November 11, 2018 was the 100th year anniversary to the end of WWI, also known as Armistice Day. During this day an array of Global Leaders, Citizens, and Presidents gathered to honor those who had fallen during this war, as well as celebrate its end. The leaders stood shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, and walked together in order to show a sense of unity between these nations. Yet, our President was nowhere to be seen. He along with the President of Russia both missed this show of unity. Something which is concerning especially with the President's recent comments about nationalism. This leads to the meetings second agenda which was to remind the Nations of the importance of working together to prevent such a devastating tragedy from re-occurring. The President of France specifically addressed this by making remarks, some of which were directed at President Trump's comments regarding his favoritism towards Nationalism. Nationalism is too often seen synonymous with patriotism. While these two words may be in the same vein, their meanings and more importantly their connotations are incredibly different. Patriotism is defined as "love for one's country". This is the reason we, as Americans, are often proud of where we live and what we stand for. Nationalism, however, is defined as "an extreme form of patriotism, especially marked by a feeling of superiority over other countries and cultures." which is something totally different in itself. Nationalism is what led to the build-up of Germany before the start of WWII. Nationalism is what the members of the Alt-Right hide behind when criticized for their ideals and beliefs. So to see our president's actions caused me to also see the importance of the work we are doing as Global Scholars. If the top leadership is not consistently working to bring unity on a global scale, that means the citizens have to pick up the slack. It means people like Jessica Jackley, members of NGO's, even high school students like ourselves, have to work harder to create a better, more unified world.
Over the past few weeks, I had been wrestling with a potential decision to discontinue my studies in Chinese at least, for the time being, Allowing me to focus and devote more time to my other classes as well as college apps. However, while completing a summer assignment in which I was required to travel to a restaurant I found myself in the midst of a place that clearly had much Chinese and Taiwanese influence. Whether it was the signs, people, or language all of it was not like anything I was used to. Yet, at the same time, it was something I could begin to become familiar with. I started being able to read some of the signs as I passed by, or pick up snippets of conversation. Now granted I am nowhere near fluent in Mandarin, as became quite clear when I had thought I had ordered dry beef noodles but was served a beef and noodle soup; however, I knew enough to keep up. As I began to speak with mispronounced tones, and long pauses, I still gained a sense of respect by those ...
I really like this post- an original idea to address the actual differences between patriotism and nationalism. Of course the entry point to this topic- the absence of President Trump from these memorial events- was perfect. You used his non-presence to think about the irony of what others were trying to communicate (and what his absence communicated). When you quote a line (the definition), be sure to list the source.
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