Much ado about an awful lot

Not a few social commentators have remarked there is a willingness to react to adverse news or events by force. In its own way there's a resurgence of patriotism and can explain, in part , the rise in numbers of dissatisfied voters in the recent European elections. Despite the merging of national boundaries, laws and identities , cultures feel under threat. Education and travel have not changed things that much.things don't change that much. Identity is inherent in the tribal roots of human nature .
An article in one of the U.K. national Sunday papers even managed to link this loss of identity within Europe to the opening of the refurbished Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam ; a recent article in The Economist argued that many are unhappy with the EU but not sure exactly why.
Samuel Johnson once remarked that patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel. It clouds judgement and outcomes causing diplomats to fail at their calling. (That's a new "buzz" word..outcomes: we want outcomes. Outcomes also are no longer worrying  but concerning).
Senior Australian military officials have recently remarked that the annual Gallipoli remembrance ceremonies in Turkey are becoming a major side show, thereby losing significance , with a increasing number of those attending being  youthful hangers-on  of their grandfather's or great-grandfather's experiences.
Currently there's an increasing number of military parades and ceremonies, almost weekly it seems.
This might or might not be a "man thing". However the increasing influence of women whether or not in the workforce, politics or the legislature might be a counter balance. Dunno. Maybe. Golda Meir in Israel , a tough old cigarette smoking Amazon , Indira Ghandi in India and recently Margaret Thatcher serve to refute this as a convncing argument.  
 For the moment however I am safe. I can still open bottles or screw caps off jam jars but when I lose that ability my days are numbered.