A nationalist identity
Helps to create community
Because then me and you,
Whether Christian or Jew,
Have some sense of fraternity
Reading about the evolution of nationalism this weekend struck a particularly strong chord with me because I traveled to Washington DC this weekend. If there was ever a place deliberately designed with the glorification of the concept of a national identity in mind—it is Washington. In visiting the World War II memorial, what struck me (viewed through the lens of this reading) was the multiple levels of identity being explored. All Americans identify with the memorial as Americans. Each state or territory that sent troops into battle is represented individually, allowing for more personal levels of identification. I saw people taking pictures of themselves in front of the names of their states. Was that the intention of the memorial? Probably not, but as an example of nationalist identification, it was clear to see.
“…all communities larger than primordial villages of face-to-face contact (and perhaps even these) are imagined. Communities are to be distinguished, not by their falsity/genuineness, but by the style in which they are imagined.”
This point cannot be gainsayed, but it begins to call to mind the various forms of virtual communities present on the Internet. People start to partition themselves by identity aspects that were never used as defining characteristics in the past—from stamp collectors to fans of particular television shows—because it has never been easier to create a community and feel an immediate sense of fellowship and identification. Only time will tell if the paramount importance of nationalism currently will diminish or increase as the internet becomes more pervasive. Currently it seems to be moving in both directions simultaneously—as people perceive the differences between themselves and their neighbor to be less, they reflexively raise their boundaries higher and cling to identities that clearly demarcate the Self and the Other. Who knows if we will continue to compound identity upon identity as a way of defining the Self and the Other, or we will seek more rigorously to find our commonalities.
I agree that national divisions seem to be simultaneously growing and waning in importance.Waning in many ways economic. National boundaries rarely seem so futile and out-of-date as when we start speaking of financial flows. And yet, when we need to save ourselves from destructive economic forces we rely on our political entities and nothing else will do. An interesting conundrum.
ReplyDeleteExactly! While in DC this weekend, I saw bumper stickers (union inspired) about saving American jobs by purchasing only American goods and I wondered if those people espousing these ideals had the slightest concept of what would happen to us if China did the same. Insularity is death to modern economic entities, but political entities gain power and popularity by promoting concepts and ideals that cannot be enforced without destroying the country.
ReplyDeleteWell said!
ReplyDelete