Much like religion, nationalism has caused far more harm than good.
Nationalism is a scourge. Should you doubt this, look at its grisly record.
In its very worst forms, nationalism has triggered countless international conflicts senselessly costing tens of millions of lives. Nationalism has pillaged immeasurable natural resources from our lands and plundered federal treasuries. Nationalism has fortified our most sinister and self-destructive racial and ethnic divisions. Nationalism has provoked bombings, justified invasions, and been used to rationalize longstanding occupations which enslaved and exploited those who were conquered. In short, throughout human history — much like religion — nationalism has caused far more harm than good.
Yet, much like the sword, nationalism cuts sharply both ways. When harnessed constructively, nationalism has been used for much greater common purposes. Nationalism has rallied ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Nationalism has aided significantly in defeating terrible foes, both at home and abroad. It’s instilled a widespread devotion to collective interests as opposed to self-centered individualism. On occasion, nationalism in its various forms — community pride, allegiance to country, flag-waving patriotism — has served societies well, especially in tough times.
Oddly enough, many of the kinds of people we peg most strongly with possessing nationalistic tendencies now brazenly insist they want to break away from the United States of America. That’s right. A sizable number of people in this country, including many self-described patriots, would be in favor of giving our nation a long wave goodbye, followed by the middle finger. And who says breaking up is hard to do?
What other way is there to explain a stunning recent poll, where nearly 25 percent of all Americans either “strongly support” or “tend to support” their state breaking away from the USA? Take a moment. Let that sink in. One out of every four American adults living right now in the year 2014 supports the aftershock of what would be a modern Civil War. Even more alarming — the same poll conducted by Reuters this past month, which included more than 8,000 Americans from all over the country, didn’t necessarily conclude that the remaining three-quarters of the population opposes the notion. In fact, the actual percentage which would categorically reject their state’s secession from the union was only 53 percent, which leaves about 28 percent of Americans positioned somewhere in the middle on this question. The bottom line is — 47 percent of this nation would at least consider the notion of secession.
There are a number of explanations for this. Political scientists and social commentators might correctly point out that we remain a melting pot of immigrants. Modern technologies have rendered boundaries far less important than they once were. Then, there’s the rage factor.
Many people are simply frustrated with the direction of the country and have few outlets to express their outrage. This all contributes to the stratification of allegiances. But it’s one thing to burn flags or start riots when you’re unhappy with the current system. It’s quite another to openly profess to abandon one’s country and no longer wanting to be a part of what’s been called “The American Experience.”
Actually, this is a staggering indictment that exposes the myth that America is comprised of the “United States.” Fact is, we aren’t united at all as a people. Not in any way — not by race, not by class, not by geography, or not by belief. Not when nearly half the adult population fails to instantly repudiate the notion of going off starting another country somewhere else.
Never mind that if this measure ever went to an actual popular vote, as so happened earlier this week in Scotland in its referendum on the remaining part of England, most of these floundering secession initiatives would fail miserably. However, most who say one thing and then do another — in other words, voting the other way — wouldn’t do so out of a rediscovered allegiance to Old Glory. Rather, they’d be tempted to stay and work within the system wanting to avoid the fear of the unknown. Like the insubordinate teen complaining about the parents’ house rules, once they contemplate what it’s really like to leave and live on their own, that musty rent-free downstairs basement starts looking pretty good once again.
Here’s another interpretation of what those shocking poll numbers really mean. Try this on for size: Nearly half of the American people are traitors. Plain and simple. That 47 percent of more than 8,000 adults randomly polled would flirt with the idea of abandoning their own nation, its laws, its traditions, and way of life smacks of a domestic insurrection that’s not only reckless but subversive.
So, who exactly are these people who want to leave America and start their own countries? Anarchists? Leftist revolutionaries? The Black Panthers? Who are these unpatriotic traitors? Take a wild guess.
Surprise!
They’re mostly right-wing conservatives. Tea Party types, or what’s left of that movement. Take a look at the places where actual secession talk is loudest and strongest. It’s in three states — Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. An astonishing 34 percent of those polled in those three states want to leave the USA outright and start another nation. That’s more than one in three people! Support for this bizarre idea was second highest in the Rocky Mountain states. The South also supported secession in greater numbers than the national average. Regions, where support for secession was lowest, included New England and the upper American Midwest. Translation: Residents of states which are conservative are far more likely to favor secession from the United States than residents of states which are more liberal.
Aside from how bat shit crazy some of these people are, what troubles me most is the hypocrisy. It’s mind-boggling to hear all the dribble coming from the political right, who so often in the past have ripped those on the political left who for decades protested America’s policies — whether the issue was the Vietnam War during the 1960s and 1970s or the inherent corruption of Wall Street today. Yet for all the radical ways of the left for so many years, I don’t ever recall seeing any substantive movement to start another country and abandon the U.S. Constitution. At least for now, that dangerous territory seems to be the exclusive domain of conservatives.
If the notion of secession tempts you, consider the dangerous philosophical territory onto which you are now treading. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t be a proud American and then say you want to break away and start another country. You can’t pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States and revere for what it stands, and then eye another cloth mistress of different colors with an unknown political principle.
If an American citizen openly insists they favor secession, that’s fine so long as there’s some ideological consistency. If that’s the case, then from that point forward don’t call yourself an American any longer. Because you aren’t. The fact is, you’re a traitor.