I’m a materialist. I believe rabbits are conscious. And I can belive there’s a kind of consciousness for a group of humans like a nation state.

However, the United States isn’t just a group of humans. It’s also a group of bison. Wild horses. Flies. Bacteria. Bats. Dung beetles. And whatever entity occupies the White House.

If the United States is conscious, it’s unclear why it’s consciousness stops at its fictitious, human imagined border. Except for humans, no other animal cares or knows when they cross the border.

So a much better claim can be made for the Earth and the entire web of life.

At which point we’re at Gaia hypothesis/Earth Systems science territory, and I’m fine with that too.

I still remain a materialist. And don’t consider the United States to be particularly conscious as an entity.