Why American Patriotism Feels So Empty

[@WisecrackEDU]

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[@rezakarampour6286]

' US Policies :Made In Israel . '

[@rezakarampour6286]

' US Is A Mafia State Run By Democrats & Republicans . '

[@macgonzo]

I don't see a link to John Duncan's page, was it missed, or have I missed it?

[@drago22x]

The world itself, is a mixing pot, with its contents starting to burn, from a lack of mixing.

[@WisecrackEDU]

@@macgonzo it's there now.

[@Eltener123]

One of the most cynical things is when they'll praise people like MLK and Mandela in one breath then clamp down on peaceful protest with the next

[@petervizzini4006]

These protests today from the left are not peaceful

[@Ouranos369]

Hyper focus on black liberation ignore the fact that they were also anti-capitalist. MLK was killed before the poor man's march.

[@user-uq4ks3ui2i]

@Eltener123 Mandela also did the same when he was president. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bInIaY2kr6mtqNEsi=sXyxk-H7qkP7xoLJ

[@SeasideDetective2]

They like King because he was religious and because he was "one of the good ones." If he'd been full socialist and had an Afro, they'd forever be hunting for excuses to run down his name.

[@justunderreality]

The separation between the idea of a peaceful and non-peaceful protest is always one that I consider a "red flag". The purpose of a protest is to be disruptive so it will be noticed. There isn't much difference between the "violence" of looting a store and the "violence" of damaging property and the "damage" of hurting a company's bottom line. It is easy to discredit a protest (even the most tame) by claiming that it is "non-peaceful" in some way.

[@makhina8839]

I just wanna emphasis the Cheney thing; he not only shot his “friend” in the face, but had that guy apologize to Cheney for the trouble getting himself shot in the face had created

[@WisecrackEDU]

amazing.

[@sketchygetchey8299]

He’s sure living up to his first name!

[@VorpalSnickerSnack]

I like the bible verse "treat those how you wish to be treated." Clearly Cheney's asking to be shot in the face and wants to apologies to the poor lad.

[@alexpazaitis]

I think this was a good moment to quote Jon Steward: "Fuck off Dick Cheney".

[@Styx-Lo]

You guys are so negative. Look, to be fair I didnt watch this whole thing but I seen Wise's vids in the past and its always so off putting. Like we have much greater things at risk right now and you want to keep stirring the pot? Whose side are you really on here?

[@Jin420]

Too many politicians are corporatists .. We lack representation... but they'll always be representatives for the rich.

[@atoagej]

we dont lack representation. representation doesn’t amount to anything. we lack organization

[@BarkleyBCooltimes]

*capitalists Corporatist is a word used to shove all the negatives of capitalism into a nice box so liberals can feel good about capitalism as it ruins our lives and the world.

[@SeasideDetective2]

I've argued - controversially - that a less corporatist structure in the past might have resulted in a more traditional American way of life today. The USA had an opportunity to embrace the same level of social democracy that many European countries did many decades ago, but it didn't. I regretfully imagine how things might have been if the truth had been otherwise. The culture would be more diverse, and thus not as domineering and subversive as it's become. Movie studios and advertising agencies would be more fragmented and limited in scope, and would be less able to foist their "hip" new products on hundreds of millions of people. Anti-discrimination legislation would have been much more strictly enforced from the Civil War onward, so there'd be much less racial bitterness and we wouldn't be so "politically correct" and "woke." And because the hunger for liberation and rebellion would have been less intense, the sexual revolution of the 1960s would not have had such sharp teeth. It would still have come, but more gradually, and its most extreme abuses could have been nipped in the bud. We wouldn't have disgruntled conservatives constantly whining and pining for "the good old days," because they'd still be here.

[@Octofingers777]

Corporatism isn’t real. It’s just capitalism. It’ll always lead to this

[@Alverant]

I'd rather have a president that represents the rich than one who became rich by stealing. (Trump has been sued literally thousands of times and lost for things like not paying bills and not doing repairs on his properties.)

[@krumbergify]

When a politician says ”we are in the same boat” - be on your guard! It means that it is you who should row! - Vilmhelm Moberg

[@downwithbsbsbs1926]

good one

[@ron9543]

I like the reply: "We're all on the same ocean; but different boats." Like, most of us are on leaky kayaks, while the 1% mow us down in their mega-yachts. Or even like... city-sized vessels they use as sanctuary from us and the climate problems they caused.

[@erinrising2799]

it's the titanic

[@alexwixom4599]

Nationalism belongs at sporting arenas. You can go fuckin nutz for your home team, but you leave that shit at the stadium.

[@user-uq4ks3ui2i]

Nationalism is a good thing. There's nothing wrong with putting your nation first. Nationalism simply a nations self-respect, similar to how an individual improves himself. Nationalism is a great thing to defend your nation.

[@cass7448]

@@user-uq4ks3ui2i Putting your nation first... in what?

[@user-uq4ks3ui2i]

@cass7448 Developing infrastructure, enhancing defense, putting the welfare and conditions of citizens first rather than foreigners, building a better community.

[@rustattack1312]

You miss understand politics in the modern era its still blood sport

[@macgonzo]

​​@@user-uq4ks3ui2i Living in a nation means you're putting that nation first. You don't have a choice in that, beyond moving to a different nation. Claiming you have to be a "nationalist" to do that is nonsense. As for defending your nation, who or what are you defending it from? A hostile foreign nation? Join the armed forces. People in your nation that hold different views to you? Yeah, you're not defending your nation, you're defending your opinion on what your nation should look like. Saying you're opposed to foreigners coming to your country is not defending your nation. Nations are imaginary lines on a map. Human beings are real. If you treat other human beings as less than yourself, just because they were born in some other nation, then you're a bad person.

[@kholadin]

The flag-pledge thing is straight out of a dystopian novel about a totalitarian regime.

[@DollarReDoos]

As a non-American, the pledge and flag fetishism in general has always looked extremely creepy to me.

[@eddapultstab2078]

Oh gets worse, before ww2 how kids were taught to salute the flag was to raise your right out upwards as if reaching out to the flag. They changed it because it looked like a certain other countries salute if catch drift.

[@FrznFury27]

Other way round my friend

[@dannyslag]

It's funny when the same people who support the pledge of allegiance talk about how creepy and fascist it is when north Korean kids do the same thing in their schools.

