Stevethesqueeze,
Surely it is the arbitary concept of 'the nation' that has much to answer for! Most national boundaries have been drawn in blood at some point, and that is the blood of working people, not the land, factory etc owners. The concept of nations is divisive and serves to protect the interests of the owning class and is used to try and make us identify with them.

It is the concept of the nation, be it 'the area formerly known as southeast England!?!', England, United Kingdom, Europe or whatever, obscures the fact the most people in the world have to sell their labour to get money to buy the things which they and other people create which are owned by a small minority of property owners who live off the profits of selling the fruits of that labour. Because I know this, I don't care what state I live in or who runs it, I want to end this social division, it's not my country, it's owned by a tiny minority of rich property owners, it's their country, I just work here.

So forget the national anthem, let's have an international anthem, the Internationale (original words by Eugene Pottier (Paris 1871) and music by Pierre Degeyter (1888)) has been translated into many different languages. The song calls for the overthrow of the propertied class who send us to fight and die for the expansion or protection of their wealth and for the human race to unite to for ownership in common.

Philip

PS I find 'The Internationale' is a bit aggressive in places, but you can fit the words to Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love'.