<p>There was an old Latin motto, "<strong>Dulce et decorum est, pro partria morii</strong>," which roughly translates into: "<strong>It is a sweet and beautiful thing to die for one's country</strong>." I used to think that this was a piece of misguided patriotism. </p>

<p>That is, until the other night when a friend of mine said, "I would rather be a dead American than a live Ethiopian." (He was referring to the fact that the American standard of living is 100 times better than the Ethiopian.)</p>

<p>That got me to thinking, could the Roman proverb mean that Rome stood like a Colossus over her (Mediterranean world), so that a person would rationally choose death (or maybe take a 50-50 chance of death) as a Roman, than to be a live, and probably enslaved Carthaginian/Gaul/Greek/"pick your poison").  </p>

<p>Examining the notion of patriotism a little deeper.</p>

<p>Can the notion of being willing to die for one's country, be construed as a person's 
 desire to choose death under regime A over a chance to live under regime B, just because the disparity in standards of living was too great to bear? </p>

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2013-09-24T02:14:21.790Z
Maybe - it could relate to the cognitive processes of rationalisation?
coeus
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2013-09-24T08:38:08.633Z
@what I agree that this question demands that we are well-versed in history. Also, it is not structured coherently nor is there sufficient background information for users to research further about the temporal, cultural and historical significance of the proverb/motto. However, it does subtly refer to rational choice: "so that a person would rationally choose death" which in itself a cognitive process. To me, the question seems to be incomplete rather than off-topic.
coeus
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2013-09-24T08:54:35.973Z
That was directed at the author right? :)
coeus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-24T15:28:40.050Z
I gave the example of the person who would rather be a dead American than a live Eithiopian at 1/100th, yes that's one percent of the same American standard of living. So it's not a history question but one of can there be a situation where a person would choose death with life A and to live life B because of the disparty of standards of living?
Tom Au
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2013-09-24T22:09:19.860Z
@ThinksALot: That was a good edit, adding the notion of patriotism to the question.
Tom Au
<social-psychology><decision-making><prosocial-behavior>
The psychology of patriotism, dying for one's own country
Tom Au
# The psychology of patriotism, dying for one's own country

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-09-23)

There was an old Latin motto, "**Dulce et decorum est, pro partria morii**," which roughly translates into: "**It is a sweet and beautiful thing to die for one's country**." I used to think that this was a piece of misguided patriotism.

That is, until the other night when a friend of mine said, "I would rather be a dead American than a live Ethiopian." (He was referring to the fact that the American standard of living is 100 times better than the Ethiopian.)

That got me to thinking, could the Roman proverb mean that Rome stood like a Colossus over her (Mediterranean world), so that a person would rationally choose death (or maybe take a 50-50 chance of death) as a Roman, than to be a live, and probably enslaved Carthaginian/Gaul/Greek/"pick your poison").

Examining the notion of patriotism a little deeper.

Can the notion of being willing to die for one's country, be construed as a person's
desire to choose death under regime A over a chance to live under regime B, just because the disparity in standards of living was too great to bear?

**Tags:** social-psychology, decision-making, prosocial-behavior

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Maybe - it could relate to the cognitive processes of rationalisation?  
> **username_1**: @what I agree that this question demands that we are well-versed in history. Also, it is not structured coherently nor is there sufficient background information for users to research further about the temporal, cultural and historical significance of the proverb/motto. However, it does subtly refer to rational choice: "so that a person would rationally choose death" which in itself a cognitive process. To me, the question seems to be incomplete rather than off-topic.  
> **username_1**: That was directed at the author right? :)  
> **username_0**: I gave the example of the person who would rather be a dead American than a live Eithiopian at 1/100th, yes that's one percent of the same American standard of living. So it's not a history question but one of can there be a situation where a person would choose death with life A and to live life B because of the disparty of standards of living?  
> **username_0**: @ThinksALot: That was a good edit, adding the notion of patriotism to the question.  

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