What defines a nation? Borders? A shared history? Traditions, songs, costumes, a way of life? Surely all of these work together to create a national identity. Do away with a nation’s traditions, and you threaten its identity. Rewrite a nation’s history, and you lay claim to its territory.
We’ve seen it play out with fascist and communist regimes throughout history. The Nazis, the U.S.S.R., and the Chinese Communist Party all sought to expand by creating a global perspective that blurs boundaries and masks over previous national identities.
Why did the Berlin Wall Fall? Why was the Iron Curtain torn down? Because courageous people who made up captive nations held fast to their traditions, wielding national identity as a weapon against globalism.
But wait. Aren’t we taught by teachers, journalists, and celebrities that globalism is responsible for bringing people together and lifting the disadvantaged out of poverty?
In a fascinating interview for The New York Times, U2’s Bono shared that where he once believed redistribution of wealth was the answer to poverty, he now turns to capita - - er, globalism:
There’s a funny moment when you realize that as an activist: The off-ramp out of extreme poverty is, ugh, commerce, it’s entrepreneurial capitalism. […] Capitalism is a wild beast. We need to tame it. But globalization has brought more people out of poverty than any other -ism. If somebody comes to me with a better idea, I’ll sign up.
Cue that classic line from The Princess Bride: “You keep using that word—I do not think it means what you think it means.”
Is it intellectually correct to equate capitalism with globalism? Are they the same thing? If not, does globalism make capitalism accessible to the poor and oppressed? As much as I love Bono, I disagree.
What he calls “commerce” or “entrepreneurial capitalism” is simply access to an international marketplace. Yes, people thrive where different perspectives, identities, ideas, languages, and products are allowed to compete and cooperate dynamically.
But that’s not globalism. In fact, that’s the opposite of globalism.
Globalism disregards people, identities, and history, obscuring our differences to create a homogeneous, non-competitive forum where one idea reigns. We’re coming up on a significant day of remembrance for those around the world who have experienced this first-hand.
November 7, the National Day for the Victims of Communism (VOC Day), was designated first by the White House in 2017 and by congressional resolution in 2019 after years of hard work led by Marion Smith, now President and C.E.O. of Common Sense Society. The resolution listed the crimes of communist regimes, aiming to educate the rising generation about its murders, gulags, and poverty (both material and spiritual). It also called on Americans to unite in remembrance of those who have risked or lost their lives fighting against communism.
Leading up to VOC Day, I watched The Singing Revolution. In June 1988, ordinary Estonian people burst into spontaneous song in their native language as an act of protest toward the Soviets overseeing a concert at the Tallinn Song Festival. These weren’t natural-born revolutionaries or lifelong activists. They were people like you and me who cared to remember the songs of their nation. After years of the Soviet Union’s attempts to erase their borders, traditions, and language, it was song that motivated revolution.
And while Bono and I may disagree about the definition of globalism, we agree that it is “time for actualists” who are willing to do the hard work of setting aside biases and collaborating to get stuff done. It’s time to stop shying away from pride in our community, traditions, and identity. It’s time to champion national identity—the song of the Hong Kongers, Taiwanese, Tibetans, Cubans, and Venezuelans who are currently clinging to national identity as a defense against globalism’s brutality.
In light of your remarks, I think it is important that America is a federal republic of states, and it is in no way a 'nation' in any real sense. It is a country of 'nations', inclusive of ethnic and cultural traditions. And that is ok. Yet the desire of one or more faction to dominate the other or the minority is driving much of the conflict in the America republic today.
There is also feeling that while the globalists want to turn us into 'a gray paste' society dominated by, presumably, consumerism, that is in fact what the forces of centralization have attempted to do inside the United States. I reject that such moves are a positive force in our society, it is ok to hold to differing cultural practices, honour one's heritage and traditions, and still be an American.