Nationalism is Divisive or Beneficial - Essay Example

Nationalism: Divisive or Beneficial? Essay Nationalism as a negative force in society According to Ireneusz and Suszycki, nationalism is a form of national consciousness whereby a nation is exalted above all the others with the primary emphasis being placed on the promotion of the nation’s culture and interests (48). Depending on the manner in which leaders choose to use nationalism, it can create prejudices and hatred among different people in the society and create negative associations of nationalism. Actually, nationalism is more often associated with negative influences such as leading nations to war; and discrimination of people who live within a given nation but they do not belong to that nation. In the perspective, nationalism does bring negative influence to the society and the people who live within such societies. Negative influence of nationalism is usually brought about by bad leadership. Primarily, leaders use nationalism to bring people together, but quite often they can go to the extremes while trying to meet their goals (Ireneusz and Suszycki 49). This may involve the use nationalism to persuade people to support their bad agenda and treatment towards the minority groups in the society. For instance, Hitler used nationalism to persuade the people of Germany to discriminate and eliminate all the minority groups in the nation. In particular, he used propaganda to invoke strong feeling of nationalism among the German population and then used it to advocate for his discriminative policies. This shows that when nationalism is abused, it can be very dangerous. People will want to fight for the rights and freedoms of their nation regardless of what others may go through. Nationalism can result in the development of extreme nationalistic movements with high degrees of discrimination. In fact, the rise of extreme nationalistic movements such as Nazism and Zionism was as a result of nationalism (Ireneusz and Suszycki 50). These movements had a strong belief in ethnicity in the sense that people that belong to their ethnic background were supreme and therefore there ethnic group was the master race. As a result, both of these ethnic groups embarked on the process of ethnic cleansing to eliminate those groups of people that belong to different ethnic affiliations. For instance, member of the Nazism eliminated the Jews by killing them or sending them to special concentration camps where they would undergo suffering and extreme conditions. On the other hand, the members of Zionism eliminated the Palestinians by driving them out of Israel. This is shows the extent to which nationalism influence societies to pursue a pure culture at the expense of other people. Despite the fact that other humans undergo suffering and humiliation, nationalism in this case teaches people that only their ethnic group or nation matters. Another negative influence brought about by nationalism is that it sparks competition between nations and this can lead to development of warfare as is the case with World War 1. Essentially, World War 1 started because there were disagreements between those countries that wanted Herzegovina and Bosnia to be part Serbia and those countries that wanted them to be part of Austria-Hungary. Nationalism here was used to gain support of the nations that had same beliefs and common affiliations to attack those nations that had different affiliations. As a result, World War 1 broke and very many people died with millions suffering greatly. This shows that shows that nationalism can influence nations to spark wars instead of looking for better ways to solve their problems. In addition to causing wars, nationalism can also lead to discrimination towards certain groups in a nation. During World War 1, certain countries such as Germany believed that they were better than others and therefore discriminated those individuals that formed the minority groups. The minority groups ended up being exploited, tortured and murdered because they were not part of Germany. A good illustration of this is the events that took place during the Holocaust, where the minority groups ended up being exploited and killed because they were seen as inferior. Also, nationalism leads to the creation of false enemies who do not conform to the generally accepted values of the people in the society (Ireneusz and Suszycki 51). The enemies are created on the basis of either not agreeing to the concepts of the society or because they are considered to be a threat to the nation. Although the perceived enemies may not threaten the society as per se, their mere existence is seen as a threat and therefore treated differently and generally not accepted by the society. For example; homosexuals, ethnic groups, religious groups, foreign powers, conscientious groups, and new ideas are usually perceived as a threat or a wrong in the society. To conclude, nationalism does bring people together to think as one and purse something in the same direction. However, in the process of bringing people together, it also influences people in the society and the society at large to pursue negative actions and believes. Works Cited Karolewski, Ireneusz P, and Andrzej M. Suszycki. Multiplicity of Nationalism in