The Scourge of Nationalism
I cannot get out of my mind the recent news photos of ordinary Americans sitting on chairs, guns on laps, standing unofficial guard on the Arizona border, to make sure no Mexicans cross over into the United States. There was something horrifying in the realization that, in this twenty-first century of what we call "civilization," we have carved up what we claim is one world into 200 artificially created entities we call "nations" and armed to apprehend or kill anyone who crosses a boundary.
Is not nationalism--that devotion to a flag, an anthem, a boundary so fierce it engenders mass murder--one of the great evils of our time, along with racism, along with religious hatred? These ways of thinking--cultivated, nurtured, indoctrinated from childhood on--have been useful to those in power, and deadly for those out of power.
Our citizenry has been brought up to see our nation as different from others, an exception in the world, uniquely moral, expanding into other lands in order to bring civilization, liberty, democracy.
That self-deception started early.
Surely, we must renounce nationalism and all its symbols: its flags, its pledges of allegiance, its anthems, its insistence in song that God must single out America to be blessed.
The left hates America. They loathe our success, despise our culture, and empathize with our enemies. They hate our flag, they hate God, they hate that we worship God.
The rantings of Howard Zinn are a harmless read when us regular Americans read it and recognize it for what it is, however, Zinn is a popular University speaker whose diatribes are heard by impressionable youth.
OSU
University of Oregon
A Night with Howard Zinn
Friday, April 4, 2003 at 7:00pm
McDonald Theatre Sponsored by the UO Cultural Forum, Concerned Faculty for Peace and Justice, and the McDonald Theatre.
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
SOCIOLOGY 301: AMERICAN SOCIETY
Course Lecture/Reading Schedule:
Article #3: Zinn, Howard. 1997. The Zinn Reader. New York: Seven Stories Press.(Law and Justice) pgs. 7-25
Article #4: Zinn, Howard. 1997. The Zinn Reader. New York: Seven Stories Press.(Columbus and Western Civilization) pgs. 27-37
It is very disturbing that America-haters such as Zinn are allowed within 1000 feet of a student whose mind is still being molded. As taxpayers who fund these institutions we should demand better.
3 comments:
I saw that. Orb has a great point. Nothing like demanding more dollars for education while you are skipping class...
Maybe its just because liberals tend to choose to be professors move than conservatives, thought of that. Oh yeah and censorship is bad, academia is an open world.
I'm glad that you respect the first amendment. However our universities don't seem to have the same fondness for free speech that you do.
What I said would be classified as "hate speech" at most campuses and the president of Harvard gets a vote of "no confidence" for what he said. This is not "tolerance."
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