[@eon6274]

Shout out to one of my middle school teachers that would get so personally offended when I sat for the pledge that she'd send me to the principal's office every day. I have no pride being an American, especially with those that are waving around such paraphernalia are often racist and accept the idea of American imperialism. Both the internal messaging of these groups in America, as well as the heinous things we've done across the world under the US flag leaves me disgusted at the ideals created that are synonymous with said flag.

[@daviddobarganes9115]

Once the concept of "a nation" meant to group up for mutual defense and benefit. Now what is it? Three corporations in a trenchcoat and some branding.

[@johnchedsey1306]

I might need to steal this line.

[@Demopans5990]

If you're South Korea, it's one massive corporation.

[@MissBlueEyeliner]

Thank you, that actually made me laugh

[@rafalrocks]

Let’s recognize that both the right and the left are guilty of this, but I agree

[@troperhghar9898]

"Proud to be an American" is a marketing slogan

[@kyero8724]

Would you be proud to live in any country? Name it and Ill let you know why you're a fukin fool.

[@singletona082]

'Where at least i know i'm freeeeeeee' Except we are not free. Are we?

[@steven2183]

@@singletona082 The 13th amendment did not abolish slavery. It codified it into law. It makes the private ownership of slaves illegal, but fortified into law a state monopoly on slavery...........in the 'land of the free'

[@downwithbsbsbs1926]

thats it baby!

[@mick8888V]

Those words have never exited my lips.

[@Northwest360]

It’s about a flag more than caring for the people that live here.

[@ilovemesomme]

Fwiw symbols should have meaning.

[@TreeHairedGingerAle]

Exactly

[@SeasideDetective2]

Many Americans - oh, who are we kidding? Republicans - love their country in much the same way that the high-school playboy who got lucky in his junior or senior year loves the prom queen. It's all about him, not her. America is a trophy that they don't care never does anything useful, just as long as it looks good.

[@rafalrocks]

It should be about both

[@josephgeorge5741]

Almost a flawless video, you did forget the factions of the Civil-Rights movement that did push for more, and what the state did to them.

[@LonkinPork]

RIP Fred Hampton

[@SuaNam08]

Word. I get the impression that all the civil rights leaders of the 1960’s and 70’s that were permitted by the CIA to live, live on the condition that they don’t actually fight for much, except for incremental, Neoliberal non-justice, especially when it comes to economic justice. For instance, MLK lived until his focus broadened to include economic justice for the poor. Ending Jim Crow laws was a major victory, but it came at that aforementioned cost, and even those victories come with all kinds of addendums and a severe backlash to this day.

[@afrinaut3094]

@@LonkinPork exactly

[@Ford_prefect_42]

It's not Friday without my existential crisis. Thanks wisecrack! Love you

[@IshmaelPrice]

It's absurd how a country like the US demands such enthusiastic patriotism and yet treats its people so poorly. It makes sense though, that's why it has to foster such a sense of patriotism, well and all of the horrible things it's done around the world too. The worse you are, the more you need to keep repeating that you're good.

[@TheAxolotldotnet]

This is how they manipulate you into being cucked

[@RyanD8293]

Pretty much. But to be fair, the act of feigning patriotism is 100% easier than actually being patriotic, which is true of pretty much anything. "Fake it til you make it" is a rather universal (backassward) behavior meant to serve oneself and really no one else. What's good for the feelies is good for the goose, right? 😄 ...🔥🌎🔥

[@heronimousbrapson863]

This is done by all countries. As an example, Britain has fostered a strong feeling of "Britishness" while maintaining a crippling class system.

[@chromesucks5299]

That scene 'Are we the bad guys' Yes america, yes you are.

[@Swedishpolymath]

@@heronimousbrapson863 The class system is there in place for a reason. You are only allowed to go up the latter when you have earned the right. The British Commonwealth shall rule the world within 20 years.

[@SpoopySquid]

"My country, right or wrong. If right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right." - Carl Schurz, US senator (1871)

[@JohntheDuncan]

I have to say, I agree with this videos argument

[@WisecrackEDU]

and he's humble folks!

[@Zahaqiel]

She kinda gives the game away when she says she wants to create an "opportunity economy where everyone can compete". Why should everyone have to compete with each other? Industry is inherently collaborative - it's a bunch of people working together to achieve something. The only people who want to compete are the people who gain from other people losing. But phrasing it that way dresses up the systematic idea of wealth-as-conflict as somehow being virtuous.

[@TheSquad4life]

Great point and I think that would go over lots of heads. But now you’ve pointed it out I hope others see it too .

[@nunnayorz5836]

@@TheSquad4life Its going to go over people's heads because a lot of US citizens are conditioned to believe that capitalism, and all the greed and inequality it creates are good things. People who work 40 hours a week will call themselves capitalists, not understanding the meaning of the word and their place in the economy. The way Harris phrases it feels like a play on the myth of American exceptionalism.

[@RyanD8293]

Well, Democrats have become (basically) bootstrap capitalists (with a finger or two at most to help you lift yourself into the upper lower class 😆), so, yeah. Republicans, on the other hand, have become fascist theocratic capitalists with shortsightedness that would make Mr. Magoo blush ...🔥🌎🔥 like we're dead either way but it puts a hefty rush on it with the right wing leading this sinking duck boat 🤷‍♂️ I see your point, though.

[@SudoBurger]

If she means an economy where corporate giants finally have to start competing on even footing with products made by average people, then I'm all for it. I know that's only really the lie of a politician, but I'd love for America to go back to the days where "anyone can make it" and not have the most successful people pulling up the ladder behind them and kicking people while they're down.

[@galenibble]

@@SudoBurger the issue with that idea is that those who are stronger will get an advantage in a battle anyway. USA needs not a system where you have to compete no matter what, because in that system coprorations and rich people will always win anyway. In growing inequality USA needs a system where the weakest ones would be supported. But I know, I know, in this country systemic kindness is called socialism and used as a slur.

[@bazzfromthebackground3696]

As an elementary schooler, I would frequently get punished for not saying the pledge. My arguement was none of my teachers could give me a sufficient reason as to why we do it.

