Impact of nationalism on america - Essay Example

The actions that the members of a nation take when seeking to attain (or sustain) self-determination (“What is Nationalism?”). The nationalism brings up questions about the concept of nation which is usually defined in the terms of common ethnicity, origin or cultural ties. While an individual’s membership in a nation is oftentimes considered as voluntary. It also bring forth questions about whether or not self-determination should be understood as necessitating having complete statehood with complete authority over the domestic and international associations.

Nationalism arises from the idea that the nation, in contrast to the nation—state is formant of aboriginal people to an area. It is also the longest-lasting and most prudent government. Nationalism was the most powerful and successful political force of the 19th century which emerged from two main sources which were the Romantic Exaltation of ‘feel’ & ‘Identity’ and the liberal requirement that a legitimate state be based on ‘people’ instead of a dynasty e.g. God or imperial supremacy.

Both these movements were middle class movements. (“What is nationalism?”). The pros of nationalism are many. One of the main factors of nationalism is that it sets a sense of unity among the groups of nation no matter with which country it belongs to. It gives a feeling of belonging as people tend to work for the betterment of the state which lets people come together with common interests and achieve their ultimate goals. Nationalism also serves to unite a group of people, enabling them to make economic, political, and social progress.

Unluckily however, nationalism has many cons too. It can often cause divergence between various nations, leading to war. When nationalism leads nations towards aggressiveness and certitude it leads nations towards destruction. The cons also include risking isolation from other groups of people who do not share the same land, and not profiting from their capability and goodwill. Over the past 10 years, a new nationalist movement has come into sight and gained huge strength in United States of America.

It’s the new ‘white nationalist’ movement which brought the potential to disturb the already frail race relations. Shunning violence, this movement seeks to expand its influence primarily through the persuasion & argument embattled at the white Americans aggrieved over racial double standards, high black-on-white crime rates, and race based affirmative action policies. The new white American nationalism movement has been energized by advocacy of multiculturalism as well. Some of the many names of the white nationalists that we know about today are Don Black, David Duke, Paul Fromm, Norman Lowell, Robert Jay Mathews, Revilo P.

Oliver and William Luther Pierce. Due to the emphasis on the group self determination; multiculturism has brought white nationalists with justification for advocating a corresponding form of white camaraderie. The members of white nationalism are different from the other nationalism groups and are cultured, intelligent and usually hold impressive academic degrees from America’s premier colleges and universities. This new breed of white racial advocate is a far cry from the populist politicians and hooded Klansmen of the Old South who fought the losing combats for separation and white superiority.

History has seen many countries suffering from the effects of nationalism; it has brought