The Perfect Country

We're sometimes taught that feeling proud of one's country is always suspect; but actually, it's very important to be able to have and express pride in collective life. The trick is to ensure that we have countries that deserve our pride. In this film, we design the ideal country to be proud of.

FURTHER READING

MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE

Watch more films on SELF in our playlist:

SOCIAL MEDIA

Feel free to follow us at the links below:

CREDITS

Produced in collaboration with:

Mike Brookes

#TheSchoolOfLife #Nationalism #Patriotism

[KaffantoDezso]

“If I knew of something that could serve my nation but would ruin another, I would not propose it to my prince, for I am first a man and only then a Frenchman...because I am necessarily a man, and only accidentally am I French.”

Montesquieu

[Tellyfive]

Like it or not, Nationalism is a basic extension of our own primordial instincts. We crave comfort and belonging....our friends, our family, our neighborhood, our school, our town, our country. This is not bad at all. It only turns evil when government gets involved.

[auntmanda]

I feel like you can absolutely be proud of things you had no control over. I’m proud of my father for overcoming addiction. That was his journey though, not mine. By the same token, I’m proud of the IDEALS of my country and I take it as my personal responsibility, in whatever small way I can, to help my country live up to those ideals. I’m proud of all of us, of how far we’ve come, while recognizing how far we’ve yet to go.

[billhader]

Proud to be an individual and I respect the people who have served the country I live in. I will not blindly love my country or abandon my own thoughts and beliefs to fit into the "collective"

[Leotique]

Would love to live in this country, where drinking soymilk during a party and discussing philosophical ideas are common and not strange or weird.

[tenaciousrodent]

I came to the conclusion some time ago that humanity is completely tribal in nature and it has nothing to do with free will. It worked well for thousands of years out in the jungle but the current situation is something we are just not adapted to at all.

[LucidAPs]

Pride should be reserved for something you achieve or obtain on your own, not something that happens by accident of birth.
-George Carlin

[ahobo]

To like your home is completely natural and normal. Thanks for making this video it’s a difficult subject today but I think you gave it a fair shake.

[georgiana]

I was discussing this with my friends in response to the World Cup euphoria. Nations are an entirely made up thing held together by all sorts of stories: from the constitution to the national identity. In order to have a functional country we need social criticism but also a bit of nationalism. We need to care enough about our country to fix the issues we notice. If we point out the drawbacks it's only fair to also acknowledge the good sides.

Also, national identity is a significant part of one's personal identity. The collective identity we create will shape both our society and ourselves. That's why I think artists also play a big part in social change since they can create through culture an alternative identity that encompasses the change we want to see.

Romania provides an interesting example of what happens when the level of nationalism is too low. Most people here are actually ashamed of their country which means they find it very hard to invest in improving it, to promote its beauties to tourists and even to accept being Romanian as part of their personal identity. It comes as no surprise then that we have the highest number of emigrants in the world after Syria.

[Fearofthemonster]

The country I would feel proud of is a single word wide country that is divided into small states. Instead of nationalism, its citizen would have humanism. People will be proud not because they belong to certain group but because they are human. There won't be us and them there would be just us.

[crangel]

But you know whats more important than materialistic things?




KNOWLEDGE.

[dartagnanx]

Who's for "cloud day" on October 2nd?

[FirstRisingSouI]

Despite all its problems, I feel proud of the U.S. It's not completely fair to its citizens, or kind to other countries, or responsible with the environment, but all things considered, it's pretty dang good. I think, unless you live in a totalitarian dictatorship, some amount of pride for your country is good. I think Americans should be proud of the U.S., Brits should be proud of the U.K., Russians should be proud of Russia, Chinese should be proud of China, etc.

[rea]

I don't get how you can be proud of something you haven't accomplished but inheritate. It's like pretending I won WWII because my grandparents were fighting!

[MichaelJayValueInvesting]

Starting my own utopian society. Application is in the comments: Are you a good person?

[theaxisofinsight]

Though idealistic and very much utopian, it would be very nice to live in such a country.

[idanzamir]

Why would I be proud of something I didn't choose?

[thetruthbetweenthelines]

Harari writes about the nationalism and patriotism in Sapiens and encourage everyone to read that :) It's important to understand such concepts from a historical perspective.

[hollyboop]

I think there’s no natural inbred need of being proud of anything, not even your own country. What we all need instead is being happy of something: of our lives, of our country. Being happy of what is around us, feeling harmonious with the surroundings is what creates a collectivity.

[hkj]

If we are not proud of anything that defines our particular group and society, we will lose our identity.