Last night I was watching a documentary about mining in Papua New Guinea. One PNG official was excited about how the wealth from mining would enable locals to have modern amenities. Apparently, the locals weren't consulted and were forced to move to a different hill; one they considered inhabited by bad spirits. They were offered money to move; some took it willingly, others resisted, but eventually all were relocated and most not so happily so. There was also a question of the effects of mining waste that would be pumped into the ocean. Modernization, with all its benefits (minus a few environmental regulations).
For some reason, I woke up remembering that in grade school we were all required to read All Quiet on the Western Front - a book about the idiocy of trench warfare. Trench warfare - the heroic effort to move an imaginary line. Where fashion is a matter of life or death (what color uniform are we wearing today?)
Nationalism? Loyalty? I gave up a well-paying job, a sense of purpose, to live in a country that forced me to pay to verify who I am, and my credentials, and then tells me my experience and credentials are worthless. I pay more to an institution where I feel people are being abusive, and they say I am the one with the problem, because... I am from the other side of the border. I need to be taken down a few notches.
At this point in the history of humans, loyalty to imaginary lines and fashion are more important than loyalty to principles. But if you change your mind, please fill out the proper form. Americans can renounce U.S. nationality in the proper form at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.
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