Being Proud and Questioning

You can be proud of your country, your city, and your community and support it in doing great things and in a shared belief. You can wave a flag that you identify with and share a common spirit. But the minute that this becomes blind faith, and you fail to question its approaches and its past — and that your tribe is better than every other tribe — you need to perhaps reassess your ideals.

Extremism is often a damaging force in our world and must also be held in check by those who believe in moderation. No country, no city, and no community is ever perfect — the best you can do is to learn from the past, and continually question its approaches, and learn and improve. There is no defacto greatest nation on the planet, or best people, or greatest city in the World — every place on the planet has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the weaknesses are just as important as the strengths. We are all made the same and given random starting points, and the luck of being born in a certain place should have little to do with how we connect to others around the world.

If we leave one legacy for the future, it is that we have learnt from the past and have broken down the barriers that falsely divide us. Go read your history books, and learn from our past mistakes, and make sure they never happen again. This is a scary world we are entering — and one where those who try to divide us will be about to find a platform for their hatred — so try to make it a little less scary for those who come after us.

Build bridges and not walls — reject extremism wherever you see it!

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one — John Lennon, RIP.