American Nationalism Research Paper

Figure 1

Nationalism: Pride and Prejudice
Written by: Christopher Stratton

Abstract In 2016 the United States will elect a new president. As the campaigns of each candidate hits full stride the voters are bombarded by ideals of American nationalism, rallying members of the respective party to their cause. Nationalism in any form can be both a good and bad aspect of a State’s identity. What a group uses to build a national identity will determine how that identity works and how the world views it. This paper will look into several examples of nationalism from the flag waving sports fans at World Cup events to the U.S.A. chanting fanatics attending certain political rallies. Aspects of why, how and what nationalism is to each group
For centuries the idea of a national identities was shaped and honed to best fit each group as they grew in power and size. Nationalism became a power within the civilization, power “derived from (a nation’s) ability to mobilize individuals towards collective goals, including protecting the nation from potential threat or struggling to secure an exclusive national territory.” (Painter, 2009) This is where the divide between nationalism and extreme nationalism begins. How and with what the nation “motivates” its population against a threat will be viewed by the rest of the world either as a threat in and of itself or simply as a nation rallying together. Germany in the 1930s and 40s experienced the worst kind of nationalism at the hands of the Nazi party and the world turned against it. Sports fans around the world express nationalism whenever they walk into an arena and the people love it. So what is it that determines good nationalism vs. bad nationalism? Is there really a difference? How is the modern push for nationalism in the United States different than movements from the
The Olympics are a prime example of the sort of flag waving national pride that can personify the good side of nationalism. Former Olympic Organizing Committee advisor John Mackaloon said in an interview on NPR, “At the Olympics, national identity is everything. The internal divisions of any one country are forgotten during these two weeks…” (NPR, 1998) Next to the Olympics, no fans are more fanatically nationalist than those of soccer. You would be hard pressed to find a person on earth that could not describe in great detail a fan of the sport. Equipped with banners, flags, hats, masks and all forms of body suit or paint, soccer fans represent everything that is great about nationalism. Like the two gentlemen from New Zealand in image 3 fans often take a common theme or image the world may have of their nation or region and put it into costume. In the case of the two gentlemen in the picture, people from New Zealand are often referred to, and call themselves, as Kiwis after the flightless bird found in the region. Their costume is both a form of self-expression and a sign of nationalism and team support. Soccer has become a catalyst for national unity turning ethnically diverse populations into Argentinians, Britons, Mexicans and Germans. In an article for NPR, Lebanese-born, German citizen Ibrahim Bassal puts it best, “We want to show that we are integrating ourselves, the