Response: Evolutionary Emotions

In response to Kurtiss Keefner's post "Love of Country or Love of the People?" (April 1, 2012):

I agree that many people do not recognise, at least in any depth, that those in other countries are real people, with emotions very similar or identical to their own.  The reason for this may be evolutionary.  Being attached emotionally to those close to one (historically, these people are often genetically related to one) and then basing one's actions off that attachment, without incorporating abstract ethics, was indeed usually the best way to ensure both one's own safety and the continuation of one's own genetic line.  As such, caring only for those one knows personally, or those whom society tells one to care about, may be a default stance, so to speak, of many people.  Recognising the personhood of those in other countries usually requires a commitment to at least a small amount of rational thought and consideration - something which many people fail to make time for in their everyday lives.  Even after intellectually recognising that those in other countries are also people, it may take a continued commitment to rational consideration to ensure that one takes this recognition into account when making decisions or statements.  The only time, it seems, when many people emotionally believe in the personhood of those in other countries is immediately after watching emotionally-charged television footage of happenings in other countries.