[@anthonydelfino6171]

Kamala out there saying that Dick and Liz are out there endorsing him like it's a good thing.... she should be RUNNING from that endorsement as fast as she can. Cheney is a monster, and her embracing his endorsement makes me really not a fan

[@oarguello]

when the crowd cheered at the announcement that Chenney is voting for Kamala....I was like... why are people clapping for this? The vast majority in this country is completely brainwashed

[@anthonydelfino6171]

@@oarguello the democratic part of today is barely distinguishable from the republican party of 2000... just without the rampant homophobia

[@Sim-sq2hu]

She's also been courting crypto billionaires since they started throwing insane amounts of money at dems and republicans through different PACs this election, with promises to start adding a focus on "digital assets". Really been making me less enthusiastic, though yeah, kinda stuck voting for her due to the alternative, just worried we'd be taking a step backwards from effing Biden on some fronts.

[@chazcmeekins83]

​@oarguello it's not brainwashing it's just that most people either have short memories or have a more intuitive primal urge to lean back towards the Civility Politics of National Unity. Alot of people probably have idk what to call it maybe "tiredness" of the insanity of the Republican party along with Trump. Another thing to notice is that this isn't strictly an American/USA unique thing as Austria in their elections this past week basically gave their biggest vote share to the Far Right party The FPO.

[@johnchedsey1306]

It's not so much that she embraces their policy, but it's the erosion of republican support for TFG. I don't like a world where I'm voting for the same person as a Cheney, but pragmatically I understand the usefulness of it.

[@Newton-Reuther]

I never thought I'd see the day where the Colbert audience cheered for Dick Cheney

[@rocketmanzimm]

Yeah, at least Jon Stewart had the correct reaction to the endorsement and told Cheney to F off. Can't believe they are allowing Liz Cheney into the tent and having her speak at rallies. F her too.

[@nunnayorz5836]

Colbert has been an establishment schill for a while.

[@Newton-Reuther]

​@rocketmanzimm Goes back to how MSM treats people like Cassidy Hutchinson who stood by Trump up until the insurrection

[@fbaallied]

''Working across the board''

[@thorblondal3371]

yeah Colbert completely sucks now. His weak-ass interview with Pelosi sealed the deal for me. I can't watch his bullshit anymore.

[@LonkinPork]

I need to state for the record that I'm subscribing to JohnTheDuncan because I *_want_* to, not because you told me to

[@ChiWillett]

We love john

[@charlesham9214]

“ how do you communicate with somebody that speaks an entirely different language than you, somebody who views the world throughh an entirely different cultural lens than you.?” You force them to communicate with your own language through your own cultural norms, seems to be the overwhelming answer for western imperialism. So glad you mention Franz Fanon.

[@BigToody]

Does this apply to animals?

[@crowsong8097]

Ahh, the fanon tax.

[@lynxthewise7233]

​@@BigToodyaren't we discussing humans? You mean non-humans? Why would it? In the wild there's no awareness, that's what allows us to come together in the first place. That said, noises and body language are often enough, and at a primitive level, it could work for us if needed. Hostile? Make noises and look threatening. Now if we're dealing with tribes / cultures that are already aggressive... Seems that's been answered.

[@blackdragontv2937]

Patriotism, easy way to make people clap, scream America, and vote for you.

[@sophiepooks2174]

Dumb and easily confused people.

[@ΛλρληΛαρλωμ]

patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel

[@MiguelDLewis]

Patriotism is a tool, just like the state itself. It's no different from a pencil or a hammer. Use it to your advantage.

[@michaelreardon303]

So true, I think Beast Quotes that in an old X-Men Comic from the 60’s

[@rafalrocks]

My father was a Polish patriot who fought for my homeland’s freedom. He volunteered to join the army at 16 and took part in two major military campaigns. I find your comment offensive. Not all patriots are created equally

[@duckqueak]

​@@rafalrocksI think hes saying people who aren't real patriots hide out there. People like your father who care about their country and took action to defend its people are patriotic. Using it as a shield to be a selfish person is not patriotic.

[@LonkinPork]

I just enjoy watching the color drain from a conservative's face when I explain that I'm a "Pro-Freedom Patriot," meaning I want my fellow citizens to: be able to go to post-secondary and the doctor's office/hospital for low or no cost, get paid a living wage, work fewer hours per week, pay significantly less for housing, and have executive control over their own means of production 🫡🦅🇺🇲

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

to have the people obey, a state can oppress them, or have them obsess over the state.

[@s.e.n3264]

I refuse to protect a system that wants to use and abuse me.

[@chrishollingsworth7413]

As long as you acknowledge the risk that what mutates or replaces it may oppress you more.

[@s.e.n3264]

@@chrishollingsworth7413 What?

[@chrishollingsworth7413]

It might help if you expand on your statement a bit, so I’m not misinterpreting your stance or feelings.

[@destronger5313]

@@chrishollingsworth7413so if you leave a abusive relationship, you might get a worse abusive relationship?

[@chrishollingsworth7413]

@@destronger5313 I think the analogy doesn’t quite apply to this. Think of it more like health. There are many systems at play in your life and while you don’t have mastery over them as an individual, if you neglect them or aren’t looking for better means and adaptations they can still deteriorate and become malignant. Not a perfect metaphor, either, but just to say those systems are here, so we either try to create new ones or improve those we have. New ones will still have to contend with other powerful systems, though. Nothing emerges entirely free of those influences.

[@christophercomtois7175]

“Once you see the false universalisms, man it’s hard to unsee.” What an amazing line this is.

[@larsengstfeld6744]

I share Arthur Schopenhauers thoughts on patriotism: “The cheapest sort of pride is national pride; for if a man is proud of his own nation, it argues that he has no qualities of his own of which he can be proud; otherwise he would not have recourse to those which he shares with so many millions of his fellowmen. The man who is endowed with important personal qualities will be only too ready to see clearly in what respects his own nation falls short, since their failings will be constantly before his eyes. But every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud adopts, as a last resource, pride in the nation to which he belongs; he is ready and glad to defend all its faults and follies tooth and nail, thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.”

[@QuestionQuestionMark]

This video needs more attention.

[@trevorhannan5113]

I remember coming home from my closing shift to watch the Harris acceptance speech. With the context of everything our country has wrought in the last 3 decades, hearing "we must have the most lethal fighting force." Actually made my stomach turn.

