Itās so frustrating to want to put my feelings into words and failing. I feel so ignorant all the time, like I donāt know enough to speak on any issue. When I do speak, I feel like I always miss something, some detail of the bigger picture, and itās always pointed out to me.
Thatās a good thing, I suppose. To be able to speak your mind and be corrected and helped.
Iām a patriot, I think, but Iām not a nationalist. I love my country because itās given me so much: a good education, good health services, good public transportā¦ I love our language and our culture, our music both old and new, I love our rivers and the ocean that graces our shores, our forests, our food and our waterā¦ I saw a TikTok a few days ago, actually where a Portuguese person talked about how, whenever they travel abroad, theyāre flabbergasted by how terrible foreign water is. Iāve traveled all over Europe and can vouch for that. Foreign water sucks, itās crazy. Portuguese tap water is better than Dutch bottled water. I love our people too, all of them.
However, whenever I express this, I feel like Iām crazy. Itās like thereās only two kinds of people in this country: those that hate everything about it, and nationalist xenophobes. The people that see the good points of our country are not the ones that hate everything about it, by the wayā¦ And I really donāt want to be associated with the xenophobes.
Partially, Iām scared that Iāll become like them. I donāt want to be hateful. It really does seem like the fascistic side of the deal really does have a monopoly on patriotism, though. Not patriotism, I suppose, it really is nationalism, but I find that thatās a difference that only matters to the people that already know it, and thatās not the everyman.
I saw this other TikTok about how the right has a narrative, and even if the narrative doesnāt make sense, itās more than what the left has, so people flock to it in times of need. The right wins because the left fails to convinceā¦ And I find that this might be a big issue. I see people talk about how thereās a big focus on the bad sides of our historyāof which there are manyāinstead of the good sides. I donāt knowā¦ I feel like thatās a talking point, but if it resonates, then it matters, I feel like. I mean, I know of our countryās history, and I still love it. I want to make our country better, to improve it, but it seems that the narrative that appeals to this mysterious time from before when we swam in gold coins like uncle scrooge is what people care about. And of course, itās all the browns in our midst. Itās very frustratingā¦
I donāt know. I feel like what Iām saying doesnāt make that much sense, but Iām kinda hoping that getting it out might help me wring out some meaning out of this digital rag drenched by my stream-of-consciousness.
I find it really frustrating that Lemmy doesnāt let you link posts or comments natively. You can like a comm with ! like in !gondaily@lemm.ee, you can link a user with @ like @gon@lemm.ee, but you canāt link a post or a comment. Iāve looked into it a little, and I get why itās not possible, but it sucks!
I feel so ignorant all the time, like I donāt know enough to speak on any issue. When I do speak, I feel like I always miss something, some detail of the bigger picture
In my opinion thatās a good thing, as long as it doesnāt stop you from communicating (for your benefit, but also for mine, because I enjoy reading your posts here :)) or acting on your ideas.
Everyone always misses (some detail of) the bigger picture. Whatās happening is that some people are more aware of that than others. I think you might like Daniel Kahnemanās work on this subject.
Turn on the tap in Flint, Michigan or rural West Virginia and youāll get a very different perspective on that clean water issue.
How much of our country have you seen, geographically and socioeconomically? Because I think that solves about 99% of your confusion.
If youād like a genuine dialogue Iām here for it, not trying to be belligerent. Have a good one regardless man.
How much of our country have you seen, geographically and socioeconomically?
Not sure, to be honest. Iāve been to every district. Iāve been to both tiny villages and the biggest cities. Iāve seen city poverty, and Iāve seen rural poverty. I grew up in the middle of nowhere and have lived in cities for the last few years. I havenāt been to every town, obviously, but I find it really hard to quantify how much Iāve seenā¦
In retrospect, this post was a little fatalistic. Thereās plenty of people that feel like me, I think Iām just in too much of an ecochamber online. I need to talk to people moreā¦
Turn on the tap in Flint, Michigan or rural West Virginia and youāll get a very different perspective on that clean water issue.
Iāve never been to the US, but Iāve heard about Flint, Michiganā¦ Lead, right? Poison in the public water. Thatās a horror film. Not sure how this is a different perspective on the clean water issue for me, thoughā¦ I donāt exactly expect US public services to be good, you know? The US has a reputation for being not-so-great at those, internationallyā¦ Well, I guess itās definitely an end of the spectrum I havenāt experienced.
If youād like a genuine dialogue Iām here for it, not trying to be belligerent. Have a good one regardless man.
Yeah, I love to discuss this stuff! Iām grateful anyone wants to talk about it, to be honest. Do you think the far-right has a monopoly on patriot sentiment? Do you think the left can take some of that feeling back and develop a compelling narrative to sway voters?
Have a good one, as well! :D
Ah this is my US centric view kicking in and just assuming everyone is from here, my bad. So many of these issues are universal it feels like. Yeah talking outside our bubbles is very refreshing, thatās a good take we could all use more of.
