Racism and nationalism, page 1

This post is to express a thought I have about these two terms, racism and nationalism. My impression is that the terms are very "loaded" and at the same time very vague as to their real meaning. Of course, the common perception, or so I would say, is that racism means some races are in some way inferior, and that nationalism means something to do with Hitler.

Why I think the terms interest me is, it seems I feel the "dangerousification" of the terms makes it hard to talk about something that is valuable. To me, I consider tradition and history, culture and so on, to be of the most profound importance -- second only to the integrity of the individual, I think I would say. And I consider that what I think of as race has some significance that is related to this type of thing, history and culture, probably in certain ways that would be difficult or maybe impossible to express in verbal language. Acknowledgement of what I think of as race seems to me is being made immoral; and by that I mean mere acknowledgement of what I think of as race as existent at all, not a pursuit of measuring which is the more superior or more inferior of such races. As for Americans, for example, this might mean that a native American calling themselves such, would not mean they are looking to say other people are inferior or superior -- he or she would simply state that they are a native American as far as such racial background is concerned. And like I am saying, I consider a human being has such background as some part of who they are.

Nation is, as I think of it, somewhat different from what I think of as race, because it is less hidden or unconscious or whatever, as to what it means. A nation is more about culture than about "genes", as I imagine it. It has to do with traditions and customs and so on. For example, two nations can be very much two separate nations, as I see it, and still appear like the same what I think of as race.

A nation, in this way, would, as I imagine it, include the somewhat special United States Of America.

Even though I think inter-racial marriages, so to call them, are alright, I do have a problem with those who would deny that they are inter-racial, again, so to call them, the denial being based on some argument that there is no such thing as race and we are all simply human beings.

I also consider that, like a person should be free to marry into some other race and/or nation, people should be free to leave their original nation and, together with others who did the same, create an entirely new nation -- like the USA. But also, I would consider that as much as I respect totally that someone would say "I am American", it is a significant fact that they -- or some ancestor -- came from some other nation before this current one had been created (or chosen).

Long story short, I personally feel that what I call race and nation are real aspects of a human being, and although I do not consider those aspects should be any kind of "ism" or confinement, I do consider that there is something very wrong if it becomes some kind of taboo to even say the word race or nation. Someone who is black and came from Africa or Australia should marry the one he or she loves who came from say Iceland, and now they for example live in the USA and are Americans, but let them freely keep acknowledgement of those aspects of themselves which are those backgrounds.

This whole thought of mine may be totally mistaken, but it is my impression that the notions of race and nation, as I think of them, are starting to become sort of non-terms, verboten. My problem with that situation would be that taking away such, in my opinion, real and significant aspects of a human being, would be to bereave and impoverish those who, through the social pressures of the "politically correct", were affected by this ..ahem, idiotarianism. Uniqueness and background is in some way of value, like personal uniqueness is a value.

To add something like an extention to th