[@Blue2x2x]

"We're all Americans" is as flimsy as the "American Dream". It takes one moment of ignored injustice to make you realize that you're not an American at all. Otherwise the anger of injustice that you faced goes beyond race, sex, class, sexuality, religion, identities, and backgrounds. But as long as one of your fellow neighbors thinks that the injustice is "your fault" in any way, You are not an American. Period.

[@lynxthewise7233]

When I read about people trying to redefine what it means to be American ( in a progressive sense ), it stings. We need to move on from colonial mindsets.

[@karleells6540]

What injustice? What exactly?

[@thestrangeone5921]

Gotta love it when politicians only quote MLK's " judged by their character and not by the color of their skin" and NOTHING ELSE

[@erikw2460]

One of my favorite quotes is “pessimist because of intellect optimist due to will” more or less. Great gramsci quote

[@Gutock]

Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will, seems to come up a lot. Great quote!

[@kieronfarley1924]

I will never find the whole children pledging allegiance to the flag thing not creepy

[@JessicaDainese]

As an Italian, that stuff reminds me of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. We dont do that shit anymore in Europe. What happens if a child refuses to do it? Because I know I would have 😂

[@hurr48]

@@JessicaDainese people can sit down and not do it and nothing happens, everyone around you just recognizes you as the cringe loser that you are

[@TheArtistKnownAsNooblet]

​@@JessicaDainesenothing happens if you refuse. We, unlike most Europeans, have freedom of speech so our government cannot legally compel us to say anything.

[@dockcase8158]

Don't apply for a government job because then you will see a room full of grownups pledging allegiance to the flag.

[@JessicaDainese]

@@TheArtistKnownAsNooblet you think Americans have MORE freedom of speech than Europeans? 😂 I am sorry to shatter your view of the USA as "the land of the free", but I have lived in Italy, the UK, and the USA, and Americans are not more free than Europeans. They are just more free to die if they can not afford healthcare, free to die in a school shooting, free to live on the streets or in their cars if they are homeless, free to work 2 jobs with no workers rights, no paid vacations, no maternity/ paternity leave, free to spend hours in a car because you have no public transport, free to pay your huge student debts while we go to University for free... did I forget any freedom? 😂

[@keithlawson1692]

I think when VP Harris quoted the Simpsons we must move forward never backwards, upwards never forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom she didn't get the joke

[@RouxBeard]

Channels like this butter the bread I waited in line for. Great video and breakdown

[@karleells6540]

Not for us on the right.

[@Not.justdestiny]

Watched the Tim Dillion special on Netflix and got to the segment where they were helping a son of an immigrant father to convince him he should stay in the U.S.; when Netflix thought the best person, satirical or not, to represent a convincing argument for the reasons to stay was a proud Furry…. idk that anyone involved was the target audience but I believe that was an example of empty patriotism

[@X_TheHuntsman_X]

John Duncan is definitely a Gramsci expert. Not sure I've seen one of his videos where he doesn't mention Gramsci in passing at least. lol

[@WisecrackEDU]

dude knows his stuff.

[@JessicaDainese]

​@@WisecrackEDUI love that you love Gramsci, but you need to learn how to pronunce his name 😉 it ends in "she". Gram-she. (I am Italian) ❤

[@WisecrackEDU]

@@JessicaDainese I OFFICIALLY APOLOGIZE TO ALL THE GLORIOUS ITALIANS FOR MESSING THIS ONE UP. I WILL REPENT.

[@emmanuelokoro537]

Dude loves talking about that hegemony😂

[@X_TheHuntsman_X]

@@WisecrackEDU Can't wait for the apology on Case of the Mondays. 😅

[@EvelynNdenial]

gotta save this video to point to later, getting the idea of hegemony is so crucial to understanding how the world works and people are so stubborn about ignoring it, this video so well put it may actually get through to some.

[@SuaNam08]

American patriotism is so « try-hard » in large part because a great deal of effort by both industry and government was put into making a hegemony out of the often very different and conflicting European immigrant groups settling during the 19th and early twentieth century. The country needed all manner of laborers, soldiers, and students to fill the young nation. Some groups were welcomed into white American hegemony right away (Nordic and Western European, except Irish for some stupid reason), while others had to ‘prove’ their worthiness through service to the ruling class (police, fire department, mainstream politics, entrepreneurship that used organized crime gains to finance legitimate business later). The hope of both the US government and industry after the Civil War was that both indigenous and black peoples would die out in a few generations. The only value seen in black Americans by the hegemony was as entertainers and a permanent underclass of low-wage labor. So the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s was embarrassing for the US government at the time. The Cold War meant advertising the American Way as the best and most just in the world. But television was showing the world what life was really like for a large population of black Americans that the government and the advertisers wished didn’t exist. Because American politics and business used so much of its energy to exclude some in order to favor the dominant hegemony, it is now a lot poorer and less prosperous than it should be.

[@heronimousbrapson863]

The Irish were likely excluded because of their Roman Cathoicism. The founders of the US tended to be Protestant.

[@SuaNam08]

@@heronimousbrapson863 Oh yeah, for some reason I’d forgotten about Catholicism and what a big deal it used to be. Apparently, the Protest is over now.

[@Timiskooly]

Everyone's favorite raccoon-turned-human Zizek once said universalism always hides the most brutal exclusion: if all humans are brothers, then anyone who is not my brother is no longer human

[@oarguello]

i.e. Israel committing genocide apologists...

[@twipameyer1210]

I will like and comment every video written by John the Duncan. I'm so glad he gets the platform he deserves.

[@CyThirtyFive]

After that Tim Waltz debate, I'd love to see a video about how the politicians themselves get corrupted by the system. Great video!

[@bazzfromthebackground3696]

Short answer: Money. Long Answer: Kickbacks.

[@nicsnort]

Long story short - socialization and co-optation. You won't be let into the system unless the system wants you to ergo it thinks you provide stability (co-optation) and being around people who all believe the same things will socialize you into believing it as well even if you didn't before (socialization).

[@notsomuch9505]

​@@nicsnort bingo

[@CyThirtyFive]

@nicsnort the reason Tim Waltz was the example I used was that you could see the change in the VP debate versus the talks he was having a few months earlier with the original announcement. What you describe to me seems like a slow process. Could that happen over a month or 2?

