many shades of nationalism

as the title suggests, there are many shades of nationalism.

there is economic nationalism (which, in an age of globalisaton is pretty much impossible), cultural nationalism, and then the more sinister 'ethnic' or 'biological' nationalism.

you are right, there is nothing wrong with being proud of where you are from. i would not take that away from anybody

however, there is a difference between pride, and bigotry. pride is a postive force, is inclusive and implies security and faith in oneself. bigotry is a negative, which seeks to continually create a sense of belonging by the continual creation of 'outsiders'.

i used to spend a lot of time in liverpool. now say what you want about the place, but most scousers have pride. they love to show outsiders thier city and have a genuine enthusiam for their city, and a curiosity about other places too. and, for the most part, the fact that you are 'from liverpool' means more than your ethnic background. and that is a good thing.

now, you say our culture and heritage should not be denied or ignored. i agree with you here. and so do the vast majority of immigrants, for example. they come here because they respect england, want to learn english, and want to work hard and improve thier lives.

that is one thing to respect about our country, that there is an opportunity to improve yourself if you work hard. the value of that cannot and should not be underestimated.

over time they can and will adopt our culture. it is impossible for them not to, they are surrounded by it. now, does that mean we should 'demand' that they drop everything about their previous heritage? no, why should it? that would be the actions of people who are insecure about their culture... to force it upon others. our culture is worth having, so why force it on anyone? they will gladly take it, you just have to give them the time and opportunity.

which gets us to the sinister form of nationalism... ethnic or biological nationalism. now, there are some sinister political forces in this country who will suggest that some people 'can never be' or 'can never adopt' our culture because of their ethnic or genetic roots.
that these people should be avoided, or gotten rid of.

that is dangerous. and yes, schoolchildren should be taken around WWII cemetaries and concentration camps to be made aware of the end result of those kinds of thinking.

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