The last taboo

"More people joined the Michael Jackson fan club. We've done picked all the low-lying Lynndie England fruit, and now we need warm bodies." - Bill Maher on the Army's low recruitment numbers for April.

Is this statement treason? According to Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Alabama) it is. "I think it borders on treason," Bachus said. "In treason, one definition is to undermine the effort or national security of our country."

I don't know what dictionary Bachus uses, but Dictionary.com defines treason as: Violation of allegiance toward one's country or sovereign, especially the betrayal of one's country by waging war against it or by consciously and purposely acting to aid its enemies.

Now, it's obvious that Maher had no intent of aiding the enemy or waging war against the United States. But let's take this beyond the partisan pissing contest and get a little philosophical.

Question: If you could do something great for humanity, that would improve the lives of millions around the world, but had to become a traitor in the process, would you?

In Ursula Le Guin's, The Left Hand of Darkness, in a complex sci-fi scenario involving a union of human-populated planets, the main character betrays his country in order to save the entire planet, and he pays with his life.

This is all fine and well in science fiction, but in the real world, nationalism is becoming the last taboo. You can argue about religion, politics, or race, but anything less than full-fledged loyalty to your country will get you booted from the discussion.

But what is a country? A common culture? Put a gay couple from Massachusetts in the same room with a Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson and show me the common culture. So what are we fighting and dying for? A land mass defined by arbitrary borders? Are the inhabitants of El Paso, Texas really that different from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, just a few miles to the south? And are those border-dwellers very similar to Americans living on the Canadian border?

Article Author: Ablogistan

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