I love the White Sox and don’t think other people should be forced to be a Sox fan.

They are allowed to be weird in their own delightful ways. I guess, like, I can think that Chicago style hot dogs are great, but I don’t think that the bizarre mashed-potato-laden Swedish hot dog should be outlawed or eliminated by force. Patriotism is, as he explained, the calm confidence that your way of life is best, but not wishing to impose it upon others. The abiding purpose of every nationalist is to secure more power and more prestige, not for himself but for the nation or other unit in which he has chosen to sink his own individuality. Nationalism, on the other hand, is inseparable from the desire for power. Patriotism is of its nature defensive, both militarily and culturally. note: This is a damn lie, ignore), defined the difference between patriotism and nationalism thusly: In his classic essay “Notes on Nationalism,” George Orwell, who as a young man played shortstop for the Indian Imperial Police force’s Burmese squad ( Ed. It’s nationalism.Īnd, weirdly, it’s the kind of nationalism I can get behind. But that - like cheering for our White Sox players - isn’t exactly patriotism, by some definitions. Daniel Shirey/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty ImagesĪbove I said that was patriotism. Here we see our best players suiting up for a team that grabs our loyalties automatically. That’s part of why the World Baseball Classic is such a delight while Mookie and Mike Trout and TA might play together in an All-Star Game, no one gives a fig who wins or loses. There’s too damn much going on in the Olympics and we don’t do Eurovision, due to a tragic lack of upper-echelon camp professionals. doesn’t compete in many big international events, which is why the World Cup always feels big. It feels extremely patriotic and extremely unifying, a rare occasion in these grim and seismic times. World Cup cheering montages I love seeing that tense anticipation in a crowd of thousands turn into spasms of shared joy, flags waving and water flying through the air and the crowd chanting “U-S-A! U-S-A!” whenever the women’s or men’s team does something amazing.

George orwell patriotism