All Nonfiction
- Bullying
- Books
- Academic
- Author Interviews
- Celebrity interviews
- College Articles
- College Essays
- Educator of the Year
- Heroes
- Interviews
- Memoir
- Personal Experience
- Sports
- Travel & Culture
All Opinions
- Bullying
- Current Events / Politics
- Discrimination
- Drugs / Alcohol / Smoking
- Entertainment / Celebrities
- Environment
- Love / Relationships
- Movies / Music / TV
- Pop Culture / Trends
- School / College
- Social Issues / Civics
- Spirituality / Religion
- Sports / Hobbies
All Hot Topics
- Bullying
- Community Service
- Environment
- Health
- Letters to the Editor
- Pride & Prejudice
- What Matters
- Back
Summer Guide
- Program Links
- Program Reviews
- Back
College Guide
- College Links
- College Reviews
- College Essays
- College Articles
- Back
Being a Global Citizen
According to the Britannica encyclopaedia, "Nationalism is an ideology that emphasizes loyalty, devotion, or allegiance to a nation or nation-state and holds that such obligations outweigh other individual or group interests."
Everyone has the right to feel national pride, and support the nation in its endeavours. But the question is, is nationalism really a boon or the bane in disguise?
Here’s some food for your thought. There are nations with extremist ideologies and motives that really question the regional stability, spreading messages of violence or terrorism.
Then there are nations or specifically world leaders, who use the country’s name and people’s wants to pursue their personal goals.
And there are nations that promote an overall feeling of hate towards other countries. Or in other words, ideas of xenophobia.
But all of this comes with its own consequences.
Referring back to violence and to country-targeting, when we spread these messages of hate, criticism and terrorism within a nation, young malleable minds of children are the first victims of extremist ideologies and it is them who will carry forward these expressions to action, in forms of protests or uprising in the future.
Nationalistic ideologies also bring up economic impact. When investment has a greater emphasis on implementing the ideologies such as mobilizing military or industrialization, there comes the issue of poor healthcare and education systems that lack a great sum of investment.
Also, expanding internationally as a start-up or a company in general becomes much more difficult with nationalistic ideologies acting as an obstacle.
So, what is an alternative option?
Being a GLOBAL CITIZEN. If there is a crisis in some other region, I would feel like I am held accountable and that I have to play my part in solving it, through small contributions or even publicly raising awareness. It makes international outreach possible and we share ethnic cultures and traditions within the global community making it diverse.
Seeing yourself as a GLOBAL CITIZEN promotes the idea of peace and harmony and healing humanity as a whole.
Let us be pioneers of a better world.
Similar Articles
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
This article has 0 comments.
Lishal is a high school student who is passionate about the world that is her blank canvas that has widened her perception of the world she lives in and its endless possibilities. She is an amateur poet, ardent debater, an aspiring Author and an experienced Public Speaker, who founded "Rhetoric Thoughts", a small initiative to instill the love for public speaking.
This article is aimed at inspiring young minds to be more open and receptive to a change that is beneficial in the long run.