Patriotism and Ego

[Tracey]

Exerpt :

"Egoism is not simply the equivalent of individualism. Ego is the ownership of an identity. That identity is generally fought for through a belief in one's superiority, sometimes as an individual, but sometimes as a member of an ethnic, political, cultural, or religious group. If a person identifies with his country, his culture, his government, his people, his ethnicity, and believes them to be superior, above all others, that is egoism. So being patriotic is extremely ego-centric.

It's one thing to appreciate the land you call home and the culture you were raised in, which is not really the same thing as being patriotic (nationalistic), because we all know that being patriotic means you think your own "fatherland", and everything it stands for, is superior to all others. Patriotism is extremely ego-centric. Being an individualist does not say anything about whether or not a person is ego-centric. As an individualist, you may or may not be ego-centric. But patriotism certainly does, because patriotism (and nationalism) are totally based in a belief in the superiority of one's own fatherland above all others. That is egoism." - EDavis