Answer for: What do you think of Nationalism?
#1 Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.
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Per Merriam-Webster:
Nationalism: 1. loyalty and devotion to a nation; especially : a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups.
This seems a relatively benign definition as compared to more negative historical or philosophical perspectives:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalism
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nationalism/
I wouldn't exactly call "exalting one nation above all others" _benign_.
"... exalting one nation above all others" - I couldn't agree with Holotone more. Look how it works in practice - the second verse of our (British) national anthem:
O Lord our God arise,
Scatter her enemies
And make them fall;
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
Oh, save us all!
Nice eh?
I guess the word "exalting" adds an unfavorable connotation to the sentence. But let's say we substitute the word "valuing", or "celebrating"...
Then we have a definition of most people in most nations.
My point is that, as with the usage of many terms, the simple (dictionary) definition is considerably different than the practical usage and perception of meaning. e.g., compare the Wiki definition to Merriam-Webster's.
Actually, it's the "above all others" part that worries me.
There is no nation that you favor above all others? Perhaps not, but would it be a problem if you did?
I suppose if there were good reason, it wouldn't be a problem - The catch here, though, is that I've yet to meet a nationalist who loves any country more than the random one s/he happened to miraculously be born in.
Holo: Trying to think of one... Alexander Hamilton (was born in British West Indies)
But, I see what you mean. A large percentage of nationalism is a result of propaganda and mind control beginning at childhood. Another large part of it too I think is the inherent tribal instinct that humans evolved. If those assumptions are true, then you could argue that abandoning nationalism is an act of reason.