Patriotism in popular music

Patriotism is a terrible topic for a song. That’s what makes me cringe when I listen to Preciosa Puerto Rico by Marc Anthony. But when that tempo change in the middle around the 3min mark comes up, it just makes me want to get up and shout with jubilation! It is only later that I wonder: what if this had been a German singing about Germany (substitute your own boogeyman). 😩

I am convinced: patriotism is an illusion used to achieve something. It might be something good, a national infrastructure project, but inevitably it will be used for evil. But that song … ah, it melts my heart!

Beware small-patriotism. It starts with homesickness, longing for the places and culture you grew up in, which is valid, no doubt, but when you add pride or that feeling of belonging to the mix, it starts getting tricky. Who decides who belongs?

As a perpetual foreigner, that feeling of belonging always comes with an exclusionary element, in my experience. The Swiss celebrate Switzerland, and their independence from the Austrians and the Germans. The Austrians celebrate Austria and think that the Slovenian road names have to go. There's always somebody on the other side of the fence. But I know relatives in Portugal, France, Germany, Austria, Croatia, and there are more relatives that I haven't met. So yes, there can be as moment of pride for living in a place where this or that works well, or where the landscape is beautiful, or where you feel the people are nice, or the food is good, a moment where you're not thinking too hard about it all – but that moment is fleeting, and the abyss is huge. Patriotism and nationalism are not only about that fleeting moment.

​#Politics