Nationalist vs. Patriotic

Here's my first article. Very random, but true to the facts.

There are two words nowadays that we hear pretty much every day: Nationalist and patriotic. We seem to think of them as two different words. “Patriotic” is the word we use to describe people who devote themselves, or even their lives, to their country. “Nationalist” is the word we use for people who supposedly love their country to the point where they believe it’s superior over other countries.

But when you look at both terms together, you’ll surely start to doubt these definitions that we’ve been subjected to for so long. Now I’m no expert on political ideology, but one thing’s for sure: Pick out a few articles from the Western press about foreign (and perhaps domestic) policy, and you’ll find a disturbing pattern.

America is somewhat “patriotic” (or unpatriotic), whilst its enemy states, like Iran, or the dictatorship regimes of Pakistan’s Pervez Musharraf, Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, or Cuba’s Fidel Castro, are somewhat “nationalist” (or not, whereas the press makes no comment). No doubt, there’s something fishy going on here. Is the American press calling their own country “patriotic” because they are themselves, just to distinguish from their “nationalist” counterparts elsewhere in the world? Let’s get back to definitions here: “Nationalist” is the belief that one’s country is superior over another, a word once used by the Western media to describe Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s regime.

Now let’s look at the facts: How is Iran nationalist? True, they stick firmly to their traditions and follow a far-right agenda. But when was the last time in modern history that they invaded another country? Or denied access to foreign immigrants looking for a better life in a foreign land? Or fooling thousands of their own troops onto death row fighting a pointless and impractical war? Or shot down a civil airliner before covering up the story and dismissing it as an accident?

And now for the answers: Never, never, never and never. As for America? Four years ago, right now, four years ago, and nineteen years ago. Who’s being nationalist now? And now comes the nuclear issue. America can have nuclear. So can Israel. So can India. So can Pakistan. But Iran? Sorry, no. North Korea? Unfortunately not. And what do the first three have in common with America? A tribute to our good comrades. And Iran and North Korea? They can bite the dust for not aligning with us. (“Patriotism” doesn’t necessarily involve one’s own nation, but in the case of international relations, it involves other nations as well.)

Here’s the concluding statement: The press is simply misleading us through the misuse of the words “patriotic” and “nationalist”, two words which, despite being similar, simply can’t be exchanged for another just by changing the subject of the statement. We, as the world, are being completely misled by the world’s greatest superpower and its “patriotic” views.