When you move to another country, you let go several parts of yourself. You let go of your language as you try to explain things in simple terms and become accustomed to people's perplexed faces and reactions. Then the next thing you lose is your national identity, which is actually more of a gain than loss. You become comfortable in a different culture, you become more understanding and accepting of other people's differences.

I can probably attribute my lame creativity and miniscule maturity to the distance I put between me and my native country. Not totally a wise woman just less ignorant about the world than before. Escaping the prison of ignorance is a gradual process. There are times that I still find it easier to box people into preconceived notions and limiting beliefs. There are far more important things to be learned when you physically venture out of the national identity cave. There's a more growth reward when you go out of your way to learn than sit in comfort while watching about those you deemed 'others' from a distance.

As I traveled, I began to see how the rest of the world sees me. I began to see how the rest of the world sees other people. I began to see the total control and how the whole system is fucking up the rest of the world. It's funny that the powerful nations are more patronized where I am. While in other countries, they are kind of an emotional bond that unites people, which is quite alarming too. Injustice on a massive scale when prolonged can be dangerous.

There was one time I was being downright critical of this powerful nation due to some incident that recently happened in my homeland, which is not kind of surprising anymore because it happens everywhere. I have completely forgotten that I have some friends added on Facebook who took offense and began whitesplaining about their politics. In this day and age of fragility, 850 FB friends, and political correctness, this is the kind of friends who can easily unfriend you within seconds. One confirmation of the looming effects of clinging to a national identity. Should the members of the tribe posted the same criticisms, it might not get the same harsh reactions. The least you get is 'blasphemy' or betrayal. I guess it's different when 'the Other' gets to criticize others' shit, it is more perceived as hostility. It threatens superiority because you are supposed to look up to them and not criticize. It sucks when other people make you aware of your own shit.

Leave your country and you begin to see as the world really sees it. A potentially hostile force dedicated to protecting its own interests, an aggressive military power presence, a giant powerful screen that monitors every movement of every individual, a dangerously uninformed populace and pyscho political leaders who created rules that only serve and protect their own herd living in the self-absorbed bubble. The rest of the world does not care anymore for Twitter apologies or how the citizens feel. People care more about how to actually assess and cope with the damage powerful nations have done and are still likely to wreak on the environment, economic justice, stability and world peace.

I'm still quite surprised whenever I browse my Feedly and see articles with the title 'this [insert nationality or color here] did this to [insert nationality or color here]. Or that there are still people living up to the evil symbol of extreme nationalism. I am not even sure if these articles are waking up the sheeplike masses to reality or just perpetuating further divide. I can't believe that in these modern times, people are still prone to 'otherizing' people especially when provoked. True colors come out in a snap. Just like that, critical thinking is dissolved in the water. I can attribute this to people living their lives within the box of Holywood fairytale and the illusion of safety and security. What do these people get to see and learn every day anyway? The typical ingredients, the heroes and anti-heroes, the good and bad guy, a dream and something standing in the way of achieving the dream and circumstances that threaten to defeat the hero so he can rise to the challenge and win. People are hearing and living the same kind of story until they have grown into adults still thinking that everywhere is the same. The same kitchen, the same kind of roads, the same people and the same story, just like in the movies. It is just unsafe outside their Holywood fairytale lives. The only way to break out of this delusion is to go out there, be with others, activate the mind and let it think on its own.

'The Other' is born out of this old disease called patriotism, a disease that affects not only the people of powerful nations but also other nations deemed insignificant. Letting go of the stranglehold of patriotism is letting go of your identity. An identity forms in response to psychic need, for validation, protection, and a sense of belonging in this confusing world. It is a construct not based on fact but belief. It is kind of a tribal chant performed collectively to ward off danger. To ward off others. To otherize. This identity is what clouds our cognitive faculties the most. But of course, it is way easier to belong and pledge allegiance. It is easier to believe in one's basic rightness and goodness. It is easier to cling to the basket of dogma and limiting beliefs. Patriotism is such as mind-altering force, a collective hypnosis meant to cloud people's reasoning.

The ancient societies that practiced disturbing human sacrifices on a massive scale signified that they are wealthier and more powerful. The members of the tribe allowed the practices for they were lead to believe that these were for the Gods and their own benefit. Yet here we are now, claiming we are more advanced and civilized people capable of differentiating what is good and evil. The modern form of human sacrifice is to send soldiers to war or bomb other nations with drones. God knows what else we don't know. And yet, we allow those however evil. Where is the so-called collective power now? It looks like the wealthier and more powerful the society is, the more evil. The more people are prone to the evilness of their collective identity. The more prone they are into being controlled and deluded, for their Gods' promising all-too-comfortable-and-safe life at the expense of 'others' is just too good to pass up.

I am not part of the envy of the world and so are you. We are equally contributing to the massive shit happening out there. For all I know, I'm also living within this great hypnosis bubble and still trying to venture beyond the spellbinding effects of collective identity. I myself thought at some point that it is easier to generalize and otherize, for it does not require that much mental bandwidth. Holding on to the herd mentality just makes life easier. What is harder than to break free of the comfortable bubble? Or to think for yourself? People like comfort and convenience. The ease that they can be duped and played. Perhaps this a dystopia in the making. Perhaps there's still time to wake up, such a giant step for starters I believe. There's still time to reclaim of what has been lost. I just don't know how much time remains.