Nationalism in Europe essays

Nationalism in Europe essays Patriotism and nationalism mean essentially the same thing, only with different obvious connotations. When one thinks of patriotism in America, one thinks of the Fourth of July, fireworks, hamburger cook-outs, flags, war-heroes, and the Republican Party. When one thinks of nationalism, images are quickly brought to mind of the IRA, Al-Qaeda, Spanish Basque Countrys ETA, WWII concentration camps, nearly every war in history, and the Republican Party. It is interesting to observe how this notion is viewed in Europe as compared to the United States. In the United States, pride in ones country is regarded as a virtue. It shows honour, dignity, courage; even moral character. American pride is synonymous to the things America is founded upon: democracy, freedom, pursuits of happiness, and apple pie. It is in turn a reaction to a world in which dictators rule and terrorist groups threaten the lives and safety of innocent people. American patriotism actually becomes a reaction to foreign nationalism which these other groups are based upon, interestingly enough. There are far more flags flying over front yards in American homes than there are in Europe. In Venice, as a matter of fact, I remember seeing more PACE (peace) flags hanging out of peoples windows than I saw Italian flags or, even less, Venetian flags. Europeans seem to be a bit more sceptical of the idea of patriotism and might regard ones pride in his country as nationalistic. Bitterness toward national pride could be a reaction to the conflict between the US and Iraq, where third parties might view both sides motives as nationalistic. There are also the aforementioned examples of the separatist groups of Northern Ireland and Spain, also with which nationalism might be associated. All this makes sense in todays Europe where it almost seems like states are trying to forget their differences in order for everyon ...