Nationalism

The article, What is a “nation”? is an interesting observation of the world we live in today. “Ultimately, it is this fraternity that makes it possible, over the past two centuries, for so many millions of people, not so much to kill, as willingly to die for such limited imaginings.” It is this line that captivates me most about this article. If a nation is a societal apparition, an intangible figment, why do we defend it so diligently? This raises the question of what we are defending it against? Country to country we have differences, but which of those oppositions are too offensive?
The article also talks about community and culture. I began to think about how we generalize our American culture, yet different sections of our country have diverse cultures. Southern traditions differ from northern traditions, just as west coast culture differs from east coast culture. Breaking down these portions of the country also breaks down their communities. My point being that dying for a national culture isn’t exactly what it is. If it is an imaginary thing, then all traditions and communities are imaginary as well.
I chose to look up the word “nationalism”. I chose it because of the context in which it was used, “Anderson values the utopian element of nationalism”. It is a word used frequently, but what exactly is nationalism?
Nationalism: Marked by a feeling of superiority over other countries.
I think we as Americans feel this way quite often about our country. But then I pondered, “how can nationalism be real if culture is imaginary?”
The article is definitely thought provoking in many ways. It made me question the ideas of law and politics and what it really means to be a free thinker.