Nationalism is sometimes associated with patriotism.  Take care.  This thought process can lead, and has led, to world wars.  Nationalism can be the catalyst for genocide.  Judge a concept by its outcome, not its promises.

Nationalism is collectivism; it springs from the top down and uses central control to coerce adherents.  It is usually generated by a powerful figure.  The “cause” always sounds noble, but the end result is not.  History is strewn with such nationalistic rhetoric: Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Mao.  Not good company.

Dictators are weak, flawed men, who use nationalism to rally the mob to their cause.  The dictator’s soul is empty and must be filled with the transitory and ephemeral emotion that desires power.  At heart, that person is in love with power.  He couldn’t care less about life, freedom, individual sovereignty.  He uses nationalism to quench his thirst for power, to make himself feel important.

“An authoritarian who, by definition, has low self-esteem, uses fear to rally a mob around themselves. A culture can be so corrupt that this mob mentality might take hold of a whole nation, allowing for the tyrant to commit such atrocities in the name of the collective will. At heart, that person is in love with power.  He couldn’t care less about life, freedom, and individual sovereignty.  He uses Nationalism in an attempt to quench his thirst for power, but this is doomed to fail for him and for that collective who follows him.”

—Mike Williams, Director , LPR, Founder of Defenders of Capitalism, Owner of Altius Financial

A second form of nationalism comes from another dictatorial element: the majority.  But, one might say, we are a democracy, where majority rules.  Are we?  Should we be?  Let’s look at the end result of majority rule, so-called democracy. 

The Constitution and Declaration say otherwise.  In fact, neither document mentions democracy.  Both founding documents went out of their way to prevent pure democracy.  Simply put, democracy is the tyranny of the many over the few.

Our nation was founded on the concept of the sanctity of the individual.  From that principle springs the freedom and liberty assigned to each citizen.  When the majority subvert the rights of the citizen, tyranny rules.

Therefore, our founders created documents to control any form of tyranny, most especially government and democracy: the Constitution and Bill of Rights defined our form of governance, a constitutional republic.  Its sole purpose is to protect the individual’s right to freedom.  

Nationalism incites the majority to oppress those with whom it disagrees.  The latest forms of nationalism are ESG, DIE, climate change, gender-fluidity, the 1619 Project.

Patriotism springs from a citizen’s free will.  It’s a choice.  Patriotism personifies the foundation of our nation: the sanctity of the individual.  

It wasn’t nationalism that caused the American Revolution.  (How could it be?  We had no nation at that time.)  Our nation was founded on free individuals acting in concert, of their own free will, to kick out a tyrant.  Patriotism fueled the herculean effort to disband the dictator.

In truth, our nation is not the land, or things.  It is a principle — a concept based in the eternal, that “all men are created equal, they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable, and individual, rights...”

Jay Davidson is founder and CEO of a commercial bank.  He is a student of the Austrian School of Economics and a dedicated capitalist.  He believes there is a direct connection joining individual right and responsibility, our Constitution, capitalism, and the intent of our Creator.

Image: Pashi via Pixabay, Pixabay License.