A Strong Example Of A Racist Ideology

Nationalism has been extremely important and influential in shaping the modern world we see today, causing revolutions, rebellions and the constant reshaping of world maps continuing even today. Its appeal is something that I don’t believe will diminish in the future. Many theologians and political commentators alike agree that Nationalism has perhaps been one of the most prominent political ideologies of the modern world “No single political doctrine has played a more prominent role in shaping the face of the modern world than nationalism” 1, and doesn’t look like ceasing to be as influential anytime

The source intends to provide a controversial opinion in order to prevent people from blindly following leaders as well as to provide a statement warning of the acts of nationalism. While the views from the source are beneficial and introduce different views on the subject of nationalism—nationalism doesn’t start wars nor does it lead to blind obedience; greedy and power hungry people who decidedly hind behind the views of nationalism do. Nationalism is just a term that describes the desire for the prosperity of one’s country as well as patriotic feelings towards said country. Feelings of pride for a country do not evoke malicious intent the people who twist those ideas and cross the line into ultranationalism do. Leaders such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Hirohito, and Harry Truman use the word nationalism to persuade others to follow them by glamorizing the term and tricking people into agreeing with them. The Holocaust wasn’t caused due to

Nationalism is a powerful force that can unite people working towards a common goal, but when it is taken to the extreme it can cause major disharmony in society, evident in the numerous genocides during the Age of Imperialism, the Fascist party's rise to power, and the Japanese’s unwillingness to surrender during World War II. Nationalism is dangerous, because it warps the minds of the individuals in the organization, creates prejudice and discrimination, and can be easily manipulated into a weapon against humanity.

Nationalism can be described as a deep devotion to one's country, and in this case, can be used as a device for propaganda. They used it to evoke loyalty in

Hobsbawm emphasizes that proto nationalism was the “mobilizing (of) certain variants of feelings of collective belonging which already existed and which could operate, as it were, potentially on the macro-political scale which could fit in with modern states and nations.” (Hobsbawm, 52) The consciousness, therefore, of belonging to a nation requires “the citizens of a country (to become) a sort of community, though an imagined one, and its members therefore found themselves seeking for and consequently finding, things in common, places, practices, personages, memories, signs and symbols.” (Hobsbawm, 90) This foundational development is essentially one of patriotism, in which the individual evokes a feeling of loyalty and pride in their nation through symbols, language and ethnicity. While these feelings of pro-nationalism may occur, if an individual is, for instance, to have thoughts of desire to burn the national flag or act in an anti-nationalist way, then they will have feelings of guilt. Freud explains that the “origins of the sense of guilt (are): one arising from fear of an authority, and the other, later on, arising from fear of the super-ego.” (Freud, 119) The state, therefore, is the super-ego that oppresses the Id of the individual who has these perverted thoughts. One can additionally apply this to the original ways in which

Nationalism has played a crucial role in world history over the past centuries. It continues to do so today. For many, nationalism is indelibly associated with some of the worst aspects of modern history, such as the destructive confidence of the Napoleon’s army and the murderous pride of Nazi Germany. Large numbers of people, descent in their hearts, have carried out unbelievable atrocities for no better reason than their nation required them to. Authoritarian and totalitarian regime have crushed dissent, eliminated opposition, and trampled on civil liberties in the name of the nation.

Fascism can be defined as a political system with centralization of power under a single-party dictatorship. Fascist dictators maintain authority through strict socioeconomic controls, suppression of the masses through censorship and terrorism, and policies of aggressive nationalism and racism (“Fascism”). Francisco Franco first implemented this government policy in Spain after witnessing its achievements in Germany and Italy. Franco’s strong nationalistic and military upbringing was the basis for his fascist dictatorship. What made Franco the “ultimate fascist dictator” was the fact that he was more palatable to the western countries. His focus was not on world domination, but rather on the consolidation of his own

