So many comments seem to typically contain the hidden assumption that it takes some external force, person, situation, to change things, usually something despairingly powerless in the current state of affairs. I hear the despair.

I have become convinced that I have the power to transform the world into one that is free of domination.  I believe that all it takes to transform the world is for me to transform myself into a more mature, responsible, and loving person.  That’s all I have to do, nothing more than that, nothing less than that, and nothing is more important than that transformation.  When I change my inner world, my external behavior shifts to match, and I become a creative source of systemic change.

When a nation is addicted to hyper-vigilance and the use of offense as the best defense, peace is not patriotic, peace is the antithesis of the national identity. In this context, peace is perceived as passive and defenseless, unlike the patriot who “vigorously supports their country (their patris, fatherland) and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors,” as defined in the dictionary. The problem with the word defense is its association with power, domination, and isolation, which are strategies to produce security. Patriotism is really about security.