Book: Christianity and patriotism

Assuring people that they are in danger, governments dominate them.

... the government and the ruling classes, feeling that patriotism is not only their power, but the existence, diligent and cunning and violence excite and maintain it among the Nations.

Patriotism was necessary for the formation of a United of different nationalities and protected from the barbarians of strong States. But as soon as Christian education equally internally converts all these States, giving them the same foundations, patriotism became not only unnecessary, but was the only obstacle for unity among the peoples to whom they are willing according to their Christian consciousness.

But what is this high feeling that, in the opinion of the ruling classes must educate the peoples?
The feeling is there, in the precise definition of his own, nothing like the preference of the state or the people of any other state and people, feeling quite Express German Patriotic song: "Deutschland, Deutschland uber alles" ["Germany, Germany above all"], which is only to insert instead of Deutschland Russland, Frankreich, Italien or N. N., i.e., any other state, and is the clear formula high sense of patriotism. It may well be that the feeling is very desirable and useful for governments and for the integrity of the state, but it is impossible not to see that the feeling is not high, but on the contrary, very stupid and very immoral; stupid because, if every state will consider itself better than any other, it is obvious that they will all be wrong and immoral because it inevitably leads every man experiencing it to gain benefits for their state and nation at the expense of other States and peoples, - attraction opposite the main, commonly accepted moral law: not to do another and another, whatever we wanted, so we did.

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And again, those people who benefits from it, confidently would say that if there was a war, it means that it is needed, and will again prepare future generations of childhood corrupting them.

But the amazing thing is, despite the undeniable and obvious dependence only from this sense ruining people universal armaments and destructive wars, all my arguments about the backwardness, delay and harm of patriotism have been some still, or silence, or a deliberate misunderstanding, or a strange objection: it is said that bad only bad patriotism, jingoism, chauvinism, but the real, good patriotism is a very exalted moral feeling, to condemn which is not only unwise, but criminal. About the same, what is this real, good patriotism, or not referred to or instead of explaining spoken pompous pompous phrases, or appears to be under the concept of patriotism is something that has nothing to do with the patriotism that we all know and from which all suffer so cruelly.

Patriotism cannot be good. Why do not people say that egoism can't be good though it probably could be argued, because selfishness is the natural feeling with which man is born, and patriotism is an unnatural feeling, artificially grafted to it. For example, in Russia, where patriotism is love and devotion to the faith, Tsar and Fatherland with uncommon tension all in the hands of the government guns: churches, schools, printing and any solemnity, instilled people, the Russian working people - one hundred million of the Russian people, despite the undeserved reputation that he made as a people especially devoted to his faith, Tsar and Fatherland, a people the most free from the deception of patriotism. Faith, the Orthodox, state that he is so devoted, he mostly doesn't know and finds out, leaves her and becomes a rationalist; to their king, despite the continuing, reinforced by a suggestion in this direction, it applies to all authoritative authorities - if not with condemnation, with perfect indifference; of the Fatherland as his, if not to understand by this their village, parish, or he does not know, or if he does, he makes between it and other States make any difference.