[@eazydee5757]

As somebody who is both an American and a social democrat/democratic socialist myself, I sure am patriotic and do love my country, but my patriotism is not towards the nation-state as a whole. I really do not like our current government at all, and I wish we’ve had better governance for the people. What makes America great is not the government, or the politicians, nor the politicians, or religion or MAGA or whatever. It’s the people, with their many unique backgrounds and origins, who created rich regional cultures and traditions, as well as the beautiful landscapes and geography we have, from the rugged coasts of California to the marshy lowlands of the Carolinas, the orange deserts of the Southwest to the green forests of Appalachia. The majestic Rocky Mountains to the flat fields of the Midwest. The vast Pacific and Atlantic Oceans to the humongous Great Lakes. The ideal America I would love to see is one where we stand together in solidarity, friendship, and brotherhood, an America without the sins and injustices that tarnished its image, an America that respects everyone regardless of race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, income or religion, and most importantly, an America that is in control of We The People, not We The Rich. An America that respects the fact that we are all created equal, and deserve to have life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. For so long since the founding of America itself, our nation has constantly failed to live up to these ideals. From the horrific and dastardly crimes of slavery, displacement of our Indigenous, communities, and Jim Crow, to the constant foreign interventions that our government has done to countries overseas, to the complicity in the occupation of Palestine that tramples on the Palestinians’ right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. For years our country has been steeped in so much hypocrisy and contradiction, acting like a big bully towards others, that it’s no wonder that so many around the world hate this country, and may possibly never forgive this nation for what it has done. We had an opportunity to create a nation that everyone can totally admire and respect, and instead we’ve squandered on that opportunity. We’ve obviously wasted so much money and resources, all going towards funding wars and interventions overseas instead of our own citizens at home. We’ve gutted the robust train, trolley, and streetcar systems for completely car-centric infrastructure, all for the interests of big oil and the auto industry. We’ve created completely segregated neighborhoods based on race and income levels, and used the police not to protect and serve, but to keep our own citizens in line with the status quo. We’ve created car-centric suburbs where society is completely atomized, isolated, and prone to misinformation. We’ve become too attached to consumerism, social status, and the endless pursuit of wealth over our own communities, characters, and well-being. Our media has been monopolized by the rich to take advantage of our isolated populace and lie to them for the pursuit of profit, and internet and social media only helped to restore some sense of community for that isolated populace. We’re working a bit too much either that we have no time for family and community anymore. It’s no wonder that we Americans are so polarized, divided, and addicted to social media nowadays. Our country has chosen to have consumer culture represent our country instead of the rich regional cultures and traditions that define the American people, misleading foreigners and even American citizens into thinking that we have no culture. Our country’s natural beauty is slowly being destroyed by climate change caused by forces of capital, and our natural beauty is too often off-limits to members of the working class to experience! So many homeless on our streets, no affordable housing, no free healthcare or education whatsoever, everyone drowning in debt, working paycheck to paycheck to avoid homelessness, so many things making us so miserable! We Americans should be patriotic, but not for the country that was or is, but the country that can be. A country that finally lives up to the ideals it so preaches. And finally, we Americans should work together, united by a shared dream of a better future for themselves, their families, their communities, states, and one nation as a whole, to one day form a more perfect Union.

[@nunnayorz5836]

In your verbose comment, all I saw was stuff about feelings. Basically we just all need to be happy and get along and good vibes will fix the country. How are we supposed to ceel good about our country backing a genocide? What about capitalism and the fact that it creates and perpetuates inequality? How do we deal with our broken justice system? Are you ok with your healthcare being tied to your work, or should we have universal healthcare? How will we bring down the cost of education, food, housing, etc? Vibes are nice, but vibes aren't meaningful change. Change needs to happen first, then the good vibes will follow because we won't be living in such a busted stressful system.

[@eazydee5757]

@@nunnayorz5836 We don’t disagree here. You bring up very good points, but I believe that we must advocate for change as soon as possible, holding on to some of the basic ideals that defines American patriotism such as having power in the hands of We The People, advocacy for a government that is of the people, by the people, and for the people, and respecting the people’s right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Yes, good vibes alone will not be able to generate any meaningful change, but solidarity and unity with our fellow citizens and communities, and knowing that we have more in common with each other than the rich who run the country, and uniting over shared interests, goals, and grievances will certainly be a strong factor of unity to create massive change. I also don’t feel good about capitalism, genocide, our broken justice system, and high costs of healthcare, education, food, and housing either, but we should recognize the contradictions of America’s present-day conditions with its basic founding ideals, that is while rejecting all the bad stuff the Founding Fathers supported, and have the country set right in order to have true freedom for everyone living in it. True patriotism is not when you always believe the country is always right and never wrong. True patriotism is also not when you unconditionally support what your government does no matter what. True patriotism is when the country is to be kept right whenever right, and to be set right whenever wrong. True patriotism is when you dissent against your unethical and corrupt government and want to fix it up so it can be better. And most of all, true patriotism should work towards fixing the mistakes and correcting the injustices of both the past and present in order to create a better future for everybody.

[@BigToody]

What is your opinion on sociocracy as an alternative form of government?

[@alphajackal6648]

And as an anarchist, I'm going to point out that all of the things you pointed out as bad are inevitable consequences of the nation-state, and that efforts to reform the nation inevitably get co-opted by the state, much like historically, democratic socialists have been coopted and turned against their initial Marxist ideals in Europe. It's useless to point out that climate change is caused by capitalism while simultaneously being a reformist, because the state will reform you far before you reform it. Just observe how Kalama now has endorsements from people who ostensibly she should be ideologically opposed to. It makes no sense until you realize that the process of nation-state politics inevitably transforms its participants into apologists for state power and the status quo. Reform is at best harm reduction and at worst trying to reconcile the contradictions of capitalism.

[@quankruger]

Very cool and interesting video. Thanks for making Wisecrack team.

[@bonquiqui874]

This may be the best video I’ve ever seen on this channel! 🎉

[@khemanig2]

Amazing as usual. I wished this video existed when I was in grad school and everyone was throwing around "hegemony" and I had no clue what it truly meant Your content is one of the things keeping me sane with how things are devolving.

