#antinationalism

"Fuck the USA"

If that were patriotism, few American men of today could be called upon to be patriotic, since the place to play has been turned into factory, mill and mine, while deafening sounds of machinery have replaced the music of the birds. Nor can we longer hear tales of great deeds, for the stories our mothers tell today are but those of sorrow, tears and grief.

What, then, is patriotism? "Patriotism, sir, is the last resort of scoundrels" said Dr. Johnson. Leo Tolstoy, the greatest anti-patriot of our times, defines patriotism as this principle, that will justify the training of wholesale murderers; a trade that requires better equipment for the exercise of man-killing than making of such necessities of life as shoes, clothing and houses; a trade that guarantees better returns and greater glory than that of an average workingman.

Gustave Herve, another great anti-patriot, justly calls patriotism a superstition - one far more injurious, brutal, and inhumane than religion. The superstition of religion originated on man's inability to explain a natural phenomena. That is, when primitive man heard thunder or saw the lightning, he could not account for either, and therefore concluded that back of them must be a force greater than himself. Similarly, he saw a supernatural force in the rain, and in various other changes in nature. Patriotism, on the other hand, is a superstition artifically created and maintained through a network of lies and falsehoods; a superstition that robs man of his self-respect and dignity, and increases his arrogance and conceit.

Indeed, conceit, arrogance and egoism are the essentials of patriotism. Let me illustrate. Patriotism assumes our globe is divided into little spots, each one surrounded by an iron gate. Those who had the fortune of being born on some particular spot, consider themselves better, nobler, grander, more intelligent than the living beings inhabiting other spot. It is, therefore, the duty of everyone living on that chosen spot, to fight, kill, and die in the attempt to impose his superiority upon all the others. The inhabitants of the other spots reason in like manner, of course, with the result that, from early infancy, the mind of the child is poisoned with blood-curdling stories about the Germans, the French, the Italians, Russians etc. When the child has reached manhood, he is thorougly saturated with the belief that he is chosen by the Lord himself to defend HIS country against the attack or an invasion of any foreigner. It is for that purpose that we are clamoring for a greater army and navy, more battleships and ammunition. It is for that purpose that America has within a short time spent four hundred million dollars*. (13 billions in today's money) Just think of it - four hundred million dollars taken from the produce of the PEOPLE. For surely, it is not the rich who contribute to patriotism. They are cosmopolitans, perfectly at home in every land. We in America know well the truth of this. Are not our rich Americans Frenchmen in France, Germans in Germany or Englishmen in England? And do they not squander with cosmpolitan grace fortunes coined by American factory children and cotton slaves? Yes, theirs is the patriotism that will make it possible to send messages of condolence to a despot like the Russian Tsar, when any mishap befalls him, as President Roosevelt did in the name of HIS people, when Serigus was punished by the Russian revolutionists.

It is patiotism that will assist the arch-murderer, Diaz, in destroying thousands of lives in Mexico, or that will even aid in arresting Mexican revolutionists on American soil and keep them incarcerated in American prisons, without the slightest cause or reason.

But then, patriotism is not for those who represent wealth and power. It is good enough for the people. It reminds one of the historic wisdom of Frederic the Great, the bosom friend Voltaire who said: "Religion is a fraud, but it must be maintained for the masses."

Emma Goldman, Anarchism and Other Essays, Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty

In the 4th chapter of Luke’s gospel, Jesus gets up in the synagogue to read from the Scriptures. He said, “The spirit of God is on me and has told me to give good news to the impoverished, release the incarcerated, recover the sight of the blind, and release the oppressed.” 

He put down the scroll and said “Today this is fulfilled,” and then a mob tried to throw him off a cliff. 

I made some prints of angels and demons to illustrate those good old time religion promises.