Okay, so, this is my essay for World History. I just cannot come up with a good last paragraph. gonk I think this one will do, but I don't really like it. I don't really like the essay itself.
Nationalism in the World Today
It has been around for millennia. Its effects have been seen on the television, heard on the radio, read in the papers. Even today it still plays a huge role in our lives. You know what it is I am speaking of: nationalism. From the Kurds in the Middle East to Canada and the United States back to Catalonia and Spain, the devotion craze has swept the world. In short, nationalism is still alive and well in the world today.
When one hears the words “Middle East conflict,” the first thing that comes to mind is probably the war in Iraq. However, there are other troubles brewing in the east. The trouble I refer to is the division, or lack thereof, between the Kurds and Turkey. What is usually known as Kurdistan on maps is actually a large ethnic group that spreads over Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, though most of them live in Turkey. Around seventy years ago, the founder of Turkey deemed it illegal for any sub-group of Turkey to exist, meaning it is illegal for them to be in any form of actuality the Kurds. Until 1991, even their language was illegal. Over the years, more than two million Kurds and Kurdish sympathizers in the Middle East have been made into refugees or killed by the military for "separatist speech."
Nationalism is not always a dividing force, even in the modern world. Canada is a prime example of this. Though United States and Canada are at peace with each other, as shown by our sharing of the world’s longest unprotected border, it has been promoted that some feel they are becoming too “Americanized.” In some ways, they have a bit of rightness to their claims. Despite being originally colonized by France and recognizing the Queen of England as their head, Canada is quite similar to the United States in their language, history, and geography. This is mostly because of our close proximity to them. According to Wikipedia,
“Most self-identified Canadian nationalists today are generally members of the mainstream left and oppose the economic and cultural ‘Americanization’ of Canada. There are some right-wing nationalists, and they will generally put more emphasis on preserving Canada's British and French heritage. What all Canadian nationalists have in common is an interest in at least one of the following:
• Appreciation of the great historic epics and national myths of Canadian history
• Preservation of national unity
• Preservation of economic independence
• Preservation of political independence
• Preservation or promotion of Canadian culture”
• Appreciation of the great historic epics and national myths of Canadian history
• Preservation of national unity
• Preservation of economic independence
• Preservation of political independence
• Preservation or promotion of Canadian culture”
Yet another example of nationalism today is Catalonia, a region of the country of Spain. Catalonia has been trying to become independent from Spain for over a thousand years. In the late 1970s, Catalonia was deemed an “autonomous community.” Even though they were granted the right to govern themselves, there is still discontent about the situation. Many people in Catalonia want more autonomy, and some of these people want to be an independent nation altogether. On the other side of the “Catalonian Debate,” as it has been called, is the economic group, which wonders what separation would do to their business with the rest of Spain.
Nationalism takes many different forms in our world today. It is not universally good or bad. It can be, as shown above, a dividing force or a unifying force. Despite its unique individual purpose for each land and people, its overall meaning remains the same. No matter how many wars we have or peaceful years go by, nationalism will still be still there, not in the hearts of all, as shown by a recent survey in which a quarter of people surveyed did not consider themselves nationalistic, but in the minds of many, for the concept of nationalism itself is more than just a belief to be remembered; it is a passion that drives and puts forth results –not necessarily good results, or even visible ones, but results all the same.
