For the Love of One's Nation

1457 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The positive impact of patriotism

For the Love of One's Nation

The country is painted red, white, and blue and the national anthem is being heard nation wide. Everywhere you look you see little American flags posted in peoples front gardens or big flags hanging in their windows. Many stores are closed, even supermarkets usually open 24 hours close for a while, and those that are open for a while have all baked goods with American flags on them. People line the streets for parades, in big or small towns alike, and everywhere you look people are dressed in red, white, and blue. It could be no other day than the 4th of July in the United States. The big day when people remember history and unite together to enjoy their country's independence. This display of the American flag, the sound of the national anthem, and the pride people feel as they watch the morning parade is nationalism.

To have the devotion to die for one's country, to hail to one's flag, to sing one's national anthem with pride, and to fear or hate others because they are not one of you are a few of the many characteristics of nationalism. Nationalism makes a person have love, pride, and an emotional union with the nation to which they belong. Being happy and loving one's nation can be a good thing as long as this pride is kept within reason and does not engulf a nations entire existence and lead to racism and the feeling of superiority towards others. A persons pride and loyalty for their nation-state has been a recent development, since previously a persons loyalty went to one's "crown, religion, city, or clan" (Weatherby, 39). A nation-state is a legal entity with people sharing a common identity, land, government, and independence, such as the former Soviet Union. Nationalism results from four types of bonds and is displayed through four types of symbols. However, even though nationalism can bring nations together it can also hurt the unity of the entire world by causing nations to measure other nations by their own value system which leads to inferiority and racism.

One bond of nationalism is common territory, which is a natural bond since people are located close to each other. When traveling to other countries or even other areas in your own nation a person would feel closer and sometimes more comfortable in the new place if they met someone who was also from where they lived.

Show More
Related

  • Response to Conflict in All Quiet on the Western Front and Narrative of Frederick Douglass

    807 Words  | 2 Pages

    Patriotism is defines as love and devotion to one's country, usually out of self devotion. Nationalism is an adulterated version of patriotism where aspirations for national independence in a country under foreign domination is forced upon the people by society, or an authoritative figure.

    Read More

  • Nationalism In The Era Of Good Feelings

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Nationalism(n.) - loyalty or devotion to a nation, especially an attitude, feeling, or belief characterize by a sense of national consciousness” (The War of 1812 and the Rise of Nationalism 1). Nationalism was a crucial part of America’s success during the War of 1812; nationalism was reflected in the post-war period through increased national pride, emphasis on national issues, increase in power and scope of the national government, and a growing sense of American identity (The War of 1812 and the Rise of Nationalism 1). The first to arise which was the driving force behind American victories against the British was nationalism. This nationalism was expressed in four ways; patriotism, political, economical and cultural. American patriotism

    Read More

  • Napoleon

    638 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nationalism is the devotion of people to the interests of its nation or the love of one's country to stay independent. Nationalism played a major role in the downfall of Napoleon in that he wanted an empire and his opponent's wanted independence.

    Read More

  • Effects on Nationalism in America

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nationalism was expressed throughout the 1800s. These people came together through different ideas. Through these different ideas America came to be known as a stronger nation. The Second Great Awakening, the Industrial Revolution, and the Educational Reform, are all proof that effected nationalism in America.

    Read More

  • Nationalism In Canada Essay

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nationalism is a political, economic and social ideology, doctrine and practice describing the “advocacy of or support for the interests of one’s own nation”, especially above the interests of other outside nations, individuals, and regions (“Nationalism”). It is a conscious state of mind where individuals believe their duty and loyalty is to the nation-state. It believes that a nation is the most crucial aspect for human social life because it gives a nation a sense of unity by promoting the shared interests and identities of the individuals such as language, race, religion etc. (“Nationalism”). Therefore, the aim of nationalism is to preserve and promote the nation’s culture as opposed to other cultures. Politically, the goal is gaining and

    Read More

  • Importance Of Nationalism In The French Revolution

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the years, humans have constructed many unique civilizations; all which follow a distinct social, economic, and political structure. Even so, there is one characteristic that prevails among these societies, the concept of nationalism. In short, nationalism refers to the feelings people have when identifying with their nation. This simple notion possesses the ability to divide or unite collective groups, and has played an important role in many historical events.

    Read More

  • The Underlying Cause Of World War I

    1238 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nationalism, the spirit or aspirations common to the whole of a nation, an importing factor to many countries due to its importance; The people of their nation and their “ality” makes up the country they choose to be and grow in. Citizens showed their nationalism through national anthems and written passages as Russia has done, which contains the saying that they will never be conquered or overthrown (document five). However, due to the utmost prominence of their patriotism reaching out to other countries, it helped cause the First World War, World War I.