[@Bushidounohana]

Thank you for making me think (as you always do), and thank you for making my note taking even easier this week with clear on-screen names (and other citations popping, woot woot!) throughout. I didn’t think it was possible for me to love you more, and yet, here we are. (POP!)

[@dhruv9744]

All patriotism feels empty and dumb. No matter what the country.

[@thealgerian3285]

Sounds to me just the way it sounds when y'all talk about "religion", when actually saying things that only ever apply specifically to western christianity.

[@dhruv9744]

@@thealgerian3285 I’m from India

[@Kehwanna]

Agreed. IMO the ultimate way for humanity to ascend is when we finally leave behind the petty era of nations and just cooperate as humans, as a species rather than compete till we all die. Tribalism, greed, meglomania, dehumanization, oppression, and endless competition will be the death of us.

[@dhruv9744]

@@Kehwanna I think tribalism cannot be eliminated purely based on our biological programming. The only thing we can hope for is making the size of the tribe bigger over time. We have already moved from clans to villages to regions to states to countries. And we have begun to see the emergence of continental identities (EU, Latin American, North American). Hopefully we can get to a point one day when it’s a species wide tribe.

[@rustomkanishka]

As a fellow Indian, our countrymen can be quite embarrassing on the internet. When it comes to Indian nationalism, only military families seem to understand. It's the one guarantee you have in India, that no matter what religion, caste or ethnicity you belong to, you will be treated like shit in the Indian military. We do have a lot of Hindu nationalism, and not enough people seem to understand that there's no winning a nuclear war. It's also quite shameful that we adore genocidal maniacs like bibi around here. Strange.

[@AcesAndNates]

You’re doing great work, guys.

[@MartyD]

remember the pledge of allegiance in school?! 😅😢😂

[@vylbird8014]

Funny... it's seen as totalitarian and dystopian when the kids are declaring their dedication to the Fuhrer, or the Chinese Communist Party, or Kim Jong, or the other Kim Jong. But that's only when they do it, not when /we/ do it.

[@steven2183]

The pledge of allegiance before or after 1954 when the words 'under god' were added........you know, because of communism....

[@Ampersanderp]

I refused to stand, and as punishment I was locked in a windowless room with a copy of the fountainhead for the rest of the week.

[@majorlycunningham5439]

⁠@@Ampersanderpoh god… not the fountainhead!! 😫

[@oarguello]

@@Ampersanderp mine rotated The Fountainhead with The Bible

[@adamknott7830]

Never seen any of your stuff til this video. It was good and accurate in exposing our bs society

[@hcolli]

Off Topic, I picked up Fear and Trembling and started reading it for the first time last night. That's largely the fault of this channel, way to go guys.

[@WisecrackEDU]

that makes me so happy.

[@soniashapiro4827]

With mass incarceration including at least a million non-violent prisoners, it's really rough to think that that group of people isn't part of US (the USA and also, you know, "we the people") Criminals are people. Really.

[@Investigator86]

Thank you.

[@GiveMeGuitars]

Great video guys!

[@pitcrowley]

Ever tried german patriotism? Yeah ... Good Luck with that!

[@kevinxiao0]

I don't know about empty but in my opinion american patriotism doesn't feel all that diifferent from every kind of patriotism f every other country in the world

[@suhanhwang9988]

So basically pragmatism is the lifeblood of hegemony. Realpolitik at its finest.

[@chenstormstout9456]

I can answer without watching the video. Overexposed, over commercialized, and lack of things to actually be proud of as a country since we keep offsetting it by doing horrible shit.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Love your content michael🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@basic_chain]

This was all very well said. I'm starting to think every 4 years is going to be the same crisis over and over again, and eventually we're all going to see right through this rhetoric and give up

[@AGuyThatKnowsALittleBitAboutIt]

As someone that lived through the all the grifters cashing in on the post 9/11 patriotism, I just no longer value patriotism the way I once did. Letting the flag be used as a political prop is one thing, but it's incorporation into social agendas (like thin blue line Punisher & rainbow LGBTQ US flag variants) is just tacky. Granted, the flag is only a symbol for patriotism, but we used to be one nation "indivisible" and now we have even allowed our flag to be co-opted for partisan reasons. You never hear a soldier talking about the flag, they talk about not letting down their comrades & preserving the freedoms we all enjoy as Americans. As citizens we need to get back to the ideals of our founding fathers of unity & not division. Imagine fighting the British in 1776 when almost half the country sided with the Brits. There are 2 sides of the problem, capitalism has allowed the flag to be used for ridiculous merch (underwear, dog toys, full window size decals, incorporating Donald Trump's face into the flag...) with no value for the consequences of making our own flag a hate symbol, and then you also have a generation of Americans that were never called on to protect the country. When George W Bush told us that consuming & buying was a way to fight the evil-doers, it just made anyone with a brain roll their eyes. I find it ironic that the same party that allowed the flag to become a symbol of division become angry that younger generations no longer value being American. How do they expect us to be patriotic when the cost of living & housing is so far out of reach & every facet of "The American Dream" seems to have been sold off to corporate interests? Why would our children be patriotic when the weapons used to kill innocent civilians all over the world proudly say "Made in America"? Seeing veterans migrate to other countries after they retire due to the high cost of living in the states should be a wake up call to reign in corporate greed. The country as a whole has lost it's way and our political climate keeps driving our citizens further & further apart. But hey, as long as the corporations still records profits, why should we care? Seeing what is happening in Ukraine & the unity I see there shows the only way to become united is to be challenged by an enemy. The scary part is the enemy is using our own values against us. Once people started wearing "I rather vote for Putin than a democrat." it shows how easily "patriots" can be manipulated.

[@nunnayorz5836]

We were never "one nation, indivisible" because we've always had division, underclasses, a justice system full of iniquity, and rampant capitalist greed and exploitation. The founding fathers didn't care about unity. They even baked some of that inequality into the constitution. At first, only land-owning white men were able to vote. And it wasn't government benevolence that changed it. People had to protest, go to jail, and be killed by the state until the state could no longer suppress them. The senate and the electoral college were both designed to give a small number of wealthy people the power to override the will of the majority. Neither the dems or reps are trying to change that. The idea of old time unity and democracy are part of the myth of the US. It's a soft sell version of MAGA.

