On the logic of nationalism

[kılıç_mehmet]

It's not pride in yourself because of accomplishments that you've made, it's finding pride in something that's not an accomplishment at all. Being born in a country is not an accomplishment and shouldn't be treated as such. I strive to perfect the world, not just my nation, because I believe in equality and a sense of a "greater good" not because I'm convinced that I'm somehow better than everyone else because my parents had sex in America.

You are not looking at this from national perspective.
As such, you still use wrong terminologies when describing things.
Even if I were born in the US as a Turk, I'd still be a Turkish nationalist. It is in my blood, they are my people, they define me, I was born into them, and I have to do my best to not let the accomplishments of the past be in vain.
You strive for the perfect world you say.
There is no perfect world, as to strive for it. Let me ask you this, how many of my people have died in Iraq in the last year? Can you answer me?
But you sure do know how to strive for equality for gays in America. That's how far your "greater good" is able to reach, my friend.
The world does not need good intentions, it needs actions, your good intentions do not change the fact that you cannot be of more use to my people than I can be.

I am one with my nation, I weep whenever they weep, I laugh whenever they laugh. My connection is one that isn't easily severed, I am connected by blood, by language, by culture. Even if I were to be geographically severed from them, I'd still feel that connection. You cannot comprehend these.

There's nothing beneficial at looking at your flag and the nation military and saying that you're proud to be apart of a disgusting imperialistic regime. I don't find pride in being an America and I generally find people to be stupid and useless, but together we can all strive for a better world, not just as a singular nation but as the human race.

If you don't, don't. Its not my concern. But why do you want me to do the same?
Yes indeed we can strive for a better world. But I think that this better world can be archived by the individual progress of nations, not by some self-absorbed domineering global regime.

Right now, I'm not proud to be an American because I have no power in my country. My vote is meaningless and the corporations have so far infected the political process that the rights of the people take a back seat to corporate interests. Besides that, we bloat our military budget so that we can remain a world super-power while giving our children a severely deficient education, poor health care, minimal jobs, and lack-luster benefits to assist the needy.

Well, without pride, how do you expect to be in a position of power?
Without pride, why do you even care? Without pride, without an ideal of an America, why would you even strive for a better country?
You simply weep like a woman for which you could not defend like a man.

The nationalists of America play right into the hand of the government so, there's absolutely no reason to affiliate myself with them as they've allowed themselves to be deluded and ignore the atrocities committed by my country. This isn't something new of nationalists though, nationalists are always the first one to justify the atrocities of a shoddy government because they're more susceptible to upholding statism.

Where are these nationalists? I knew only one nationalist in America, someone whom I consider to be worthy of knowing, and he was assasinated. He knew and spoke the truth, and he spoke of all the ills that were to befall your country. You should look into him.

Implying the corporations have the best interests of the people at heart.

Obviously they don't. But neither do you.

America can't become an isolationist state, it has too much at stake.

Well, if that be the case, why would you willingly discard your stakes?

All it can do is pander to the crowd of nationalists and convince them that what we're doing overseas is just.

Do you really think that the nationalists of your country are the ones who approve of your overseas adventures?

Isolationism might be fine in certain instances of war, but in repairing a country, it doesn't help. I don't think you saw my statement from before when I claimed that nationalism might seem fine in certain regards as far as de-internationalizing corporation, but it's the cultural aspect of nationalism which is far more damaging than anything else.

No one is advocating isolationism. However we would like everything to be on a basis of mutual respect rather than parasitic disrespect.

Nationalism tends to breed xenophobia and racism as we lay our problems on having "open borders" and "connections to the world".

And open borders do breed problems. They are the reason for the economic dominance of the international corporations.
Capitalism wants nothing more than a world of no borders whatsoever. It does not wish to recognize those borders for the sake of free flow of capital.

As though all our problems can be solved by just shutting ourselves away.

You still do not wish to comprehend what I'm saying I guess. No one is telling anyone to shut themselves away. A Nation that wished to become great must expand in one way or the other. However, a nation must also resist the expansion of others if she wishes to survive.