Nationalism in Europe
Patriotism and nationalism mean essentially the same thing, only with different obvious connotations. When one thinks of patriotism in America, one thinks of the Fourth of July, fireworks, hamburger cook-outs, flags, war-heroes, and the Republican Party. When one thinks of nationalism, images are quickly brought to mind of the IRA, Al-Qaeda, Spanish Basque Country's ETA, WWII concentration camps, nearly every war in history, and the Republican Party.
American patriotism actually becomes a reaction to foreign nationalism which these other groups are based upon, interestingly enough. It shows honour, dignity, courage; even moral character. There are also the aforementioned examples of the separatist groups of Northern Ireland and Spain, also with which nationalism might be associated. There are far more flags flying over front yards in American homes than there are in Europe. Europeans seem to be a bit more sceptical of the idea of patriotism and might regard one's pride in his country as nationalistic. American pride is synonymous to the things America is founded upon: democracy, freedom, pursuits of happiness, and apple pie. In Venice, as a matter of fact, I remember seeing more PACE (peace) flags hanging out of people's windows than I saw Italian flags or, even less, Venetian flags. In the United States, pride in one's country is regarded as a virtue. Bitterness toward national pride could be a reaction to the conflict between the US and Iraq, where third parties might view both sides' motives as nationalistic. It is in turn a reaction to a world in which dictators rule and terrorist groups threaten the lives and safety of innocent people. All this makes sense in today's Europe where it almost seems like states are trying to forget their differences in order for everyone to come together and make the dream of a united Europe-which, undeniably, haunts nearly step toward EU progress-work out better for everyone, individually if not for the whole. esting to observe how this notion is viewed in Europe as compared to the United States.
Common topics in this essay:
United United,
Europe Venice,
Ireland Spain,
Republican Party,
Europe Patriotism,
ETA WWII,
Fourth July,
republican party,
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