Essay Sample on Nationalism vs Patriotism: Distinguishing Characteristics and George Orwell's View

Nationalism and Patriotism are two elements defining a citizen's loyalty to his or her country. The first two articles lay a foundation on the crucial distinguishing characteristics of the two subjects. One of the points of reference that is affirmed in the discourse is the statement by George Orwell, who described nationalism as the worst enemy of peace (Michael, 2018). He implied that most nations have resorted to war to portray commitment and love to their countries while in doing that, they overlook considerations to other countries. The main point of contrast between nationalism and Patriotism is, therefore, the fact that Patriotism is not active beyond the premises of a country while nationalism takes a broader view. Nationalism refers to ways of fostering national unity through various symbols, which include the unity of language, cultural heritage, and other means. In contrast, Patriotism refers to the love for one's country. The second article also looks into the concerns of the two subjects, and intensively discusses the practical aspect. The likes of Napoleon are among the nationalists who protected the interests of his nation by an iron rod (Nancy & George, 2019). The concerns of American administration under Trump mostly exhibit aspects of nationalism, have also been focused on the article.

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The second article, which is from Dallas Morning News, sheds light on the extinction of Patriotism by the rise of nationalism. America is mainly made the subject of the content because of the current administration, which has seen President attempt, by all means, to silence the foreign voices and heed to the local demands of Americans at all costs. This has been by the use of machineries of war and other tools of power to punish the dissenting international opinions. The warning is sounded loud in the article that if America continues to create a wall between it and other countries, Patriotism will be extinguished and more nationalists who do not love their country will establish a meaningless state.

There are many differences between Nationalism and Patriotism. Nationalism, as earlier stated, comes out in all the articles as an active defense and love for a country while Patriotism is the love and pride which is mostly expressed passively. Nationalism may lead to war to protect the interest of a country. At the same time, Patriotism only raises a voice of love for the country through sporting activities, democratic processes, and other things that make a person be identified with a country (Gini, 2019). Nationalists care less about other nations and citizens while patriots do. It is, therefore, evident that Patriotism is taken positively while nationalism is not. The two subjects thus come out different and not as similar as they may often appear.

References

Gini Beam, 2019. https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2019/06/02/unchecked-nationalism-poisonous-patriotism

Michael Curtis, 2018. http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-nationalism-and-patriotism/Nancy Kasten & George A. Mason, 2019. https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/11/patriotism_vs_nationalism.html