What belongs to me is mine, not yours. Is it selfish to not share?
I recently wrote that Homeland bonds nations into ONE people and diversity of common goals divides. Today, this natural truth is debated as obsolete in a global world.
I tried to find answers in concepts around NATIONALISM. Ethnic Nationalism as in white nationalist is associated with racism. My position for understanding race relations is grounded in learning truths over widely held beliefs. Therefore, this post is a presentation from the text of Wikipedia on the definition and aims of Nationalism. This for educational purposes with a minimum of my opinion.
Nationalism is an idea and growing movement around the world that I believe is in response to legal and illegal immigration, and larger refugee communities that have resulted in more diverse populations in nations/homelands. The benevolent diversity hoped for has produced conflicts and unintended consequences that are now perceived at a threat to traditional ways of life.
The text definition of nationalism is homelands that promote the interests of a particular nation or group of people. They seek to establish and maintain the nation's sovereignty or self-governance. They posit to own their homeland. Nationalism is based on the notion that every nation should govern itself, free from outside interference to achieve self-determination. This is both natural and ideal to survival of a nation. The nation is the only rightful source of political power. It further aims to build and maintain a single national identity, based on shared social characteristics determined by culture, ethnicity, geographic location, language, politics, religion, traditions and shared history. Unity is paramount to national solidarity. Nationalism is charged with preserving that nation's traditional cultures and cultural revivals have been associated with nationalist movements.
Nationalism also encourages pride in national achievements and is closely linked to patriotism.
Throughout history, people have had an attachment to their kin group and traditions, territorial authorities and their homeland, but nationalism did not become a widely recognized concept until the end of the 18th century.
There are three paradigms for understanding the origins and basis of nationalism.
Primordialism proposes that there have always been nations and that nationalism is a natural phenomenon.
Ethnosymbolism explains nationalism as a dynamic, evolutionary phenomenon and stresses the importance of symbols, myths and traditions in the development of nations and nationalism.
Modernization theory proposes that nationalism is a recent social phenomenon that needs the socio-economic structures of modern society to exist.
There are various definitions of a "nation" which leads to different types of nationalism. Ethnic nationalism defines the nation in terms of shared ethnicity, heritage and culture while civic nationalism defines the nation in terms of shared citizenship, values and institutions. This is linked to constitutional patriotism.
The adoption of national identity in terms of historical development has often been a response by influential groups unsatisfied with traditional identities due to mismatch between their defined social order and the experience of that social order by its members, resulting in an anomie that nationalists seek to resolve. This anomie results in a society reinterpreting identity, retaining elements deemed acceptable and removing elements deemed unacceptable, to create a unified community. This development may be the result of internal structural issues or the result of resentment by an existing group or groups towards other communities, especially foreign powers that are perceived as controlling them. National symbols and flags, national anthems, national languages, national myths and other symbols of national identity are highly important in nationalism.
In practice, nationalism can be seen as positive or negative depending on context and individual outlook. Nationalism has been an important driver in independence movements such as the Greek Revolution, the Irish Revolution, the Zionist movement and ending of the Soviet Union. Conversely, radical nationalism combined with racial hatred was also a key factor in the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germany. More recently, nationalism was an important driver of the controversial annexation of Crimea by Russia.
What we understand is that history records nationalism as embedded in every nation, a claim of ownership with inherent resistance to sharing or changing identities that they hold dear. Accepting this empirical evidence, how do we adjust desired ideology with natural conditioning or truth to create realistic race and ethnic relationships?
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