    Read More

  • George Orwell's Concerns With Nationalism And Totalitarianism?

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    It reflects many of his ideas and views of what he calls nationalism, which he defines as the tendency of ‘[…] identifying oneself with a single nation or other unit, placing it beyond good and evil and recognizing no other duty than that of advancing its interests.’ Nationalism has been present throughout history, and is even predominant in today’s world. He defines Nationalism not only includes alignment to a political entity, but also religion, race or ideas. Examples of such forms of nationalism could include Communism, Zionism, Catholicism and Pacifism. He argues that nationalism is not to be confused with patriotism, as he puts it, ‘[…] patriotism is of its nature defensive… Nationalism, on the other hand, is inseparable from the desire for power.’

    Read More

  • Kylie Kaminski 5/27

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nationalism is great for a country ("Nationalism”). It provides a confidence and sense of togetherness that ever country should have. Nationalism is defined as having patriotic feelings toward their country (“Nationalism). People are able to show their love for their country by reciting their national anthems, pledge of allegiance, and spreading positive thoughts of their country ("Nationalism”). There are extreme nationalists as well, which can cause serious problems ("Nationalism). Sometimes nationalists take their pride to far and it turns into an evil downwards spiral. Take Adolf Hitler for example, he ended up killing six million Jews and was at the center of the foundation of Nazism. Extreme nationalists can end up hurting innocent people because they might not believe in the same things or for absolutely no reason at all. The other end of extreme nationalists would be the people that are harmed because of being huge nationalists for their country. There are groups of people whose jobs are to go after nationalists from other countries because they may potentially cause a threat to their own country. In general nationalism is a great trait for a country to possess, but certain situations and people can cause nationalism to become a deadly weapon. Although nationalism has its benefits with international pride, in extreme cases it could lead to the downfall of a country or strip innocents of their safety.

    Read More

  • Long and Short Term Causes of WWI

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nationalism, the love and support of one's country, has always existed. In this era, however, it was to take part in the creation of one of the most famous wars in history. Since so much pride was devoted to countries, it made the possibilities of peace between past rivals less probable. It also meant that most nations, especially the great powers, would rather fight a war than back down from a rival's diplomatic provocation. In effect, nationalism was also a contributing factor to the alliance system. No country feels comfortable being in a war alone, and with the growing militaries in almost every country, allies provided much comfort.

    Read More

  • Nationalism in Europe in the 19th century

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nationalism is way of thinking both political and socially to create a community united by: history, ethnicity, religions, common culture, and language. Numerous effects occurred while establishing a Nationalist community, some effects were a long term impact on Nationalism, and other was short term impacts on Nationalism.

    Read More

  • What Is A True American?

    961 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nationalism is extreme loyalty and devotion to one particular nation, and many Americans are nationalistic about their country. But even though they are loyal to America, defining what it means to be a true American is tricky. Being American is one complex thing, but the concept of being American can not be fully grasped. What it means to be American may in fact be one of the biggest mysteries of all time. Indeed, discovering what it means to be a true American could possibly take an entire lifetime. One thing, however about all true Americans is certain: we are all alike in that each one of us is different from the Americans in important ways. We are diverse in our backgrounds, races, and religions. Nevertheless, we are exactly identical in the we feel toward our country, even though we express our pride in a million different ways.

    Read More

  • Nationalism and Democracy

    1179 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...powerful forces in binding people together, nationalism is a powerful force capable of inducing people to act collectively, share burdens, and even make sacrifices for the nation’s common good. As a result, it promotes the stability of democracies.

    Read More

  • Nationalism in Europe

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nationalism is the idea that a people who have much in common, such as language, culture and geographic proximity ought to organize in such a way that it creates a stable and enduring state. Nationalism is tied to patriotism, and it is the driving force behind the identity of a culture. Nationalism had many effects in Europe from 1815, The Congress of Vienna and beyond. In the following essay I will describe many of the consequences of nationalism on European identity, as well as some of the conflicts that it created.

    Read More

  • Patriotism

    571 Words  | 2 Pages

    The recent terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have caused confusion on the topic of patriotism. The best way to start understanding patriotism is to simply define it. Patriotism is a person’s level of loyalty toward their country. Displays of true patriotism are prominent in times of despair, such as wars and terrorist attacks. However, many people have discrepancies on what displays of patriotism really are. Some people believe that showing patriotism can be accomplished by waving the flag and singing the national anthem. Others believe that a person must be much more involved in a cause to show patriotism. It is true that waving a flag doesn’t accomplish much. Although this action displays good intentions, it can be done with little effort or thought. Patriotism is much more than waving the flag and singing the national anthem.

    Read More

More about For the Love of One's Nation

Open Document