If You Really Love Your Country…

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The Essays of The Man From the North by Rivera Sun
Writer, Dandelion Salad
January 20, 2019

If you really love your country, you would not be satisfied with platitudes and flag-waving, national anthems and military parades. A truly patriotic citizen does not sit idle as the land and waters of his country are polluted by extractive industries. A true patriot does not sneer and scorn her fellow citizens who live in poverty or are unhoused. A true patriot does not place higher loyalties with corporations than human beings. A true patriot sees no glory in war, nor security in spending more on military than on peace and justice for all of humankind.

There Is No Good Kind of Nationalism by David Swanson

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by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Let’s Try Democracy, Oct. 23, 2018
October 25, 2018

Trump is for nationalism. So the “Resistance” is predictably for . . . wait for it . . . the right kind of nationalism — or nationalism worn properly, as The Week advises. The problem isn’t nationalism, The Hill informs us, it’s phony nationalism and spurious nationalism, or as the Washington Post explains along with CNN, the problem is actually white nationalism. Of course, white nationalism is a problem, but not just because it’s white — also because of the nationalism. Unless you read Esquire which comes up with the oh-so-novel pronouncement that nationalism is indeed bad, but patriotism is good.

Celebrate Mass Slaughter on Patriot Day! by David Swanson

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by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Let’s Try Democracy
September 7, 2018

I went in search of anything the United States was number 1 in that it shouldn’t be ashamed of, and came up empty. But I did find that the United States is number 1 in believing it is number 1. So, that’s something.

The Anti-War Speech That Jailed Eugene Debs For 10 Years + Transcript

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Watch the video below

Dandelion Salad

The Peace Report on Jun 28, 2018

“Canton, Ohio” speech made on June 16, 1918 by Eugene Debs. Eugene Debs made his famous anti-war speech in Canton, Ohio, protesting World War I which was raging in Europe. For this speech he was arrested and convicted in federal court in Cleveland, Ohio under the war-time espionage law. He was his own attorney. His appeal to the jury and his statement to the court before sentencing are regarded as two of the great classic statements ever made in a court of law. He was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison.

Trump Treats EU Like Bozos by Finian Cunningham + NATO Needs To End by Pat Elder

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by Finian Cunningham
Writer, Dandelion Salad
East Africa
Crossposted from Sputnik
July 10, 2018

You can’t really blame Trump for treating European leaders with contempt. Frankly, it’s because they deserve it, and Trump knows it.

This week, the American president joins European allies at the NATO summit in Brussels, and the gathering is expected to be a bruising one. The Europeans are fearing a drubbing from Trump over financial commitments.

I’m Sick and Tired of This Thing Called “Patriotism” by William Blum

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by William Blum
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally published July 5, 2010
July 3, 2018

Some thoughts on “patriotism” written on July 4

Most important thought: I’m sick and tired of this thing called “patriotism”.

The Japanese pilots who bombed Pearl Harbor were being patriotic. The German people who supported Hitler and his conquests were being patriotic, fighting for the Fatherland. All the Latin American military dictators who overthrew democratically-elected governments and routinely tortured people were being patriotic — saving their beloved country from “communism”.

Where Is Your Loyalty?

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The Essays of The Man From the North by Rivera Sun
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally published May 1, 2017
July 1, 2018

For all the avowed patriots who demand my Pledge of Allegiance and salutes on Loyalty Day, Fourth of July, and other patriotic, militarized holidays, I fling this question to your hearts: how deep and far does your loyalty to your country run?

Why Are the Poor Patriotic? by David Swanson

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by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Let’s Try Democracy, June 15, 2018
June 20, 2018

We should be very grateful to Francesco Duina for his new book, Broke and Patriotic: Why Poor Americans Love Their Country. He begins with the following dilemma. The poor in the United States are in many ways worse off than in other wealthy countries, but they are more patriotic than are the poor in those other countries and even more patriotic than are wealthier people in their own country. Their country is (among wealthy countries) tops in inequality, and bottoms in social support, and yet they overwhelmingly believe that the United States is “fundamentally better than other countries.” Why?

David Swanson: How American Exceptionalism Is Exploited to Justify War + How Suzy Hansen Lost Her U.S. Exceptionalism

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by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Let’s Try Democracy
May 10, 2018

TheRealNews on May 9, 2018

Writer and activist David Swanson discusses his new book Curing Exceptionalism, with TRNN’s Ben Norton, exploring how American nationalism and the myth of US superiority is used to justify hyper-militarism and capitalist oppression.

David Swanson: Debunking the Myth of American Exceptionalism + The Day DC Was Bombed

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by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Let’s Try Democracy
April 20, 2018

TheRealNews on Apr 19, 2018

Anti-war writer and activist David Swanson discusses his new book Curing Exceptionalism, and picks apart the chauvinistic idea that the United States of America is the greatest country on the planet.

David Swanson: The More The US Spends On Weapons, The Less Safe We Are

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with David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Let’s Try Democracy, Jan. 23, 2018
January 29, 2018

RvTHEORY6 on Jan 22, 2018

David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson’s books include War Is A Lie and When the World Outlawed War. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org. He hosts Talk Nation Radio. He is a 2015, 2016, 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee.

Put Away The Flags by Howard Zinn

Image by Jagz Mario via Flickr

by Howard Zinn
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Repost from July 3, 2010
crossposted at The Progressive (2006)
July 4, 2017

On this July 4, we would do well to renounce nationalism and all its symbols: its flags, its pledges of allegiance, its anthems, its insistence in song that God must single out America to be blessed.

Where Is Your Loyalty?

Image by Lorie Shaull via Flickr

The Essays of The Man From the North by Rivera Sun
Writer, Dandelion Salad
May 1, 2017

For all the avowed patriots who demand my Pledge of Allegiance and salutes on Loyalty Day, Fourth of July, and other patriotic, militarized holidays, I fling this question to your hearts: how deep and far does your loyalty to your country run?

Put Away The Flags by Howard Zinn

Image by Jagz Mario via Flickr

Repost from July 3, 2010

by Howard Zinn
Writer, Dandelion Salad
crossposted at The Progressive (2006)
July 4, 2015

On this July 4, we would do well to renounce nationalism and all its symbols: its flags, its pledges of allegiance, its anthems, its insistence in song that God must single out America to be blessed.

Put Away The Flags by Howard Zinn (repost; 2006)

Image by Jagz Mario via Flickr

Repost from July 3, 2010

by Howard Zinn
Writer, Dandelion Salad
crossposted at The Progressive (2006)
July 4, 2014

On this July 4, we would do well to renounce nationalism and all its symbols: its flags, its pledges of allegiance, its anthems, its insistence in song that God must single out America to be blessed.