In recent years there has been a rise in patriotism around Europe and elsewhere. Many of these feelings have been spurred on by racists who claim that European culture is being eroded by the vast amount of immigrants that are being let in.

I have heard many times people link their ancestors achievements with themselves. This is a big mistake on two accounts:

1) This leads to strong patriotic trends

2) This leads to racism

Heres how, A British person ( for example, use any nationality you like ) claims that he is great because his country produced men like Charles Darwin or William Shakespeare. When this happens we base our entire view of him on people he has never met and is probably not even related to. His claims to be self important even though he himself does not boast about his own achievements. So he makes up for his lack of achievements by using patriotism.

However, more seriously the converse is also true. People still view immigrants who come from worn torn countries with suspicion. They know nothing about their culture or customs and believe they could not achieve anything as their country has achieved nothing. Most people under sane conditions would understand that in all societies, there are idiots and geniuses. This has nothing to do with their nationality or creed. However when patriotism takes over these same ideas seem to get lost, ( Take Nazi Germany as an example )

There are only individual minds and individual achievements - and a culture is not the anonymous product of undifferentiated masses, but the sum of the intellectual achievements of individual men. All of our ideas based on a person should be on what he does or does not do and not on the country he accidentally was born into.

In the main patriotism is used by a ruling class, be it the army or government to achieve a goal, which under normal conditions a man would not do. I can see no reason how patriotism could be useful for man kind as a whole or to the individual. We become no more then drones doing what the mass does out of fear for being called unpatriotic and supporting government policy no matter what the human rights cost may be.

A final word or warning:

Hermann Goering:

"Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country". quote verified at snopes.com

Wake up people and be unpatriotic, instead stand up for human rights and humanity no matter what your country has to say about it.