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Militarism. Patriotism. Loyalty. Faith.
Why do we let the glorification of, say, violence go on unchallenged?
Let’s take veterans. Yes, we can and should respect veterans; they are human beings. But they are human beings who were used to commit horrible violent acts against other human beings. Those acts should be recognized as wrong and we should be demanding that they NEVER be repeated. Instead, we thank veterans for their service.
This is a terrible attitude and will facilitate future unnecessary mass murder (“war” is a euphemism for mass murder) by justifying it.
So many of our values are never questioned and are, in fact, truly sick values. Patriotism — which is blind defense of one’s country — is another sick value. It says: I accept everything my country does and declare it moral or simply ignore moral values entirely as they apply to my own country. But, if you have any morality whatsoever, those morals must apply to your own country as much as to anyone and anything else.
Loyalty is a similar enemy of goodness. It says that your group — whatever it does — is entitled to your complete unwavering support. This loyalty also removes morality and values as a factor. Nothing else counts except that the group is YOUR group.
