# Blind Nationalism: whose citizens are the most deluded **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 3, 2016, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685 "2016-08-03T20:48:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nansbread1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Nansbread1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nansbread1)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/1 "2016-08-03T20:48:45Z")
From a very young age most citizens of various countries are brain washed into nationalistic fervour that usually follows the mantra…my country is great. Quite clearly some countries are very terrible places to live in. Yet their citizens demonstrate great love for their land. Hence they are possibly deluded. If a league table were to be made of countries who have practically nothing going for them…yet their citizens are brazenly nationalistic…who will top that table? I will leave out war torn countries like Syria, Iraq etc as their misfortunes have been recent and they were once beautiful places. I suggest India. Rampant poverty, lack of civic sense, dirty and unplanned cities. Over crowded etc etc. Yet their citizens will without hesitation call their country great. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/2 "2016-08-03T20:54:32Z")
Reported for forum change ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/3 "2016-08-03T21:00:07Z")
> [@Nansbread1](#): > > From a very young age most citizens of various countries are brain washed into nationalistic fervour that usually follows the mantra…my country is great. > > Quite clearly some countries are very terrible places to live in. Yet their citizens demonstrate great love for their land. Hence they are possibly deluded. > > If a league table were to be made of countries who have practically nothing going for them…yet their citizens are brazenly nationalistic…who will top that table? > > I will leave out war torn countries like Syria, Iraq etc as their misfortunes have been recent and they were once beautiful places. > > I suggest India. Rampant poverty, lack of civic sense, dirty and unplanned cities. Over crowded etc etc. Yet their citizens will without hesitation call their country great. Indian citizens have a pretty good case for being “great”, they are the largest democracy, a world (nuclear) military power, , and by pretty much every metric their people’s lives have improves incredibly over the last 80 years. I would say there North Koreans have (unfortunately for their citizens) no competition in this regard. While I am sure not everyone is 100% on board with the propaganda, I am equally sure your average citizen is, to some degree. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/4 "2016-08-03T21:37:47Z")
Since this a matter of opinion, let’s move it over to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/5 "2016-08-03T21:39:39Z")
North Korea is hard to beat on this one. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/6 "2016-08-04T00:52:21Z")
Except we don’t know that North Koreans _are_ “brazenly nationalistic”, do we? We know they’re exposed to - immersed in, really - a good deal of brazenly nationalistic propaganda, but that’s no quite the same things. Getting ahandle on what they readly think/feel about their country is quite difficult. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/7 "2016-08-04T02:43:25Z")
Freedonia before they were conquered by the King Bruno the Questionable. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/8 "2016-08-04T17:48:51Z")
Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/9 "2016-08-04T22:55:11Z")
Pardon the question within the question, but as I’m a Canadian, why are we “blindly deluded”? Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/10 "2016-08-04T23:24:20Z")
My initial response was North Korea as well. However, I think the people there are not so much deluded about their nation as much as they are about their Dear Leader. I will have to think about this. There are some of those tiny sliver republics near Russia that seem to think they are viable nations when they are no more than a small speck. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/11 "2016-08-05T00:02:07Z")
Another vote for North Korea. Some of their citizens are getting more outside info, and have been questioning things. But, IMHO the vast majority do believe the KJU is a god. And the rest of the world is a total mess. (while the watch their babies starve) ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/12 "2016-08-05T00:06:40Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Except we don’t know that North Koreans _are_ “brazenly nationalistic”, do we? We know they’re exposed to - immersed in, really - a good deal of brazenly nationalistic propaganda, but that’s no quite the same things. Getting ahandle on what they readly think/feel about their country is quite difficult. Have you ever watched one of the documentaries or read reputable articles on life in North Korea? I have and either they are the best actors in the world or they really are that insulated and brainwashed. It is basically an impoverished nation that runs exactly like a cult with the Great Family as their deity. The average North Korean is prevented from knowing almost anything about the rest of the world from birth so of course they have a distorted view. The sad part is that portly and evil Kim Jong-un knows about the rest of the world perfectly well. He went to an exclusive boarding school in Switzerland. My other nomination would be Bulgaria. They could fit right in with the rest of Europe if they really wanted to but a surprising percentage of their population pines for the good old days of being controlled by the Soviet Union. All it would take is a leader to create a campaign to “Make Bulgaria great again!” before they hopped in bed with uncle Putin and started the process all over again. [http://www.vagabond-bg.com/politics/item/2744-why-do-bulgarians-love-russia.html](http://www.vagabond-bg.com/politics/item/2744-why-do-bulgarians-love-russia.html) ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/13 "2016-08-05T00:27:32Z")
