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When I was a teen in <large college town> I thought it was bizarre and scary that anyone would feel enough patriotism to sing the national anthem. Now I think it's bizarre and scary for anyone to feel such a lack of patriotism that they would think it's bizarre and scary to want to sing the national anthem.


You have been successfully assimilated /s


Pretty much. If countries were religions any group with that attitude would be considered a cult.


Countries were religious; when the social technology of the "nation" was developed, the primary justification lay in religion.

Why do you think that a loyal preference to land, law, and shared history is cult-like?


> Countries were religious; when the social technology of the "nation" was developed, the primary justification lay in religion

Everybody knows that.

But I wrote "If countries were religions" not "religious".




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