A lot of us in the anarchist sphere of thought have started poking fun at the nationalist "we" by saying things like, "Got a mouse in your pocket there?" That unthinking collectivism is especially prevalent in societies that have been taught that democracy is a virtue, and governments actually represent the people.
Britain in particular has a long history of propaganda. Prof CJ (officially retired from teaching a few days ago) has a long Dangerous History Podcast episode on their World War I campaign against the US. You might find it interesting.
Hehe, well there are many ways to poke fun at it all since the patterns are so unthinking and actually disrespectful - plus dangerous. Larken Rose's movie about the Jones plantation should be great on this topic in general.
Thanks for the link, that's not a topic I have heard much about in the commentaries of WW1, though I am well aware that for the last 50 years one of the primary drivers of world politics has been a covert trans-Atlantic group that has bases in Britain and the US. Britain and US (plus Europe and many other places) have long understood that pushing people around is most effectively done from their inside by warping their mind - rather than trying to use physical force. The soul-utions arise from exploring the same realms but with the very different intents to heal, balance and evolve.
I consider separation and polarization due to different ideologies as meaningless. As I grow older I notice that most of the time it is cultivated continuously! Stereotypes, ostentatiousness, low-level education, materialism, reinforce isolation more! Our potential and the only way to salvation of the peoples is unity and common struggle! General concepts but life is very simple... and I still hope
Would you prefer if I used the equally-ambiguous "some" instead of "a lot"? I also used the collective pronoun "us" because there are in fact numerous like-minded people who are using this tactic to point out this error. In case you overlooked it, I specified the nationalist "we." The one where people unthinkingly associate themselves as members of the political class. I don't know about you, but I'm not part of that plundering gang of thieves. The word "we" does not apply, even though I do benefit to an extent. It's one of the things which deeply bothers me about being a librarian. Government has monopolized a valuable service and perverted it by tying it to their systemic extortion.
"Government." There's an interesting collective pronoun. Like the nationalist we, it is presented as something to which we belong despite the absence of any evidence for consent. It is a word used as shorthand for the people who live by political plunder instead of economic production and mutual voluntary consent. Yet every election cycle, we (as in anyone who hears anything from government propagandists) are told the government is "us," and our votes are our voice. This baseless assertion is taught to all of us, and widely accepted as an article of faith in the religion of democracy, even though it is just the false choice and bandwagon fallacies wrapped in flags.
I rather like the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights because those documents tell the government, "no." The Constitution, to paraphrase Lysander Spooner, is neither contract nor compact, and has no legitimate authority over us. It is unfit to exist. If all you have are insults, perhaps you need more self-examination and rational argumentation.
You spent several replies spewing invective and failing to make any case for anything. You continue to deliberately misrepresent my actual clearly-stated argument regarding the nationalist "we." Government is not society. Rejection of the State is not rejection of cooperation, quite the opposite in fact. You make a big deal about "Nation," but what is it? We have diverse cultures, regional traditions, and local customs. There is no homogeneous whole, just a territorial claim made by a political class of plunderers. Your arguments beg the question by assuming this is all legitimate.
The founding fathers were not infallible. Hell, they compromised on the matter of slavery. They thought taxation was only a problem due to the absence of "representation." Well, now we have "representation," and the taxation is far more oppressive than anything King George could have imagined. There is nothing voluntary or consensual about any of it. As Spooner clearly argued, there can be no real representation in a system of secret ballots. There is no agent/principal relationship whatsoever. Voters are usurpers when they claim to speak for their neighbors. It's a farce.
And then there's your classic ergo decedo. "Go fuck off where you don't despise what everyone else does, thinks (despite your notion) and says." This dodges criticism in a cowardly manner. Address the argument. Don't attack the person making it. Act like a civilized human being.
How do you personally avoid paying taxes and are not in prison yet?
I have read a book about it (forgot its name) where it's suggested how to do it, but I didn't understand the technical terms, it was in English and I was not able to make a proper translation.