A call to anationalism

[pastorlenny.livejournal.com]

I have recently been convinced by arguments in this community that fundamentalism in all its forms is indeed the enemy of all that is good. In fact, I have come to recognize that one form of fundamentalism in particular – fundamentalist nationalism – is perhaps the greatest threat mankind has ever faced.

The nature of the threat
The modern nation-state is rather plainly the primary cause of war, oppression and the exploitation of peoples in the modern world. We need only look at two world wars and sundry third-world conflicts to substantiate our case. While naïve observers may see ethnic, religious and ideological rivalries as the bases of these conflicts, the real issue is almost invariably related to territoriality and national interest. The Soviet Union did not want Czechoslovakia to merely ascribe to some economic ideology. It wanted that national territory to be subject to its national interests -– economic, military and territorial.

Likewise Biafra, Vietnam and the rest. People draw maps. They believe in maps. And they want the lines on the maps to be moved this way or that way. For this, they are willing to sacrifice the lives and well-being of countless men, women and children.

Even the present threat of militaristic Islamism can be traced to this fundamentalist belief in spurious concepts such as “nationhood” and “borders.” Western nation-states for years cared about nothing so much as ensuring their ability to move resources from “other countries” to “our country.” As a result, they machinated the most outrageous offenses against anyone who happened to have the misfortune to live in those “other countries.”

The consequences of this fundamentalist ideology then became plain. Eventually, the people in those “other countries” recognized the “country” that had perpetrated these offenses as their sworn enemy. So they attacked that “country” in any way they could – even if it meant killing its innocent civilians. After all, it was – according to the first perpetrators themselves – not some independent contractor working at the behest of a narrow set of oil and banking organizations that brought down Mossadegh. It was this “country.”

How it is promulgated
The pernicious lie of fundamentalist nationalism is propagated through a variety of means. Attend any sports event and you will see how patriotism has become the opiate of the masses. Sure, “O Canada” has a stirring melody. But what is the real message? It is that, above all else, those singing it are Canadians. And so countless millions of otherwise productive people-hours have to be wasted on the absurd enterprise of defending the longest border in the world.

Listen to the rhetoric of Barack Obama. In his recent speech on the state of the nation, he went on and on about how people “here” have to “out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world.” And people clap wildly for this kind of fundamentalist screed! It appeals to our basest instincts and by its very nature pits people against people – as though the cosmos were some kind of zero-sum game that we have to “win” by utterly defeating our fellow human beings.

Worse yet, we force our children into what are essentially madrasas – where we relentlessly indoctrinate them into the fundamentalist idea that their identities are inextricably bound up in the destiny of some fabricated entity we call their “country.” We teach them the history of that country above all others, as though it were some substantive and exceptional phenomenon. We enlist them in the project of making “their country” better than the “other countries.” We even keep score now, and we fret as our scores drop below that of our foes in the struggle for national supremacy. And what pride we take when we pass a Denmark or a France. Stupid France! Pathetic Denmark! May you fall – and may we rise. Nation without end, amen.

The solution
The first step to addressing the issue of fundamentalist nationalism is to be clear about one thing. Nations are based on the entirely on fantasies that have no connection to any empirical reality. Take a walk through the Alsace or Sudetenland some time. You will find that there are actually no borders anywhere. Sure, man may build a wall or a checkpoint where he pleases. But these are fabrications built with money siphoned off of a sheep-like populace to finance the fantasies of the national priesthood. And, yes, a river or mountain range may seem to form some kind of national boundary. But, trust me, there is no dotted line floating in the middle of that river. And if an army should choose to ford that river, what meaning would that imaginary line have, anyway?

Another key truth for us to soberly acknowledge is that no national constitution is valid. I mean, look at how different they all are! If there were a proper way to run a nation, all nations would ascribe to that one true way. But even dictators can’t agree about how to dictate. So there is obviously zero validity to the enterprise of national governance.

Finally, let us be done once and for all with flags. What an offense a flag is to a reasoning and reasonable person. When I see one, all I can think about is the people who have been slaughtered under its murderous power. Think Iwo Jima. Corpses littered all about. Yet we are stirred to think this something good – because of a damn flag.

Let’s face it, the notion of the nation-state is no more than a leftover evolutionary imperative from back when we had to maintain a hunting ground for our tribe or clan. To cling to such a notion today is to write our own death warrant.

Stop supporting this madness. Renounce your citizenship. Turn in your passport. Don’t pay war taxes. If you are jailed for these noble actions, embrace the honor of being in the front line of resistance against the great oppression of our age. Neither religion nor atheism should be our singular cause at this critical hour. Let us become anationalists – and so rescue humankind from itself.