#8. Irrational Nationalism
Nationalism is one of mankind’s most primitive instincts. In a digital age where national borders are constantly being broken down by globalization, nationalism is becoming a fossilized relic of the past. “My country, right or wrong” is the type of thinking that only empowers authoritarian governments and incentivizes them to commit the most heinous of transgressions against their people. Unity is not always a good thing.
Venezuela is Exhibit A of this type of behavior. Even when the country is experiencing rampant inflation, scarcity, and public disorder, the president and his supporters still have the nerve to say that “we still have our country intact” and that’s all that matters.
The cold-hard truth is that countries are nothing more than artificial boundaries set by an entity that enjoys a monopoly on force. These types of appeals are nothing more than emotional posturing that only serves to redirect attention from the critical issues at hand. Being united in poverty and misery is no virtue.
