A Belated Lecture

I am tired of good words being co-opted and corrupted! The following is in no way intended as a political commentary of any kind but a kind of protest none-the-less. On this day when we commemorate the end of the “war to end all wars” which very sadly yet inevitably did not, I feel a few things need to be said. (Originally penned on 11 Nov 2018)

I’ve been a lifelong student of history and what I would call social anthropology which I’d define as the study of the human race as social beings. In the thousands of years since we began to walk upright and develop the lifestyle which we now call “civilizations,” we have progressed astoundingly in material things, technology, science and engineering, for example. Unfortunately our social development has dragged along at a snail’s pace. In parts of the world humanity is still not beyond the clan/tribe/locale stage—really in most places when you cut to the real meat of things.  However at least as a façade we have advanced to what seems to be the next stage, frequently called nationalism.

Let me yell it very loudly: NATIONALISM is NOT a dirty word. I am furious at those who take it to set one race or one system, religion or group above all the rest! I am equally angry at those who insist it is a definition for “white supremacy”, “xenophobia” and many other ugly things. Nationalism is very simply the love and loyalty to one’s homeland which as humans began to move past the earlier very small and local stage of collective identity became our new anchor and base.

Nations should be groups of people who join together with common goals and essentially common values, develop a government and live within the rules and constraints they establish through that government. Nations come and go, rise and fall, but at this point they are the highest level of social development humanity has achieved.

Yes, there are still many clan/tribal elements. We do not like or trust those who are markedly unlike us. We still have a strong survival instinct that expands to say we do not want “them” to occupy any of our territory, take and use any of our resources or seek to impose their different rules and constraints on us. Within reason that is NOT wrong or foolish or evil. It is where we are, far short of a unified one world completely inclusive vision. While that probably should be the ultimate goal, at least until we encounter other civilizations or sentient beings out in the great universe, we are not there yet!!

The gradual development of the social human cannot be legislated, mandated or forced. Certain traits, behaviors and mindsets can be driven underground and suppressed but they will not die or cease to exist. In fact the greater the pressure, the more assuredly they will burst out some other place or way. This is what I see happening in our society and country today. We cannot ‘fix’ every perceived injustice, wrong or error in a day, a week, a decade, even a century. We must crawl before we walk, walk before we run and run before we leap tall buildings!

Therefore, do not make Nationalism a dirty word. Don’t try to make folks deny and denigrate their country, for all its flaws and shortcomings. Don’t take your frustrations out on the symbols such as our flag and those who have fought and bled and died to try to build and maintain this nation! Humanity needs to have something to honor and revere. The absence of this is so blatant and hurtful in today's world. While less than perfect, one’s nation is about the best we have today besides a few stellar individuals who may be eons ahead of the rest of us. They can lead and teach but even they cannot bypass the natural pace of growth any more than we can take a two year old and make it twenty nine by dint of will or desire.