On Nationalism
Through my continuous training in Buddhist philosophy and meditation, I’ve been super interested in the essence of identity. I spoke about that at earlier instances. It strikes me as one of the most complex and in its common understanding most limiting concepts there is. It is a huge one, I know. And so I want to break it down to one aspect of identity, which I struggle with. National identity. Easily, easily turning into nationalist identity. At least when interpreted through the lens of exclusivity, superiority, uniqueness, borders.
As with everything human, it requires striking a fine balance. Of course, each of us has a background in a nation, a country, a society. And most likely each of us is somehow attached to it, consciously or subconsciously. The intensity is the issue and the degree to which we rely on this identity as normative.
In the words of Albert Einstein: “I am by heritage a Jew, by citizenship a Swiss, and by make up a human being, and only a human being, without any special attachment to any state or national identity whatsoever.” This sounds like freedom to me. Complete freedom.
And then the very same thinker says: “Nationalism is infantile sickness. It is the measles of the human race.”
We don’t have to go far to notice that. It happens here and there, democracy or autocracy. If the identification with a certain geography, political system, society, heritage and history becomes to strong and undebatable, bridges collapse, whether intended or not. Then suddenly it is about “us” and “the others”, and the desperate search for superiority in every aspect of social life.
What is more instantly felt is the internal effect. A society that relies on a strong national identity cannot allow for too much social complexity and nuance, or else the risk of questioning this identity is too high. This is my experience in the US, it has been my experience in Israel and in Azerbaijan. And this is just too name a few of too many of our world’s nations struggling with a healthy self-understanding.
Recently, German newspaper DIE ZEIT initiated a #Deutschlandspricht (#Germanyspeaks) campaign, in which they brought 20,000 residents together to discuss (in couples) the most pressing issues for German society. This initiative as such is applaudable. A real example of responsible journalism in divisive times. For me as a mediator, the accompanying article was an even greater eye-opener and validator: “In a society in which every new information is nothing more than ammunition for both sides (of an argument), there is only one peaceful solution: to weaken the group identity.” Aka to weaken the attachment to a national identity that is bound to be vulnerable to every argument, picture, newcomer that questions it in its strict form, self-understanding, historic makeup. And: Psychologically our brains are wired to react to each opinion or image that questions our identity in the same way as if we were attacked by a bear. How unbearable - literally!
So what to do about that? I’m always most refreshed by people who are aware and confident with where they come from but not so attached that they see a constant need to defend it. Hence, the work starts with yourself.
Feeling more at ease with our fluid identities, the many we carry (gender, ethnicity, professional, familial etc.); noticing how they change, how we feed them, why we feed them; observing how we get triggered to defend them…and then asking ourselves for what?
It is a whole lot of work but so worthwhile if we as human beings and race want to overcome our boundaries and build sustainable bridges across “borders”.