Are you a patriot?

Do you share Kennedy’s idea—not to ask what your country can do for you, but to ask what you can do for your country? Do you believe that your homeland stands above everything else?

Yes?

Then can you answer the following questions:

Would you do anything for your country?

Do you believe that your country stands above your individual rights and human rights in general?

Do you think there exists some higher national idea, in whose name the free choice of the individual and their freedom can be sacrificed?

If you think so, can you explain to yourself what exactly makes this national idea so valuable?

Who shapes and defines this national idea, and the paths that must be followed in order to achieve it?

Would you take part in a war of conquest for your country, and would you kill on the battlefield those who are defending their own homeland from the aggression of yours, in order to make your country great?

Are you religious?

If you answered yes to the previous question, do you not think that nationalism contradicts the principles of most religions? Which identity within you is stronger—the identity of the patriot or that of the religion to which you belong?

I admit that these questions are provocative. But that does not make them unnecessary.

The imposition of identity represents an attempt to assign the individual to a social group—on the basis of ethnic, professional, religious, moral, or other characteristics—and, on that basis, to subsequently expect from them a specific form of consciousness, thinking, value system, and behavior characteristic of that community. To strengthen the cohesion of the group, rituals, norms, and symbols are used, because the more cohesive the group is, the greater the power exercised over the individual. A sense of belonging is created, which is expected to override individual rights and preferences. The imperative of the collective always overrides personal rights and personal choice.

This is tribal thinking, based on primal programs in humans and in the animal world. We cannot ignore people’s tendency to unite in groups, because this is inherent in all social animals, but we can reflect on the principles and values that unite us—on whether they correspond to universal human aspirations and ideals, or whether they are tribal and irrational, pushing humanity backward in its development. Whether they presuppose hostility, oppression, extreme division, and violence. This tribal thinking enables and sustains dictators and their totalitarian regimes. It is no coincidence that it has been said that nationalism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.

Manipulation based on identity is extremely common—not only in politics, but also in society at large. Conditioning power and its actions through identity, tribal thinking, and a sense of belonging sets these against the inherent human inclinations and aspirations for freedom and justice. This is a convenient method used by those in power to neutralize public discontent while pushing through oppressive and repressive measures and rules. Every act of repression and every abomination can be presented as necessary in the name of the “common good.”

Analogues and variations of the phrases below are frequently encountered in public discourse:

“Country above all!”

“Everything for the country!”

“National traitor!”

“What have you done so that the country will still exist tomorrow?”

“What have you sacrificed so that the country will still exist tomorrow?”

“If you were a real (whatever), you wouldn’t do this!”

“You are not a real (whatever)!”

“Egoist! You only think about yourself, not about society!”

“You must submit to the will of the Family!”

“We are united because we sacrifice individual whims in the name of the community!”

“Life in a community has its price (freedom).”

“If we want to be a society, we must accept certain reasonable restrictions.”

“Irresponsible nihilist!”

“We should not think about how we can succeed, but how we can succeed as a State!”

And so on.

What all such manipulative messages have in common is the opposition between personal interest and social interest. Of course, it is never mentioned who exactly defines the social interest, and manipulators will do everything possible to avoid answering such a question directly. Those who attempt to impose collectivist propaganda are the elites and the powerful of the day, who through such propaganda seek to gain even more power over societies and over the individual. It is important to note that they themselves are extreme individualists, who have accumulated their personal power and wealth at the expense of the societies and peoples whose leaders they claim to be—and whose freedom they target through collectivist propaganda and the cultivation of tribal thinking.

There is nothing wrong with a person feeling part of a community, but they must clearly understand their own reasons for this sense of belonging, rather than simply being part of a blind herd, enslaved to its leaders and the dogmatism imposed by them.