Contemporary Europe. Lanham, Md: Lexington Books, 2010. Print Essay 2: Nationalism is beneficial to a society and its people Nationalism is an ideology whereby people from a given country, nation, or community regard themselves as highly important and superior than those of other states. It is a form of belonging to a nation that a person feels towards his or her own nation (Catherine 174-175). In essence, it gives satisfaction among the members of a given society although it encourages self-pride, and produces power although sometimes in improper amounts. Nevertheless, nationalism carries some positive influences on a society and when practiced in the right amount of moderation, it can have very positive impacts in a nation and the people of such a nation. Basically, nationalism is used to unite the people in a society to accomplish a particular event or goal. It can be said to be a movement that aims at establishing or protecting the homeland of a particular ethnic group and can have several benefits to such a group. One of the most significant benefits of nationalism is that it brings people together. For instance, pan-nationalism within the Arab nations brings people from different countries together on the basis of common characteristics or beliefs. Basically, the Arab nations are bound together as one huge community by their language, religion, historical heritage, and culture (Catherine 176). In addition, the Arab nations are brought together by their shared desire to get rid of the western influence from the Arab world. On a local level, this is a positive nationalism which encourages different countries to come together as a community and accomplish something together. Such nationalism allows countries to grow and encourage good relations between countries of different languages, cultures, traditions and more. For instance, the EU (European Union) and UN (United Nations) were formed as a result of positive nationalism. Therefore, nationalism can benefit the society by being a force of good and positive thinking which allows countries to gain from each other. Although it can be argued the coming together of countries that share common views and ideologies on culture and language can be a potential cause of war, moderate nationalism can be beneficial. In actual sense, moderate nationalism is a form of patriotism which can have very positive impacts in a society. For instance, the Queen coronation of 1953 was as a result of a joyful and patriotic event whereby differing parties in England came together for a common venture (Ireneusz and Suszycki 65). In such a situation, nationalism is with no doubt a force for good which brought celebration of belonging to a nation that was proud of its achievements. This form of nationalism can promote peace. It may be used to encourage peace in a nation because most of the nationsl symbols such as the flag and national anthem are regarded as sacred and highly respected by the people of a nation. These symbols arouse deep emotions in people every time they see or hear them and remind them the reason for maintaining peace and love among one another. It is through such symbols that cases of wars have been able to be subsided in countries that have adopted nationalism. Nationalism, therefore, gives the citizens of such countries great respect to their country and fellow citizens such that they cannot do anything that can jeopardize their peaceful co-existence. Another positive influence that nationalism can have to a society is through religious nationalism which brings people from different countries together on the basis of their shared belief and faith in a god, and not by their geographical boundaries. This form of nationalism is beneficial to the society because it unites people on the belief of doing what is right. It implies that people from across the world can come together regardless of their nations of origin and interact peacefully. Although there can be religious conflicts such as the French wars of religions which arose as a result of disputes between the Protestant and Roman catholic sectors, with the right moderation nationalism can be used to unite people on the basis of their faith(Ireneusz and Suszycki 72). Other benefits brought about by nationalism include enhanced teamwork since it emphasis on collective identity. People are therefore encouraged to work together for the benefit of the country and the functions of a country are integrated together in one whole organic unit. It also boosts motivation at the workplace because employees can freely interact with others at work and have a feeling of belonging since the other employee share in the same values and beliefs (Catherine 179). In conclusion, with the right amount of moderation, nationalism is with no doubt a positive force in the society. It keeps the world functioning today and maintains peace in many countries. Also, people get the feeling of belong and it creates strong bonds between people who come from different backgrounds. Works Cited Frost, Catherine. Morality and Nationalism. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2006. Print. Karolewski, Ireneusz P, and Andrzej M. Suszycki. Multiplicity of Nationalism in Contemporary Europe. Lanham, Md: Lexington Books, 2010. Print Read More