Patriotism or Cosmopolitanism

Humankind would be a better place if we were all just citizens of the world. In Martha Nussbaum’s “Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism” she argues whether children should be taught in education to be patriotic or cosmopolitan. Nussbaum’s definition of cosmopolitanism is a person whose primary allegiance is to the community of human beings in the entire world. Nussbaum begins her argument by raising questions about education and how students ought to be taught that hunger in third world countries are problems of global problems and not the countries problem. She says “We should regard out deliberations as, first and foremost, deliberations about human problems of people in particular concrete situations, not problems growing out of a national identity that is altogether unlike that of others.”(P 1) When Nussbaum says to be a citizen of the world one does not have to give up local identifications, she has a point. One can be patriotic of their homeland or the place of their residence, it gives them a sense of belonging and alliance. This way they feel like there are more people out there who are like them. In today’s interconnected world patriotism can be perilous to many. After 9/11 there was an outbreak of patriotism and not only from New Yorkers but it was amongst Americans all over the country. They felt as though this happened in their own backyard and not miles away. After that they started to turn away from all Muslims no matter their culture or status. What many failed to realize is that there was a mosque inside the twin towers and not only did American born citizens die but no, people of all origins did. Just because a person is Muslim, it does not mean they are not American citizens. Some have been here for generations; the black Muslims have been here for centuries. Patriotism may be good at points but it also has its flaws. There was a situation when a man was yelling out that he was an American and he killed a Sikh man because he was not native born.

Citations: Nussbaum, M. (1994). Patriotism and cosmopolitanism. Retrieved December 8, 2004 from http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~phildept/Kapitan/nussbaum1.html Sissela Bok, "From Part to Whole," in For Love of Country: Debating the Limits of Patriotism, ed. Joshua Cohen (Boston: Beacon Press, 1996), 38-44 Colin Moynihan. September, 2010, Rangel Joins Muslims in Rally for Downtown Mosque http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/rangel-joins-muslims-in-rally-for-downtown-mosque/ Micheal Barbaro. July, 2010 Debate Heats Up About Mosque Near Ground Zero http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/31/nyregion/31mosque.html?_r=1