Redefining Our National Identity to Be Better Global Citizens
Some say we must prioritize the identity of a global citizen to best address societal issues plaguing the world, but I argue it is prioritizing our national identity first while maintaining a global mindset that would be most effective because it facilitates solving localized issues which solutions can then be shared with the world.
Thinking about and wanting to do better for the world isn’t something we should shy away from, but it’s important to work at the national level first and foremost. Solving global issues is hard work, time consuming, and at times seems impossible, most times problems aren’t even solved. But if we work at a national level first with issues that are commonplace across the world, then we have an opportunity to work closely with the issue and find solutions that can then be implemented in other countries. We can have a global mindset that is helped formed by the acts we do nationally like making sure we all have access to housing, that sets a precedent for others in the world.
Consider the global identity, you want to be a part of a bigger network to do better and improve the world, however the impact of an individual abroad is minimal. For example, solving the housing epidemic, someone abroad can only do so much such as donating or raising awareness through social media. But someone in their home country in America for example can write to their legislators, create campaigns, vote, and form local committees. Even then we can see that the housing epidemic is still rampant in the U.S.
Admittedly, there are examples where a borderless world and global identity has served for the greater good. This past year we’ve seen movements spring up. Movements in the U.S like the Black Lives Matter movement sparked a fire across the globe for human rights, reproductive rights in the U.S, Poland, Mexico and more. They’ve created conversation, but change is still in the next steps, not something that is a given yet. For example, reproductive right movements have also sprung across the globe, but women in the southern states of the U.S are having their reproductive rights suppressed to new levels with abortion whistle blowers and laws that are criminalizing abortion, meanwhile women in Mexico celebrate the ruling of their supreme court that declared abortion was not a crime. While these movements sparked conversations, it was the actual actions of the citizens that made it possible for change. In the movements, we’ve come together, but it has always originated for a demand of change at the national level.
By extension, there are organizations that are the embodiment of a “global citizen” such as the United Nations that have done donations, ran initiatives in struggling countries and much more. However, we often see these are short-term solutions. Vaccines are administrated, but access to them long-term is unavailable, food donations run out and families are left waiting for the next donations, and similar situations. These are positives but illustrate the complex reality of being a global citizen, some issues are not solved, simply a band aid solution. The citizens of the country must decide and collaborate to fix the issues in their country. It is not bad to think and try to help others, in reality it is something we should be doing; however, we can’t have it as a prime focus when our own countries are struggling. How can we say we can help others when we can barely help ourselves? We can do it, but it’d be mediocre as the help we’ve given ourselves.
Opponents are correct when they say it is dangerous to consider a national identify as the most important. Doing so could and often leads to imperialism, racism, and cultural clashes. And so the negative connotations to identifying as a national citizen are reasonings that do not go unfounded. And that may be why people shy away from identifying as a national citizen. They want to show they are beyond the negatives of their country and want to contribute to a world where we are all interconnected. But I argue it is time to redefine being a national citizen, or at the very least prioritizing a national citizen. Instead of looking outwards to do good and feel connected, people should work inwards to improve their countries so that when they decided to be global citizens and help others, they already have solutions that work to help others.
It is important to think about this because one doesn’t have to stop helping others or supporting global causes, having a global mindset is a positive, but our priority should be our national identity to help our country and find solutions to problems we can then share with the world. Once we are able to work efficiently and improve the lives in our country, we can move on to be a fully emerged global citizens who know and can solve the issues of today.
