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Analysis Of John Stuart Mill 's ' Flags, Anthems, Art, And Traditions

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“Nationalism is a feeling of unity with a group beyond one 's immediate family and friends.” (Casas, 4) It has the ability to create strong feelings of loyalty and devotion to one’s country. Love and pride can be expressed in many different ways such as in the creation of flags, anthems, art, and traditions. Developing a sense of nationalism comes with determining one’s self image and identity. These are all formed from experience and relationships between other citizens from your nation. Many people are naturally inclined to have a strong sense of nationalism towards the country in which they were born. Others may change their customs and beliefs when moving to another nation or develop preference to another nation’s customs. It is in the hands of the individual to make this ultimate decision. John Stuart Mill believes that identity is an important part in decision-making; he might even argue that it is necessary in order to have nationalism. However, one’s self identity and nationalism can easily be strengthened or weakened with the introduction of new customs and cultures, as apparent in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and Netherland by Joseph O’Neill.
Mill stresses in his novel On Liberty the idea of choice and the human right to make one’s own decisions. He believes that the power of choice is one of the most valuable characteristics a human being has. In the eyes of Mill, individuality is a beautiful key component in the development of one’s life. It should be

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