Patriotism/ National Identity

'Love of one's country is as much a good thing as a bad thing.' What is your view?

For those who did this qn, here are two articles which u can relate to the qn.

1) Self-immolation of Tibetan monks to pressure China to grant independence to Tibet


This eg can swing two ways, depending on whether u argue the Tibetans' country is China or Tibet. If u regard the Tibetans' country as China, then u can argue that love of one's country is good 'cos if they love their own country China, they won't have resorted to such drastic acts that create problems for the Chinese govt. not to mention tarnishing the reputation of the govt as tyrants, and inciting socio-political instability. This explains why govts throughout the world like to promote patriotism or a strong national identity in order to attain peace and stability. This is premised on the idea that if u love ur country, u will NOT do anything that will jeopardise it.

But it can become a bad thing is u love ur country TOO MUCH that u will do ANYTHING for it. Take a switch now by regarding the Tibetans' rightful country as Tibet and not China. U will then argue that the love of one's country, in this case Tibet, is bad as it causes the people to resort to drastic actions that harm not only themselves, but also others. The self-immolation acts are targeted to give China a bad name on the international stage in order to pressure China to grant independence to Tibet. Such separatist movements usually resort to harmful actions in the name of patriotism......it accounts for the terrorist attacks on UK by the IRA (Irish Republican Army) to gain independence of Northern Ireland from UK. The terrorist attacks by JI and Al-Qaeda can be seen as acts of patriotism in a sense too. What about the Japanese soldiers' atrocities during WWII?

2) DBS's attempt to gain greater control over Indonesia's Danamon bank met with protests in Indonesia

Patriotism can come in here as a negative thing if u argue that by being too protective of their own country's businesses, it will discourage growth and hurt the economy 'cos u r spurning foreign investors. This can create a hostile climate for foreign investments.
Turn it around and it can be a good thing as patriotism will ensure that the benefits of the country's economy are safeguarded and enjoyed by the people of the country instead of being siphoned out of the country to foreign investors.