Patriotism vs. Nationalism

Yes - I'm proud to be German!

I'm proud that we're giving refuge to so many refugees from the Middle East.
I'm proud that we're an open-minded country with many nationalities, cultures and languages.
I'm proud that we have a democracy.
I'm proud that we have so many different landscapes in this small country: Flat, mountains, hills, woods, the coast ...
I'm proud that we won the world cup four times.
I'm proud that we won the Eurovision Song Contest twice.
I'm proud that we have had many scientists, poets and musicians who did a really good job.

But I'm not proud of those nationalists, walking in the streets, telling refugees to go home and other Germans to wake up.
Because I'm wide awake. And I see what's happening here.
Because the same damn think happened less than 90 years ago. And we all know how it ended.
I'm proud to be German, because it's a great country. But so are other countries, and their citizens should be proud of their nationality, too. Because, when do I start feeling patriotic? It's when I meet people from other nationalities. Because I can tell them about my country, and they can tell me about theirs. And we can become friends and learn from each other.
We're not only citizens of Germany, we're citizens of the world, with a German nationality and culture.

For me, there's a clear difference.
A patriot cheers for his country in the world cup.
A nationalist cheers for his country in the world war.

Before focussing on what's best for us ('a government should always put its citizens first' blah blah blah...), we should think about what's best for all of us. We're all humans.