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patriotism/nationalism
fatty:
What do you say when people say 'Where are you from?'. I don't get that one...
RE Patriotism vs Nationalism: See, I'd say that I'm attached to Australia, or at least Sydney. I am attached to Australian culture, and don't like to see it wronged or mis-interpreted/represented. But yeah as far as nationalism, I don't think it's as clear.
What I think is, that nationalism is very much the cause of a lot of wars and discrimination, but I sometimes feel like it is something ingrained in humans. The idea of their identity and ownership of their shared 'homeland'. I guess that falls more in patriotism, I definitely feel that it is natural for people to feel connected to a community, land or culture. But as much as I want nationalism in a formal sense to be a thing of the past, I feel like ownership is something that people never really want to let go of.
Realistically, I do see groups like the EU taking a stronger connecting role in diminishing the idea of individual nations at least in politics and immigration. I think nations are more and more becoming mixed and politically more closely tied with international connections and relations. People are also becoming much more diverse, having lived in or having family background in a number of countries. The above situation for Joe will be taken for granted, instead of simply mildly unusual and confusing.
jhocking:
--- Quote from: fatty on 24 Jul 2008, 08:08 ---What do you say when people say 'Where are you from?'
--- End quote ---
"Well it depends what you mean by 'from.' I've moved around a lot."
Incidentally, my tendency to answer "well it's relative" is one of the three main things people find annoying about conversing with me.
mat_mantra:
I just don't like how Nationalism is used to define people. Being an American overseas, and military to boot, i catch a lot of flack because i'm immediately filed into "Dumb Soldier Spreading Dumb Americanism In OUR Country". It's really frustrating trying to talk to people over here when you can tell that they're holding every one of my country's shortcomings against me. I joined the military because it would get me working in the medical field right away, and i love my job, helping people. It's amazing seeing some of the work we do, but it's also sad that what gets highlighted is the invasion and all the turmoil surrounding it.
jhocking:
--- Quote from: jhocking on 24 Jul 2008, 07:16 ---This also brings up a territorial dispute currently going on between South Korea and Japan. Both nations claim ownership of the tiny island of Dokto
--- End quote ---
While looking up more about Dokto I found this old blog entry from a GI in Korea:
http://rokdrop.com/2005/05/27/gi-korea-does-dokto/
It makes for great reading, heh. I especially like his description of the ferry ride. Note that "ajumma" is Korean for "elder woman," and "ajushi" is "elder man."
mat_mantra:
Seeing as how i'm avoiding assignment to korea like the plague, but get the feeling i'll end up there anyway, i'll keep that little boat trip in mind. Partying with a bunch of overzealous senior citizens sounds like fun
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