For as long as I can remember I have been a patriot. When I was very young, my grandfather would tell me stories about Spain, it’s history and accomplishments and I remember how proud I felt to be Spanish. I love my country and would do anything to protect it. But I am also a citizen of the world, I have lived in ten different countries throughout my life and thus been gifted with the ability to look at the world with an open mind, without prejudice. When I see an individual, I don’t see a nationality I see a person. I have discovered that I might relate more to someone in Japan, Canada or Russia, than to a Spanish national, because beyond traditions and customs souls do not wear flags.
It is because I consider myself a proud Spanish patriot and a citizen of the world at the same time that I want to draw attention to the differences between patriotism and nationalism. Patriotism is officially defined as “love for or devotion to one's country” (Merriam-webster.com, 2019). Nationalism refers to “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” (Merriam-webster.com, 2019). Therefore, it is this sense of superiority that characterizes nationalism and provides for a distinction with patriotism. As Charles de Gaulle stated “Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first” (Goodreads.com, 2019).
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Today we like to say we are embracing globalization, however at the same time countries are closing its boarders. We speak many languages but we refuse to put them in practice, we take pride in enjoying international cuisine but judge other cultures for their culinary habits and so on. Isolationism is a curse that will prevent us from achieving greatness. It is our loss, of humanity, from what we could accomplish together. We live in an era of advancements and technology; humans are developing intelligence to unimaginable extents up to the creation of artificial intelligence, but at the same time we might be losing touch with emotions like compassion which are the very essence of humanity. We are progressing yet we are regressing, isn’t that strange?
Let’s talk about fear, that feeling that pushes us to make rushed decisions, to conduct evil actions, that prevents us from thinking clearly and that always ends in tremendous pain for all parties involved. We need to stop looking for someone to blame and start taking responsibility for our own actions. It is often that we hear people say that something needs to be done, a very dangerous remark as it often means nobody knows what to do. Nationalism is behind many of the greatest wars human kind has ever seen. The two most devastating wars in history. World War I, when a radical Bosnian-Serb nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. World War II fueled by Germany’s ethnic nationalism. But also, the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, the recent Russian intervention in Ukraine, the conflict between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969, and so many others. The truth is that no country is exempt of guilt when it comes to yielding to nationalism at a certain point in their history. These wars have every time been brutal, but today we have to consider something else, it is precisely those technological advancements that I previously mentioned that pose an existential threat to our existence. In a world with access to weapons of mass destruction it could take one nation’s fear and hate to destroy the whole world. Are we willing to put the future of humankind in jeopardy because of a misunderstanding or a grudge?
As Carl Sagan mentioned in his Pale Blue Dot speech “Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot” (Sagan, 1994). It is the time for unification, to take care not only of the land and the people within our borders because at the end of the day we all share a home that is Earth and it is our duty to protect it no matter our nationality, race, gender or religion.
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