National Pride: What It Means to Us, Essay Example

National pride is a feeling that most people have experienced at one time or another during their lives. For some people, it is an enduring feeling that filters into their value system and connects to the way they make everyday decisions and the way that they interact with other people. For those who rarely think about the idea of national pride, the feeling may be something they are only conscious of experiencing at particular times. For example, during a time of crises like the September 11th terrorist attacks, many Americans who usually ignored ideas of nationalism, probably felt a sense of pride and unity ion the aftermath of the attacks. Similarly, during times of commemoration or holidays such as Memorial Day or the Fourth of July, many people who are otherwise unconcerned with patriotism and national pride take a moment or a day to celebrate nationalism.

It is important to remember that nationalism has two sides. One side is pride, whereas the other side is paranoia or fear of other people and other nations. Because of this, issues or rhetoric that connect with the emotion of national pride can be very dangerous. The most obvious outcome of agitating the sense of national pride among a large population is that the population becomes violent. this violence can be directed against foreigners as in the case of an international war, or the feeling can be taken out on national citizens who are perceived to be less nationalistic or less patriotic than those who are defining the terms of national pride. In other words, the use of national pride for propagandistic purposes, such as was the case with Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany, is a natural by-product of national pride when it is used as a divisive tool.

For the average American, the idea of national pride is not connected to the idea of war or the idea that other people in other nations are inferior. The average American has a sense of national pride because of the quality of life they enjoy in American society. Those who are content with their quality of life and with the opportunities afforded to them in any given society are more likely to demonstrate an enduring sense of national pride. By contrast, those who feel they have been victimized or overlooked by a given society tend to be those who are unaffected by feelings of nationalism. This is true, in general, although it would be incorrect to suggest that nationalism and patriotism are directly tied to personal happiness and personal entitlements. In reality, many people who lack material success remain deeply patriotic, including those who have been severely wounded in war, and those families who have sacrificed children for wars on foreign soil.

National pride for the average American stems from the idea of the American dream. That idea is that hard-work and individuality are rewarded by American society. Also, much of what the average person feels of national pride stems from the realization that freedom and personal liberty are valued ideals in American society. We, as American citizens, are proud of our Democratic system and our heritage of human rights. Most people in America probably feel that all of the other accomplishments in American scoiety: from our highways to our highly successful agricultural and medical systems are based on the ideals outlined in the American Constitution. Part of the American sense of national pride comes from the fact that we are a nation of individuals who are able to integrate and overcome our differences to create a strong common culture. We are strong because of our freedoms and our diversity.

One of the dangers of national pride is that it can blind individual patriots from important political and social realizations. In some cases, patriotism is represented by individual politicians or even political parties as being connected to bombing campaigns, invasions, and the domination of foreign countries through violence. In reality, most Americans gain their sense of national pride not from America’s ability to make war, but from our ability to stop wars and to create the kind of global society that replaces warfare with Capitalist competition. This is a slight oversimplification, of course, but demonstrates that national pride is an ideal, rather than an objective “law” or force.