Monbiot says it for me

“I don't hate Britain, and I am not ashamed of my nationality, but I have no idea why I should love this country more than any other. There are some things I like about it and some things I don't, and the same goes for everywhere else I've visited. To become a patriot is to lie to yourself, to tell yourself that whatever good you might perceive abroad, your own country is, on balance, better than the others. It is impossible to reconcile this with either the evidence of your own eyes or a belief in the equality of humankind. Patriotism of the kind Orwell demanded in 1940 is necessary only to confront the patriotism of other people: the second world war, which demanded that the British close ranks, could not have happened if Hitler hadn't exploited the national allegiance of the Germans. The world will be a happier and safer place when we stop putting our own countries first.”

George Monbiot summed it up well. Blind patriotism is dangerous. I am about to become a Swiss national because I want to be full participant in a country that has done well by me. My roots will always be traditional American or maybe mythic American because more and more I uncover the lies I was taught over the years. However, that does not negate the value of the principles spoken if not lived up to. In many ways I see myself as an international at home more in Switzerland or France than the country of my birth for many reasons, one of the largest being quality of life issues and social responsibilities felt by the society for others. I have equally discovered no place is perfect but it is part of my responsibility to not make it worse.