Nationalism and Patriotism are two different concepts.
A patriot loves his or her country, and wants it to be the best it can be. To that end, a patriot acknowledges his or her country’s problems, and engages in peaceful means of bringing attention to those issues.
A nationalist, however, steadfastly believes his or her country is the best in the world, and anyone who thinks otherwise is a traitor. He or she also believes there is no place for those of other nationalities in their country; they can only do it harm, since it already is the best country ever! To wit…
Deutchland Uber Alles, Uber Alles In Der Welt!!!
These lyrics were written as part of the German national anthem in the mid 19th century, the first time Germany was unified. It was a wave of nationalism that brought about that unification, hence those lyrics. Those words only referred to the many smaller municipalities surrounding Germany at the time, and how the newly unified Germany was more powerful than them.
No big deal, right?
But then Hitler came to power and elevated those lyrics to their nationalist acme. And that’s why, gentle reader, after kicking Hitler’s ass, the allies banned the public singing of the German national anthem, until the mid 1950s, when most of the lyrics, including the aforementioned lines.
Hitler ruins everything. Asshole.
Nationalism does unite the people, but it does so out of fear and loathing of the outsider, the ‘common enemy’ shared between the nationalist center and those outcast from other parts of the society who don’t believe they will survive on their own. It is because of this core belief that nationalism almost always brings about violence against that ‘common enemy’ and its perceived allies, culminating in revolution, war, so on and so forth.
Don’t believe me? Read on.
During the French Revolution, that ‘common enemy’ was the bourgeois, who were completely annihilated, swept up in the massive wave of bloodlust of the proletariat, along with anyone else who even remotely resembled them in some way, as well as many innocents. During the rise of the Third Reich… well, you already know. this one. The Islamic Revolution in Iran united the long suffering middle and lower classes against America, “The Great Satan”, and brought about mass execution of ‘loyalist's’ to the Shah, and later, when it went sideways, included communists and anyone with the slightest leftist leanings.
And here we are, in 21st century USA, and those same nationalist forces are getting stronger, spurned on by Trump, and attracting the disenfranchised and loners against a new ‘common enemy’; immigrants, Muslims, and liberals.
For now.
Gentle reader, history warns us there is bloodshed to come, if we allow these nationalists to run roughshod over common sense and basic human decency. Stopping them has become all the more difficult because of the mind boggling presidency of Trump, but it can be done. It should be done. So I beg of you, do the right thing at every chance. Have compassion and empathy. Use that compassion to love your country; our country. It’s a wonderful country, and we can keep it that way.
If we stand up and be patriots, not nationalists.