Aldous Huxley on patriotism and idolatry

To give to an isolated part of the universe that reverence which properly belongs only to the Whole (or in the words of religion to God) is idolatry; and idolatry is not only philosophically absurd, it is also disastrous in practice. The worship of a part as though it were the Whole provokes strife with the worshippers of other isolated parts. Each system of idolatry encourages its adherents to hate the adherents of all other systems. In the case of patriotism we see that an idolatrous love of one’s country is always accompanied by dislike and contempt of other people’s countries. Where the nation is regarded as being in some sort a God, men feel that they have an excuse for indulging in pride and vanity in regard to themselves and their own people, and scorn and dislike in regard to the members of other nations.

Aldous Huxley