Partriotism.

I read a story today, about a soldier doing something nice for a little girl on his way home from Afganistan or some such war torn hell hole, with the standard order to support our troops at the bottom, stressing if it affected you that it was the love of Britain and the adoration of your country.
It did affect me, and I've had to do a bit of thinking now, based on this reaction.
I'm not patriotic. I have no interest in being proud of my country, and keeping it unique and British, I find all that nationalistic wank extremely displeasing. I prefer the idea of a world united. These ridiculous barriers we've put in place to prevent this, based on race, (which doesn't exist, we're all the same race. The human race.) ethnicity(which is what most people think of as race, the differences that different climates give our skin and features), or where you were born, are complete bullshit. It means nothing at all. Why the hell does being born on this island make you better, or worse, than people born on another landmass? Are you insane? What possible difference can it make?
So pride in my country is not present, its a country, a system set in place by people who want to rule the world and can't, so they settle. I dont believe countries should exist. So why did it make me smile?
Because I do have pride in people. Not because they are MY people. Not because they are special. Because in being human and showing humanity you show you are more.
Now this guy is probably to my tastes a murderer. Anyone who shoots a guy on the other side just because he's on the other side, and his superior told him to, is a murderer. There is no grey area in wartime. It's still a person you just watched fall. To defend yourself, granted, there would be grey areas- if you were fighting to defend YOUR home. But I haven't seen any gunfire on our streets lately, so I'm guessing you were on his.
But the act of kindness to the small child is all I know of this young man, so I will hold that as what affected me. And that is the finer side of human nature. And it's beautiful.
I don't think invading random countries because you disagree with them is a good idea. I don't think following on to a war so as not to be called a chicken is either, but I'm not ranting about that now or I shall be here forever.
I'm a patriot of the world. I love people. They can be coarse, vulgar, violent, stupid, bigoted, and a million other things, but the thing I admire, that need to stop anothers pain, the need to help someone, is in all of them somewhere. Buried under piles of pain and bitterness, sometimes. So twisted that it is unrecogniseable sometimes. But it's always there. Without all this country shit it would be easier to see, too.
Don't be proud of your country...of your army.
Be proud of people. Individually.
Beautiful, kind, wise and gentle, even within the spiral of mayhem, death, fear and confusion.
Help people realise that first, they are people. Citizens of a planet, not a country.