I really struggle with patriotism. It has a historical tendancy towards insidiousness. The very concept of nationality forces we humans into a particular pattern of thinking; of dividing the world into "here" and "there". "Us" and "them". There are lots of very good evolutionary

and sociological reasons behind the development of this way of life, but as a species we are now at a point where we're outgrowing it, in the same way we outgrew hunter gathering. It's taken hundreds of years, but technology is on an exponential up curve now. This pandemic has

proven once again that genuine progress is made through cooperation that ignores borders completely. We already know this. Look at the ISS. Or the eradication of smallpox. There are some arguments made that patriotism is a positive, rational, defensive approach to take. This is

absolutely correct. That doesn't mean we still need it, or that it's not the root cause of vast suffering. That one simple idea: "us" and "them". When we live in a world where I can talk to anyone, anywhere, and listen, and understand, and discuss.

A world that's just "us".