I think you misunderstood me... I do not consider nationalism a curse (word). I agitated for nationalism.Originally Posted by kagemusha
There are two destinct version of nationalism. The heavy and the light (call it bad and good if you care). The heavy implies that you as a nation is the best and that you have a right to rule something or at least make sure that your superiority isn't impeeded by immigrants. Heavy nationalism can be seriously ugly, take Nazi Germany or the European states in the late 1800s, that is the heavy nationalism.
Light nationalism is quite different. It is basically pride in nation and its past history. Take a look at Mexicans, they are a perfect group of this. They love Mexico, but are they unfriendly, are they aggressive and have a tendency to want to be secluded? No... They like their country but do not deny the rest of us any right to like it as well. It is a love for home and a sense of belonging. Remove that and people will become confused.
I do believe that should we meet another race out there this will drop a little and will see a more general Earth-nationalism, not because we want war but it is the Us-Them mentality playing in. We like to have secure borders, even with those we are most friendly with.
For instance when it comes to Denmark-Norway-Sweden-Iceland (and to a lesser extent Finland) we have a whole lot in common (language, culture and history), but however much we love and care for each other you won't find any more serious football matches (especially the first three), we simply do not want to lose to the oters. But when they are over we go out and drink together. That is the light nationalism in play, and I find it beautiful.
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