Nationalism should not blur us to expolration
The article is about the idea of nationalistic pride hindering our ability to learn about anf from one another and advance as a race, rather as divided countries.
Nationalism can rally people together and form bonds people never knew existed. However the rifts which can arise as a result of fervent nationalism cause great division and animosity among people. We all want to have pride in our homelands and where we are from, but not let that blur us from realizing that we as individuals are one of six billion people in this world. Why should countries or territories like India and Pakistan be at each others throats? Because they all feel a false sense of entitlement.
With such a rich and diverse group of people and cultures subsisting in the world today, it would be shame not to explore and learn of the different ways of the world. Rather than competing with one another to construct nuclear bombs or trump other’s economies, we should be advancing as a race of human beings. It is scary to think about all the world conflicts that could be avoided through educating oneself about other cultures and customs.
In the case of India or Pakistan or Palestine and Israel, conflict begins as a matter of rightful ownership to land. Everyone feels entitled to a certain piece of the world. In the Indian case Kashmir is and in the Israeli case Gaza and the West Bank. Both of these conflicts arose in 1948 and both have gone unresolved. Generation after generation has passed as a new one inherits the crisis. The root cause of these problems is that neither side wants to concede and show weakness from their country. Kashmir for instance is a small strip of land lying between India and Pakistan which has more symbolic value than anything. It has come to be the definition of who is superior to the other. Both stake claims to it to give it up would almost indicate weakness.
What people fail to realize is what they miss by embroiling themselves in nationalist strife. Rather than learning about new religions, languages and customs the confine themselves to one way of life and mentality for existence. We will all one day be gone from this world, whether the land remains or not does not matter. It would truly be a disheartening to leave this world without getting to know it. Or at least trying to.
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