could add value to the American system -- and vice versa to be honest. His unfounded bias about the Canadian system is, for me, unfortunate because when people hold such beliefs, they close themselves off from alternative ways of doing things. By pitting one system against the other, we become positional, rather than seeking for better ways through investigation, inquiry, and openness to innovation.

I shook my head (privately) when he claimed the US system is thebest in the world because I knew he didn't know anything about other health care systems to make that judgement. It was a patriotic comment without any foundation behind it. It might be the best, but my guess, given an array of issues and problems we have with our healthcare system, it likely isn't. That doesnt mean it isn't good, but I am at a loss as to why Americans so often have to state that the American way is the best, especially when they are so uninformed about alternatives.

As you may know I listen to conservative talk radio, mostly for the fun of it, but also to make sure I hear views that may not be my own. For the most part I find the conservative talk radio guys like Limbaugh and Hannity to be unbelievably manipulative and self-serving, I will admit that there are times I nod my head, affirming some points they make -- like how the current immigration pending legislation is unworkable.

Hannity refered to the US health care system as the best in the world like my colleague did, and basically offered no real evidence of his belief. If you listen to him -- and others like him -- there is no better way to do health care than how we do it now. Too bad millions of children dont have healthcare. Too bad prescription costs are so much higher than in Canada. Dealing with such issues does not mean abandoning our entire system, but positioning it always as the best becomes an excuse for doing nothing.

Hannity talks a lot about freedom. According to him, we are the "freest" nation in the world. I am not sure how he came to that conclusion. Again, I am not saying we have no freedom (Hannity's view is often so black and white), but it seems to me a pointless position to state we are the free-est. What purpose does that serve? Can't we value the freedoms we do have and still voice criticisms about the errosion of freedoms? Does patriotism mean we have to be the best at everything even if we don't know if we are or, worse, when we know we are not?

Currently, the goverment can lock people up without benefit of a lawyer, much less a trial. Regardless of whether or not you support that, it is an erosion of freedom and of our rights as Americans. We should be concerned about that because we all know that power can corrupt, and my guess many, if not most of us, view politicians with suspicion. They dont score high on the most trusted list, do they?

People who are gay do not enjoy the freedom of being openly gay because others cannot tolerate such freedom on their part. We fire gay people when we find out they are gay. We think they will harm our children, despite having no evidence to suggest that. People are free to be biased like that I guess until it stops people from being employed or living safely in the community.

I'll stop here for now and write more later.