Can there be anyone more self-deluded than a patriot?

GB Shaw said 'Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it.' That's the kind of 'reasoning' JH exhibits above. Leaving aside the cant and nationalism it doesn't take much to see that to see that from one bit of land to the next its the people with least to gain from war that die, and the ones that have the most to gain or the most to lose from war who sit miles from the action saying go on boys and girls 'do your bit!'. JH talks about 'lofty goals' and 'self-loathing' while people are starving and being blown to bits unnecessarily. Socialism is a necessity, lest we condemn more people to death, misery and environmental destruction.

Piers