America is at a crossroads right now. Our people have become pitted and malicious against each other. Every day we see a rift in our country that is growing bigger and bigger. We associate the divide with people’s political beliefs in whether they are a Democrat or a Republican. We assume that they both have ideologies that cannot coexist with one another, that no overlap exists between the two parties. We have also seen a significant increase in nationalism spread throughout our country which has only spurred the divide to grow even faster. But what exactly is nationalism and why has it only increased our people’s hatred against each other?
Nationalism is the sense of consciousness someone has to their nation. It primarily means that we raise our nation over others and put a huge emphasis on promoting our culture and interests opposed to those of other nations or groups. But what does nationalism look like in America? What values do we want to promote over other nations? What makes America so great compared to others?
American nationalism has taken on the form of e pluribus unum. It means: out of many, one. It is our great nation’s motto. We promote ourselves as a civic nation which in turn promotes the rational and legal concepts of our citizens above all. We believe that our nation is the beacon of democracy and the standard that others should follow. We believe in the freedom of choice and self-elected government. We believe that all people are created equal and that all should have an equal chance at freedom no matter who they are or what their background is. We promote a dream so great people from around the globe come to chase it.
America was once renowned for its open door policy. We were known for the many cultures and people that coexisted in this great nation and were deemed the Melting Pot and the Land of Opportunity. Our great Statue of Liberty was the beacon of hope for all immigrants entering this country. She meant that they had finally made it to a place that people whispered about in awe. Immigrants eyes would sparkle with possibilities and hopefulness that they could create a better life for themselves and their families here. They had finally made it to the land of the free and could take their place in chasing down the American dream.
But people’s eyes do not glow with the same hopefulness and dreams of possibilities anymore. They glow with fear and uncertainty. They do not know what will happen to their families here or if they will have a shot at chasing the American dream or if they do start chasing it it will be ripped out from under them when they have only just begun. This great nation that use to have open arms for them has closed them and is now trying to correct something that it has deemed as “wrong” and “un-American.” Our ideal of what American nationalism is has become misconstrued. It has become the driving force behind campaigns such as the Neo-Nazis and has driven a giant stake between the people of our country.
Our country is more at war with itself than with that of other nations. There is an internal struggle of what should our nation look like. But history has shown us what misconstrued ideologies of nationalism can do to a country. We have seen leaders such as Hitler rise to power and take control of countries running on a far-right nationalist platform. He sought to rid his nation of people who he deemed “undesirable” or “un-German” and we have seen a new wave of that sweeping our own country.
We have seen what nationalism has done to other nations in the past yet it has resurfaced in our nation a new and created a great wedge between our people. We have started to characterize certain races as “un-American” and “unfit” for this country. We are tearing families across the nation apart to be sent back to a land that is not their home. To a place, they have never known before. Our country is targeting innocent people who have come to this country because of a dream that they were promised. A dream that was not denied to any other American ancestors that came before them. ALL AMERICANS ARE IMMIGRANTS, we all came to this land at one point in time from a different country and were given the opportunity to chase our dreams. Now we are ripping away newly found dreamers chances at that same opportunity, merely because of a far-right nationalist agenda to say that certain people are “unfit” for this land of immigrants. Our titles as the Melting Pot and the Land of Opportunity slowly melt away along with our dreamers.
Our choices as Americans are clear: we either repeat the past or try to correct this idealism that is spreading through our nation like a virus. We need to teach people again that it is not okay for us to judge someone by the color of their skin or where they have come from. We need to promote the fact that what makes this nation so great is that our country has blended so many different cultures and people into one nation. We have created a place where people can freely chase a dream and not be punished for it. That is the America that has gone down in history as the greatest nation of all time and that has fought for those who share that same dream. We can not give up the fight now. We can not give up on our dreamers.