Nationalism

This week's post wil be kinda short because of some personal business that I need to attend to. So, here are my thoughts on nationalism.

Nationalism is that feeling of pride in one's nation and its accomplishments combined with an emotional attachment to the nation's symbols, values, and other cultural artifacts. As a sociological phenomenon it could be described as the degree to which the feelings are shared by a nation's citizen's. The more widely spread and intense the feelings, the grreater the degree of nationalism.

Where does nationalism come from? You can thank my favorite contributor to everything - the mass media. The media still help transmit messages that make us feel good or bad about being Americans. We all want to be part of a group for many reasons. The nation is just a really, really big group for us to join. When humans lived in hunter-gatherer bands it was important wto work together to cope with the environment, deal with hostile tribes, and hunt. These needs may have stuck around, in modified form, as society became more complex.

What are the personal and social consequences of nationalism? We'll see next time. Until then, see if you can anticipate what I'll write.