> [@Mallard](#): > > Pardon the question within the question, but as I’m a Canadian, why are we “blindly deluded”? Just curious. The other poster’s comment could have been a joke, but as a Canadian myself, I’ll admit that some Canadians carry an embarrassing snobbery around, believing they are morally superior do-gooders who are in a position to lecture citizens of other countries, especially the United States. In contrast it’s almost laughable how little influence Canada actually has on other countries, not to mention that Canada has some pretty significant problems of its own. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/14 "2016-08-05T00:57:25Z")
I’ve been to North Korea and they get my vote. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/15 "2016-08-05T01:09:23Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Have you ever watched one of the documentaries or read reputable articles on life in North Korea? I have and either they are the best actors in the world or they really are that insulated and brainwashed. It is basically an impoverished nation that runs exactly like a cult with the Great Family as their deity. The average North Korean is prevented from knowing almost anything about the rest of the world from birth so of course they have a distorted view. The sad part is that portly and evil Kim Jong-un knows about the rest of the world perfectly well. He went to an exclusive boarding school in Switzerland. I think his point is that not properly worshiping dear leader, or expressing any kind of doubt, means you and your whole family)are all sent to a work labor camp, or perhaps just killed outright. One of the foreigners who was imprisoned committed the crime of removing a propaganda banner from a hotel room… if I’m visiting North Korea, I’ll put up a second banner, just to be sure that nothing happens to the first one. All that said, North Korea is my first choice too. No matter how many people secretly question or resent the party line, they’re fed enough misinformation that even the alternative viewpoints are likely to be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/16 "2016-08-05T01:22:24Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > I’ve been to North Korea and they get my vote. That deserves more than a one line post. What is it really like? It is so isolated that few people really know. You could start a new thread called “Ask the person that has been to North Korea”. I assume you aren’t Kim Jong-un’s best bud, Dennis Rodman although it would be cool if you are. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/17 "2016-08-05T12:41:47Z")
Given the number of “America - Greatest Nation or Greatest_est_ Nation?” threads we have, I’d have to say Yanks give North Koreans a run for their money. ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/18 "2016-08-05T12:57:16Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Given the number of “America - Greatest Nation or Greatest_est_ Nation?” threads we have, I’d have to say Yanks give North Koreans a run for their money. Because the US so clearly meets the op’s condition of being a terrible place to live, with practically nothing going for it? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/19 "2016-08-05T14:57:01Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Given the number of “America - Greatest Nation or Greatest_est_ Nation?” threads we have, I’d have to say Yanks give North Koreans a run for their money. The OP says: > [@](#): > > If a league table were to be made of\*\* countries who have practically nothing going for them.\*\*…yet their citizens are brazenly nationalistic…who will top that table? ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685/20 "2016-08-05T22:35:42Z")
What ordinary North Koreans really think is a fascinating and mysterious topic. They are not unaware of the rest of the world anymore. That used to be true, but is no longer in the age of omnipresent smuggled entertainment video’s from South Korea. Nor, from what I’ve read of the accounts of defectors, do people who can’t/don’t make the effort to defect think those video’s are fake or totally unrepresentative of life in the ROK. It’s more complicated apparently. They are dependent on the Kim regime psychologically, and or believe the Korean purity of their way of life is an offsetting virtue. Along with just scared and lacking means to do anything to improve their lives without making them worse. But overall it’s probably still fair to say North Koreans are the most blindly nationalist among countries with little actually going for them. Nationalism is part of it at least. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-nationalism-whose-citizens-are-the-most-deluded/761685.md?page=2)