Battle for Basic Identity
This dichotomy is an eternal struggle between national autonomy and empowered external empire. Nationalism, properly arranged, seeks merely to honour the natural states of man, where empire seeks to undermine them to empower itself, never coming to grips that they also undermine themselves in the process. They seek to create a new order from the ashes of the old, but there is no structure upon which to operate at that point.
Roman Empire was this colossal entity spanning continents that shaped the course of history. Yet within what gave it so much power lay the seeds of its own destruction, for in the relentless drive for conquest and control they ultimately undermined the very foundations upon which the systems they exploited were all built. The empire sought to impose uniformity, to stamp out differences in the name of order and stability, but in doing so, it ignored the profound truths that underlie human nature and the very real differences between peoples.
Nationalism, on the other hand, embraces differences, not as a threat or even a strength but as integral part of our interpretation and perspective of the world. Each tribe, each clan, each family, each nation, and each people bring something different, a perspective, a tradition, a way of life, which cannot be so easily translated for other people as simply ripping it through an AI translator. We do not need tolerance if we indeed have celebration, that our peculiar imperfections entitle us to lines of greater perfections.
How does this nationalist difference play out in practice? Let us consider the example of language since we are on that topic already and considering it is a fundamental aspect of any nation’s identity. An empire seeks to impose a single tongue across boundaries to ease communication, not for anyone else’s benefit but to facilitate control and conformity. Nationalism, however, honours the multiplicity of tongues, dialects, accents, and idioms that reflect the particular identity experiences and histories of their speakers. It is also the only location in which a native speaker can receive the most number of native listeners steeped not only in the language, but the local culture as well.
What of culture, now that we are here? The empire seeks to homogenise us and erase the unique traditions, customs, and beliefs that define each tribe and people. Nationalism, by contrast, cherishes distinctions, not as obstacles but as treasures to be preserved and passed down through generations as the valuable and time-hewn relics they are. Actual respect is in the recognition that while we may differ in expressions and systems within our nations and people groups, we are united across all boundaries through those shared needs for boundaries, limits, laws, order, virtues, ethics, justice, and their loving promotion.
God go with you.