Patriotic songs signal a country’s loss when played amid wartime news

Evidence

The little groups of civilians standing at the roadside—appearing by magic out of the empty woods to watch the procession—raised a few cheers when the first tanks passed, but they soon left off, discouraged: now they were waiting as if for a long freight train to pass; the men on the tanks rode by, mute, indifferent, and almost allegorical, like firemen sitting in rows along their ladders. — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 343 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Yet traces of the past always persist in the present, whether through the cherished memories of lost loved ones such as Konrad Weiss, incinerated at Nagasaki, or in the incalculable way the consequences of national strategic interests play out over time. Like Hiroko, one can seek connections between past and present (and between people and times) despite all obstacles, or one can settle into the deceptively comforting yet deadly complacencies of patriotism, as to differing degrees do Harry Burton and his daughter, Kim. — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 423 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Patriotic anthems on diaspora channels signal a lost homeland — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 897; Rebels singing French patriotic songs made French soldiers doubt they fought a just cause; Spectators’ patriotic enthusiasm for war machinery collapses quickly into bored waiting — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 343 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Spectators’ patriotic enthusiasm for war machinery collapses quickly into bored waiting #complicates (0.75) — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 343
• Rebels singing French patriotic songs made French soldiers doubt they fought a just cause #complicates (0.72)
• Characters divide between connecting across past and present or settling into patriotic complacency #complicates (0.72) — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 423