[@s0rtaananym]

There was only one founder that had ideas worth following to this day, and he was chased out of the country he named for wanting to ban slavery.

[@HammershotSGD]

Right as he was talking about capital extracting as much as possible from labor, a CapitalOne ad started playing

[@TheMjsanty]

Yeah John!

[@Dwags789]

I have a vivid memory of a moment in high school during the pledge of allegiance when I looked around the room and thought, “What the hell am I doing?”. It felt like waking up from the matrix and I never did the pledge again.

[@danyosuna7276]

You may not remember this, but when Biden won and Kamala Harris gave her "un.-official" vice-presidency speech on 2021, the last thing she said live on tv that night was "and we´ll support the state of Israel", two years after and now the middle east is caught up in a series of bombings where innocent (and extremely poor) people live. Her saying that the usa army will become the "deadliest one", not the strongest, not the biggest, not the most rightful, but the deadliest is bone-chilling. This video is spot on saying that she sees non- american as non-humans.

[@JessicaDainese]

I am Italian and really worried about the USA elections, since we are basically an American colony. When I heard Harris say that about the American Army, I was shocked. No European politician would say that. It's crazy. Harris to me does not seem all that different from Meloni.

[@54032Zepol]

​@JessicaDainese or worse, Mussolini

[@JessicaDainese]

@@54032Zepol Mussolini was a monster, but he did not have nuclear weapons nor an Army like the American Army, so he was less of a threat to the world than either Trump or Harris.

[@JessicaDainese]

@@54032Zepol I say Meloni because even right wing media in Italy are saying Meloni's government would be better off with Harris as a president. Meloni gets along very well with Biden. Aren't Americans worried that their Democrats get along with Mussolini's heirs?

[@johnchedsey1306]

Meh. I think she's just saying the words to shore up the voters who are obsessed with the concept of military might. TFG has pretty much said that he thinks Israel should "finish the job" US foreign policy is genuinely gross.

[@TheAllSeeingEye2468]

Its like Rick said "everyone try's to take over the galaxy the trick is to be left alone by whoever wins"

[@lars277]

The reason it feels so empty is that we have a donor owned plutocracy since 1996. I call 1996 the year that our representative form of democracy was overcome and owned by the donors that owned by the money they put into the parties and elected peoples' PACs and Super PACs. The donors own the GOP, Democratic, and Libertarian parties. That means they own all of Congress. The donors own our economy with their monopolies. The donor class owns our whole society. They own our entire media. On the media you see pure contrived charades. They put on a quite the show to deceive people into believing that we still have a functioning democracy, but that is a lie.

[@watamatafoyu]

The more you learn things on your own as an adult, the more you see how much you were lied to growing up

[@f.prince6642]

Patriotism is yelling with every cell of your being I believe in the status quo. Sometimes and for some people that’s always going to be true. Just every once in a while wear someone else’s shoes and see your own bias.

[@Nameguy0]

Does the opposing interests still occur in Co-op businesses?

[@JessicaDainese]

I am an Italian, just finished reading one of Gramsci's books, and here you are talking about him!! ❤

[@ixiahj]

This is what it meant when the democrats keep saying "our democracy is in danger." When they say "our" they mean its just them, not you.

[@joshstephens413]

Nah, my dude, that is the Republicans that want a dictatorship. Trump has already said that if he is elected then you never need to vote again and that he will be a dictator on day one.

[@jaycejohnson6846]

It's nice to see a video getting to the heart of the issue.

[@WrottJackson]

American politics turned into a pissing match. Whenever that was, patriotism probably got pissed on with it.

[@MoltenPandas]

Wooo more johntheduncan videos please! One of the best in the game right now

[@FreshHeat]

Michael the goat no cap

[@jennyanydots2389]

Is that brainrot ya got son?

[@only1life88]

I haven't read the comments, or watched the video. Just saw the title. I can already tell theres going to be confusion about what patriotism is.

[@jk_lol9266]

Kamala has been toting around Liz like it's a good thing. Insanity.

[@billmozart7288]

2:00 I have my own, broader understanding of "we're all in this together."

[@kweightthree]

I wasn't going to pat myself on the back today. But if you insist, I guess I do kinda deserve it.

[@johnmcnab4273]

I keep watching video essays about the US even though I don't live there, because the politicians in my country keep copy-pasting all the wrong ideas from the US and try inserting them in our country as if they were good.

[@Darkloid21]

I’m only voting for Harris because the alternative is WAY worse. I shudder to think what a second term of Trump would do.

[@josephgeorge5741]

Fund a genocide, and bring us to the brink of WWIII? Oh, wait. . .

[@sistergoodstuff]

Really?

[@macgonzo]

​@@sistergoodstuff Have you read about Project 2025? Yes, really. And don't try to dismiss it by saying that Trump said he doesn't agree with it, most of the people that created Project 2025 literally worked for Trump when he was in office. Trump has spoken out in favor of it many many times. If you don't know about Project 2025, do some reading on it.

[@Darkloid21]

@@macgonzo Not to mention why would you take Trumps word for it when the dude lies every minute? The country was severely damaged from the first term and we’re still dealing with the consequences of his term. I can’t imagine what a second one would do with a CONSERVATIVE Supreme Court. But the worst part is how close the race still is. That’s what breaks my heart. Like, how can it be this close against a dude who has no regard for law or reason?

[@johnchedsey1306]

Harm reduction is a useful tool in voting.

[@skateryan]

Part of me wants to believe politicians are trying their hardest within a broken system, because that's exactly what I'm trying to do. I see a lot of good ideas that are in the constitution, and I (maybe foolishly) think a new New Deal that includes everyone could really help us out. I think this form of government has the ability to adapt to its electorate, and we can use grassroots movements to move it more towards what we thought the US was before we learned all of the fucked up shit our country has done. However, I'm probably just holding on to the last vestiges of my belief in our system, because I'm afraid of it collapsing and losing what little I already have.