Nationalism is a widely debated ideology that differs based on the historian’s definition. For example, Benedict Anderson attempts to define nationalism as "an imagined political community [that is] imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign"(Anderson, pg 6). Anderson also believes the main causes of nationalism can be

Fascist ideas and leaders become popular from people wanting to feel valued and social issues being exploited with propaganda, but failed democracies also pushed the nation towards a government with a strict

Nationalism has become one of the most powerful uniting-and occasionally separating-powers of the modern age. Throughout history, there were numerous countries that exemplified both sides of this classic European belief. However, as time has passed, this pride and promotion of one’s country has developed far beyond the scope of Europe. Nationalist feelings fester in all parts of the globe now, and with that comes more complicated expressions of the sentiment, as well as carefully crafted governments that exist for the sole support of nationalist fervor.

“Us and Them” by Jerry Muller discusses the pervasive, historical, and growing significance of ethnic nationalism in politics; “Is Ethnic Conflict Inevitable?” contains two responses to Muller’s article by James Habyarimana et. al. and Richard Rosecrance et. al. Muller and his critics reach radically different conclusions the role of ethnic nationalism. Such differences can be explained by their assumptions of ethnic identity formation. The three’s disparities on ethnic conflict result from different theories of identity, namely: Muller to primordialism, Habyarimana to constructivism, and Rosecrance to a rational instrumentalism.

Michael Ignatieff provides a similar account for the ability of a leader in suppressing or influencing the extremity ethnic nationalism. He does this through referencing the age old rivalry between the the Serbians and Croatians who were once considered one ethnic group called Yugoslavia. Ignatieff states that “Without Tito, they became little more than a corrupt network of ethnic patronage” (Ignatieff, 1994). The author is making the observation that Tito as a leader possessed the ability to bring both ethnic groups together thereby suppressing the hold of ethnic nationalism between the two. Tito was able to achieve this through a precise and effective method. He promoted unity

Racism is a damaging ideology that can demoralize individuals by devaluing their identity. According to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (1998) in Australia, racism can be defined as "An ideology that gives expression to myths about other racial and ethnic groups, that devalues and renders inferior those groups, that reflects and is perpetuated by deeply rooted historical, social, cultural and power inequalities in society." Racism creates a division within society, and instead of a harmonious blending of cultures, there is a racial hierarchy based on the superiority of one group of people over another. The outgroup is often deemed as inferior because of their racial differences. The conceptualization of race as a social construct highlights how racism has consequences and effects that ultimately shape how we see ourselves as well as how we see others. We live in a society where our daily lives are affected by race whether we want to accept it or not. As humans we have been conditioned to see the world through a racial lens that divides the world into black, white, Asian, Mexican, further disuniting the human race as a whole. In correlation, the novel The Bluest Eye, written by American author and Professor Toni Morrison, works to examine the black experience within the black community, and exploits the relevant issue concerning a young, victimized black girl who is infatuated by white standards of beauty.

The political and social conditions of Europe before the onset of the World War I were extremely unstable and undergoing a rapid transition that was driven by national interests of different nations living in the region. Nationalism was endorsed to promote patriotism among masses and to achieve political objectives that were in alignment with the national or political interests of countries. As the time passed, the growing influence of imperialism and the ideology of nationalism manifested multifaceted

Great evidence of this is in Germany’s history. Although repeated quite often as an example of radical nationalism, this doesn’t remove it from being a true and sad example of nationalism in its worst form. The central leaders of Germany including Hitler instituted anti-Jew laws and once they were certain that the public agreed with these, or at least didn’t disagree, started implementing much more extreme laws against the Jewish people. This created one of the worst genocides in the history of mankind. (Krome, 2010) What Hitler did, was take the dislike of Jews that the Muslims helped establish (Maghen, 2009) (Jeffrey, n.d.) , along with Christianity that the Jews were a problem (Callahan, 2004). Having these to point to, he directed an entire nation to become his “Aryan” race, and Jews weren’t alone. Blacks and all other races and religions or creeds were included in the category of being removed, but it was largely the Jewish population affected.