Alright yes you have a point there. What I mean by nationalism then is the banding together of humans in general for a uniting cause that supports our well being. I'm not talking about a twisted kind of communist unification that only serves to enslave the people and make the dictator rich. So I suppose a better term would be "Humanism." We as humans can find common ground, we all have many commonalities regardless where we come from.
I for one have seen the world and met different cultures and races. My step-father is English, I have served in Iraq, and met people from nations all over the world. Americans in general do have mind block, and we're very narrow-minded when it comes to our perceptions of foreign nationals. We're all pretty much the same. We cry when we lose someone we love, we laugh when we think something is funny, we joke around with our friends and family, we all need food, water, and shelter. All men (better translated as mankind, including females too) are created equal. No one man shall have more or subjugate another because of race or creed.
The day I decided the war in Iraq was wrong, was the day I fell to the ground to weep over the loss of a little Iraqi girl who always came to me for candy on patrols. I grew attached to her, and when she was killed by a roadside bomb, her father personally came to me to tell me the news, and we comforted each other instinctively. Who would've thought? Iraq, such an evil and rotten people right? The war was baloney, I figured that out right then. I promised that man that I was so sorry to have taken up arms against his people. I told him I had been lied to, and that I didn't know. He said that he understood. Just the fact he understood took away all the guilt and shame. I made good on my promise by turning down promotion for re-enlistment. To this day, that was the most fulfilling decision I ever made. I've been much more understanding and open-minded since, and I'm glad I am.
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