Those moments when patriotism is really just nationalism of another colour

Distressing international attitudes sometimes find expression in the behaviour of some Goulburn Valley people.

Such insular views are described, mostly, as patriotism, but they are really just nationalism of another colour and contribute nothing, or little, to the wellbeing of a community.

Just recently an emerging star of American conservatism, Marco Rubio (right), won a Senate seat for Republicans in the American midterm elections and said the US as "simply the greatest nation in all of human history".

A sweeping statement that cannot be proved or disproved because of its subjectivity, but at its core is the cancerous-like germ of nationalism, a fanatical belief that your way of living is supreme and so evident that others should, must, embrace it.

There seems to be an assumed sense of rightness about the embedded values and in some discussion about what is presently happening in the Murray Darling Basin a similar insularity emerges.
Many arguments are supposedly for the greater good, but when disassembled they really are about the preservation of a local scenario and in their small way evoke similar nationalism.
What is envisaged for our basin demands that people consider life beyond the farm gate, beyond their business boundaries and beyond the extent of their immediate communities.
Success for the basin plan has no room for Marco Rubio-like sentiments, rather it is an international resource, troubled by international human behaviour and we are simply the caretakers.
History illustrates that man’s attempts at controlling, or managing, nature to his advantage lead, almost with fail, to decided difficulties, especially when water is involved.
That doesn’t mean, of course, that we do nothing, rather we should explore the idea of a steady state economy, one in which human prosperity is not linked to growth and profit.
The Goulburn Valley, and by implication Shepparton, is linked to national difficulties as it sits at the foot of the rich Murray-Darling Basin and because of bountiful water has become Australia’s food bowl.
Instead of searching for monetary growth, we should attend to enriching the human experience and not be so concerned about Gross National Product, rather ensure we contribute to Australia’s Gross National Happiness.