[@tobiashagstrom4168]

I'm 1 min in, and this is disappointingly and insultingly stupid. The reason a lot of Dems are happy about Dick Cheney's endorsement is not because he's the guy they want to please, it's because he's a symbol for just how wide the rift Trump has created is, and just how many people can potentially be united in taking a stand against Trump. The Dems aren't celebrating having moved over to Dick, they're happy that even Dick realizes that Trump has gone somewhere where even he, and a lot of Republicans cannot and should not follow. Why the hell do you think Dick will vote Harris? Is it because all the other Democrats where not to his liking, but she is, with all that implies? No, it's because of what Trump has done to the Republican party that he feels he has to support the alternative. That's what this is about. I actually hate this stuff, it's dishonest and insulting, this isn't just stupidity, pure stupidity is to understand nothing and say nothing, this is dishonesty, to create something that has caries some implication of an argument to tell a lie. And for what? Yes you're so brave and cool for being critical of the Harris campaign by making an infuriatingly smug mischaracterization of it, I bet it will be hilarious if Trump gets another turn and we'll see what other wacky minority rights violations will pop up if he manage to get even more loons on the supreme court, and tear up even more of the world's international norms and climate change cooperation. I guess a lot of my fellow progressives hate the idea of having leaders that represents a step in their direction, and who may have even just a tiny bit of an incentive to at least appear to follow our political leverage. No, progressives must be ecstatic at the thought of the US instead getting another Trump presidency, so we critique everything in the abstract without the pressure of our actions needing to matter. Critiquing power is cool, having power is cringe, amiright?

[@JoshuaJeremiah]

You aren't alone in feeling this way.

[@hendrsb33]

It felt to me that the Democratic Party had become conservative enough that the Cheneys felt comfortable to "come on in". I'm feeling less and less at home in my own country.

[@tobiashagstrom4168]

@@hendrsb33 How "conservative" have the Dems become? They've become more supportive of unions, they're more supportive of trans rights, they at least care somewhat about climate change, etc. Politics is ideally two(or preferably more) parties competing on who can offer the best ideas to the people, and the most correct and competent party should thus get voted in more, and the parties should compete for who can improve the country the most. That only works if both political blocks actually want to make the country better, if one party commits to becoming crazier and crazier, then political progress stops, and devolves into a battle to keep things from collapsing. That's not a bug, it's the consequence of a large portion of the country responding well to the Republicans having devolved as much as they have, it's the "garbage in, garbage out" principle. The Republicans aren't a sideshow that you can ignore while focusing on what you want, as long as they keep racing to the bottom, they will draw the lines to be fought over. Because while they are overrepresented, and have only gotten the popular vote like once in most of the last half century, they still are one of the two major political blocks in the union, if they go insane, there is no use pretending it's not everyone's problem. I believe there has been some overarching shift right on stuff like immigration, but the reason the overtone window moves right is mostly because the Republicans have been given the mandate to drag it that way.

[@hendrsb33]

@@tobiashagstrom4168 Israel?

[@tobiashagstrom4168]

@@hendrsb33 Show me a time when the Democratic party has consistently been more critical of Israel/more concerned about the Palestinians than today.

[@marzipanmouse]

whenever somebody in authority starts referring to me and colleagues as "family" it makes my hair stand on end. I would growl too, but I've learned to suppress that instinct.

[@limemime565]

You gotta know the truth before you say that you got pride

[@noahrenken3773]

Love the stuff, Roots.

[@VO1D333]

It feels like a meth peak for me. Not empty at all.

[@FillingPlotholes]

Sorry I haven't watched in a long time, I had no idea Wisecrack had become so based

[@Haveahollyjollylife]

Haven’t watched the video but the title made me laugh. “Why oh why is there no sense of community in my culture directly derived from genocide and slavery 😭”

[@sgt_samples]

Spot on. Sounds like I need to read more Gramsci.

[@matthewsinclair4322]

I’ve been at college for five years and every year, we are required to go through a set of safeguarding lessons. There’s always one on “British values”. I always saw it kind of like a sort of propaganda. Not only is the state telling me what I apparently value, but every value listed either has an ethical caveat on some level or is subject to some level of hypocrisy by the state. And while I don’t think the UK is much better, I can’t imagine how bad it is in the US in this aspect.

[@tylerhunt-yp8vj]

We need to protect this man

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Comment For the algorithm ❤❤❤

[@KaiserV-2]

Sure will.

[@alexpazaitis]

14:46-15:04: The best possible overview of the civil rights movement in less than a minute. I probably laughed more with this than I should (?) Also, on the video as a whole, I have personally found in Gramsci the concepts to describe something that felt so ubiquitous and obvious but lacked the words and images to make sense of. Just for that, a big thank you for trying to break this down in such a coherent manner, using the most contemporary of examples, which again speaks for Gramsci's relevance. Likewise, as much as I get into these types of debunking progressive myths, it somehow always ends up to Fanon, who continues to be as relevant as ever. The common mythology and social contract of the post-war era is that "there used to be a bad thing called colonialism and a bunch of bad people, like nazis and stuff, but now we have left all these behind". But the socio-historical reality shows how this is a bunch of plain -and quite unimaginative- bullshit. The colonial state, the oppressive state, the apartheid state, the overthrowing-democratically-elected-governments state, is the true and probably only face of the capitalist state. This is not only based on history, i.e., even if we may "be in this together" now, we sure weren't before and that matters, but also in the present and future, in the way "insiders" and "outsiders" are created. I find this closing statement actually brilliant: "It may even be the case that the more inclusive a national myth appears, the more dejected and inhuman those who are excluded from it appear". And if one wants to find proof for this, one has to look no further than Gaza. Btw, in case you haven't already, you must check out Naomi Klein's latest book "Doppelganger", which pretty much follows that story back to its roots to look at the beast in the mirror. I'd love to watch a coverage of it on this channel, as I've found so much sense in it on the general question of "how the fuck is everything so absolutely fucked up" that, besides depressing, actually felt healing. And for anyone that made it to the end of this random guy's massive comment, I'm glad we're in this together, as I actually have no idea why I'm still writing...

[@deshaebeasley]

Five topics to fix society via discussion: -Anti-natalism vs Natalism -The 3 basic needs/prenatal needs Three things necessary for human evolution that are provided while in the womb which are; food, shelter and medical care. -Platinum rule Do whatever makes one happier unless it interferes with another persons ability to do the same. -MBTI (research yours and connect with others) -Art (pick one and get better at it!)

[@danieleraimondi864]

italian here! the pronouce of gramsci is "gramshee" :D other than that, love your work, keep it up!