Progressive Buttons Blog

The war between Georgia and Russia has brought out the worst in people - and not just in Eurasia. Here in the United States, the opportunity to involve the American government in a new war has got some politicians fairly salivating.

John McCain, for example, has started calling up foreign leaders and declaring that he speaks for “all Americans”, and stating that the USA is completely on the side of the Georgians against the Russians. The Georgians are seeking to defend their nationalist pride, and the Russians are seeking to prove their own greater nationhood again too.

In these times, the boldest move of all is to reject the nationalist idea that there are some countries that are inherently more virtuous than others, and that people ought to sacrifice themselves to their nations, so that their nations can prosper, even if the citizens themselves are killed by the thousands.

This political button serves as a badge to show that you are a citizen of the Earth, and refuse to be restricted to an identity linked to just one small piece of turf. It’s time for a positive global identity, based on peace, not grabbing everything that you can for the Homeland.