Not sure what exact examples of what they mean by “Patriotic Education” and would like to see what ends up being put to paper. Because I think that sometimes it seems like the better phrasing would be focus on learning about Civics and making sure kids are learning to care about that stuff. As it seems to be something that most folks in the US don’t really understand at all. Which is why we are getting more and more elected officials that don’t actually know what their office is for or how it is supposed to function. At best they know that they can run on wild shit to get clout. After they win it is chaos in trying to purge or change things that aren’t the issues and they don’t understand. They just try to look at whatever stuff the last person of the opposing party did and just go hard on reversing shit just because.
But if by “Patriotic Education” they mean creating a system of just propping up a Chinese version of what the US does with our “exceptionalism.” And just focuses on ignoring the failures or more problematic parts of their history. Then it seems like it would be a bad shift to right-wing conservatism. Which could be used to undo the gains in building towards socialism and internationalism. In that the focus of building solidarity and brotherhood between nations as each figures out how to build socialism in their own ways based on their masses is just turned into nationalism.
But I am going with the first paragraph as the goal unless we see that the second one is what plays out. As there are already too many times that what China is trying to do is twisted by either misunderstanding or outright lies. As a person in the US I tend to get nervous when a huge push for “patriotism” being taught. So that is why I worry about the possible meaning of using those words. As it is a very imperialist headspace if done how we have done it.
I highly doubt it’s a programme to stupify the population. It would be pretty self-defeating to sink to the same low as the US in order to fend themselves off from the US I would think.
Agreed. Like I said, I just get cagey whenever “patriotism” is used in education/laws. Obviously my life as a US citizen and our constant attempts to whitewash our history is a trigger for it just meaning to lie about things. lol, a real motherfucker to get past. But it is why I did feel like expressing it here to see how others might see it. Thank you for not attacking me for putting it out there as I was worried I would just be super downvoted and misunderstood. And I mean that too, just being clear since I have been told I sometimes come across completely wrong/sarcastic in how I write things.
eh it happens but i think people here are far more interested in conversation than ego tripping and brigading so we have that going for us!
Oh no, patsocs /s
