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National Identity or Stereotype?

Jinglebones - posted on 09/22/2009 ( 4 moms have responded )

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(This is a response to the "quit picking on us" threads that have popped up recently)



I would like, for a moment, to return to some meaningful debate. What is the difference between National Identity and stereotypes, generalizations and associations? Is the difference evident only when it involves negative qualities?



Desirable traits always have a flipside. Case in point: my husband is an extrovert - he is very very outgoing. This initially attracted me to him, but after 13 years of being together, I now refer to him as being "pathologically social" - he talks to everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, ALL OF THE TIME. It doesn't matter if we're in a hurry, or if I am in labour (after pushing my first child for 2 hours, I was relieved when the doctor fiinally appeared as it meant my efforts were near an end - my husband called him over to the other side of the room "Dr. Bray! Would you like some banana bread?" Seriously...).



Let's take, for example, National Pride, otherwise known as Patriotism. Being proud and patriotic is a positive trait, but what is the flipside? Being obnoxious? Stepping on the heads of other countries to further the efforts of your own? Being unduly sensitive to negative comments? Not being able to handle criticism? Doesn't this sound a tad like adolescent behaviour? (So insecure in one's own identity that the reflection from others is allowed to define you.)



I am Canadian. I am a proud Canadian. Let's examine our National Identity: hockey, beer, nice, polite, self-deprecating, maple leaves, moose, beavers, wide open spaces, cold. I'm sure there are more and I would love to hear them. Let's look at stereotypes: hockey, beer, toques, bacon, eh?, easy-going, dumb as a sack of hammers, comedians, favourite hobby: shovelling snow and watching the zamboni clean the ice. I am very very upset that the rest of the world discriminates against us by always lumping every single Canadian into this category (tone = feigned outrage). I hate the cold. I only watch hockey when we're kicking the US's butt for the Gold medal at the Olympics in Mens & Womens hockey. I don't drink beer and rarely eat bacon. Although, I am quite easy-going and very funny (I am glad I have myself to laugh at during those long cold winters), and I actually do enjoy shovelling the snow (the first 20 times...), but how boring is that zamboni? And I am not DUMB! Please! Stop the discrimination!!



Okay, I feel better now. But I just have one more point to make. Do you remember that irritating girl in high school - the one that thought she was prettier than everyone else, smarter than everyone else, changed every story so that she was the star and noble saviour of everyone, and was just way too cool for school? The one everyone loved to hate? Whatever happened to her? Oh, I know, she became a country and now rules the world...

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Diana - posted on 09/22/2009

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Quoting Sara:

I will just say that there is a difference in my mind between Patriotism and Nationalism. I can handle being patriotic, I can't handle being nationalistic. To me, nationalism is the feeling that your way of life, country, or ethnic group are superior to others. These types of feelings lead a group to attempt to impose their morality on any given situation. When those standards aren't met, more often then not, war results. Hence the idea that Democracy is the only true way to govern and the US's insistence that countries adopt this system...Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia...In contrast patriotism is the feeling of admiration for a way of life etc. and the willingness to defend it against attack. The obvious difference between the two is that while patriotism is a passive attitude, nationalism is aggressive by nature. This is where, in my mind, the US gets such a bad wrap...our stereotype is a group of nationalistic hooligans who can't read our own constitution and think that everyone should be living life the way we do...IMHO. Obviously, we're not all like that, but the policies our government has adopted since WWII, along with the fact that our social experiment has seemed to fail on the very basic levels of education, health care and national defense...I can totally see how the American stereotype has developed. I know I do not fit into that stereotype...and yes it does bother me, but I'm trying to change it...I voted for Obama...


I agree, and I don't think I could've worded this much better. I *know* why we get a bad rap-but I also *know* that we're not all like that.



I just feel like when someone is saying "I'm glad I'm me. I'm glad I'm (insert nationality)" that it's coming from a different, less ugly place than "I'm glad I'm not you. I'm glad I'm not (insert nationality)."



 



Side-note: Barak Obama is my 8th cousin. He probably has no idea; but I do. =D

Sara - posted on 09/22/2009

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I like Obama. He was on David Letterman last night and when asked about the whole racism thing that Jimmy Carter talked about, he said "You know, I was black before the election". So cool.

Jinglebones - posted on 09/22/2009

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And I just want to say, the U.S. currently has THE coolest President...hopefully he can continue to rise above his detractors and change world views. Goodness knows they could use it... (it might be helpful to note that Obama does it with class, humour and self-confidence, not petty whining...)

Sara - posted on 09/22/2009

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I will just say that there is a difference in my mind between Patriotism and Nationalism. I can handle being patriotic, I can't handle being nationalistic. To me, nationalism is the feeling that your way of life, country, or ethnic group are superior to others. These types of feelings lead a group to attempt to impose their morality on any given situation. When those standards aren't met, more often then not, war results. Hence the idea that Democracy is the only true way to govern and the US's insistence that countries adopt this system...Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia...In contrast patriotism is the feeling of admiration for a way of life etc. and the willingness to defend it against attack. The obvious difference between the two is that while patriotism is a passive attitude, nationalism is aggressive by nature. This is where, in my mind, the US gets such a bad wrap...our stereotype is a group of nationalistic hooligans who can't read our own constitution and think that everyone should be living life the way we do...IMHO. Obviously, we're not all like that, but the policies our government has adopted since WWII, along with the fact that our social experiment has seemed to fail on the very basic levels of education, health care and national defense...I can totally see how the American stereotype has developed. I know I do not fit into that stereotype...and yes it does bother me, but I'm trying to change it...I voted for Obama...

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