nationalism?

Today a coworker was relaying to me a tale of a soldier she had met who was placed on display during the Calgary Stampede. This soldier's mission as a trophy display was, of course, to round up potential troops for the Canadian forces. There is quite a story behind this as to how the pair became engaged in conversation, but that is not my focus at the moment. What I would like to address is the soldier's blatant arrogance as well as ignorance towards his own reasons behind joining the army. from the side of the story that I had heard, this man boasted to my coworker of what a 'hero' he [was] for going to Afghanistan, and for 'protecting' his country. I am foolish and naive and would like to believe that the human race doesn't actually contain idiots such as this soldier, or at the very least that maybe I should hear both sides of the story prior to becoming enraged and judging this man, buuuuut that is not happening.

I do understand the need to protect people that you love and care about, and of course innocent people as well, but blunt nationalism has never sided well with me. I do not understand nationalistic people. I don't. Perhaps that makes me ignorant, but I simply do not understand what it means to be so proud of the country you reside in. Or the fact that your nationalism is what leads a human to fight in a war that murders innocent people that is not from your own country, because that is also okay right? Uggghhh. I think I may be comiting a logical fallacy here.

I don't know. I just really needed to vent. I hate everything, and people who think it's heroic to be in a war that has absolutely no meaning. This soldier's response when my coworker began to argue with him about his heroic duty was to childishly tell her off with a 'you don't understand, you don't know what we do out there' No, you are right we don't so then please enlighten us. I'm just so pissed. What do we really know? How accurate is the media that flashes and scars our retinas, trying to enable us to understand the current world around us? How do we know who to trust when our government doesn't even seem all that reliable? Why am I only being awakened to this?!

Nationalism. Fine, it has it's place, I love my home, I love the freedom and welfare that I have, but the car I own has a Canada flag bumper sticker from the previous owner, and every time I look at it I would very much like to gag. I am not a patriotic person, I will assist my home in ways that I deem necessary. Going to war to prove my loyalty is not that way.

fuck everything.