A Word on Nationalism
A specter has recently cast a shadow over the face of some of my fellow Americans, and that specter is called Nationalism.
I am a right-leaning libertarian, and at worst I am a centrist. I don’t like to pick one side or the other, because then you are boxed in. Part of being human is being adaptable, having durability when it’s needed. Though it may be sometimes difficult to reconcile my beliefs, nothing is impossible. But we must also be decisive, and on this issue, I am decided.
I consider myself a patriot — I do believe that my country is exceptional; I do believe that my country has had great impact and influence on the peoples of the world; I do pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands; I believe in the rights of my constitution, and I take great pride in recounting my country’s history; I will always enjoy hearing my country’s anthem and watching my flag waver up above (I also happen to have a flag over my bed); I will always be happy when I see my neighbors and fellow countrymen winning, and will stand with them when they are defeated.
Yet, I do not consider myself an American Nationalist. I don’t believe that just because I am American, I am better than someone from Germany, or China, or Cuba; I don’t believe that just because I am an American, I have the right to go to other countries and suffocate their culture with a red, white, and blue pillow whilst asking, “Can you see the dawn’s early light — well, can you?” I don’t believe that to be American means to only think about America. I support President Trump, but I don’t know if I agree with America First the way that it has been propagated. Currently, we are taking a dangerous step backwards as a nation — isolationism, nationalism, a culture of reaction and not reflection. These are the makings, I dare say, of a state much like Germany in the interwar years. No, Mr. Trump is not Actually Hitler, and no I don’t think that within the next four to eight years we will see gestapo officers marching down the streets to slaughter innocent civilians; I don’t think we’ll ever see that in the United States, so long as they are the United States, for a hundred or two hundred years (“But what about all the black boys who have been gunned down in the streets? We’re already there!”). Our system does not allow for that sort of thing, no matter how corrupt it may be at this present moment, if there is one thing that I have faith in, it is that even the semblance of our system is enough to maintain our liberty and our peace of mind.
My point is that, Nationalism is a dangerous, dangerous ideology — Nationalism is the reason why the world was thrust into the darkness of the Great War, why the Wiemar Republic gave way to the Third Reich, why certain corners of the world are left ruinous, such as Vietnam or Cambodia, the Congo and South American nations. Nationalism is not, and cannot be, mistaken for patriotism — patriotism has eyes, it understands, analyzes, critiques, and more importantly there is within it that we may achieve perfection, but that we are not. Nationalism is blind, it is ravenous and hateful. It breeds the sort of xenophobia and disgust that is not healthy for the preservation of peace.
No, I do not believe in a world without borders, where you come and go as you please; such a world is a nightmarish fantasy of people who think they understand culture, but disrespect them in that manner. People believe that because the nation is a modern concept, circa the late 1700s, that borders were once upon a time nonexistent. I refer to them Hardian’s Wall, the Great Wall of China, the Ural mountains, the Atlantic Ocean, etc., etc. Man has always had and created barriers — and for a reason. Sometimes, a border has nothing to do with hating the person on the other side of it, as much as it is about making mutual existence more peaceful for both parties. A nation cannot function, cannot exist, without boundaries. Much like children on a playground, it helps to keep us from confusing whose toy is whose. Postmodernists believe that if we just dissolve all the “borders” the world would be nice, but it’s just not that simple.
What I believe is that, when we adhere to our moral values and principles, when we remember what it means to respect your fellow man, when we do not become too entrenched in our traditions, we can have stability. I do not want peace. I only want stability. I want to achieve perfection, not be perfect. When I say that I am an American, what I mean is that I believe in those rights enshrined in the Constitution, that I will advocate for those rights abroad, but if you choose not to follow them, I will be okay with that. It is when your belief’s begin to cloud your judgement and when your beliefs turn into violent actions that kill people, then I draw the line and say, “Bomb the shit out of them,” whoever they may be. And that’s just me being blunt.
