Page Two, THE HILLTOP, February 29, 1980
Pro:
Nationalism'
Con:
Initial
arter’s
istitute
Nationalism is a unifying thread that runs, has run, and will continue to run
through the fabric of every great country. The Greeks knew they were Greeks and
were proud of it. The same can be said for the Romans. Americans, too, should be
aware of their national uniqueness and should take pride in it. Nationalism creates
this pride. Pride is responsible for nationalism. The two are inseparable and go hand
in hand. r
Nationalism is the motivating force that led to the destruction of the European
fuedal state. It is responsible for all ot the flowers of modern western civilization,
the Italian Renaissance, British literature, French culture.
Nationalism is a sense of belonging, a sense of identity, that is an indispensible
part of American history. It was this national identification that led to the con
solidation of the American colonies and which led to America’s westward expansion
This same sense of national pride is directly responsible for the perserverance of
our country for over 200 glorious years.
Nationalism comes to be the strongest at times when things are at their roughest
and people need the security of national identification to support them. li comes
during times of war, times of economic crisis, times of political unrest.
Nationalism is what we, as Americans, most need now — our foreign steem has
plummeted, the dollar has devalued world-wide, we find ourselves being dictated
to and pushed around by a buncb of little, unimportant countries. This is not due to
a weakness on the part of America; it is due to a weakness on the part of the A-
merican people. We are letting this happen to ourselves because of our own inability
to stand up for our beliefs. People are pursuing their own selfish interests, to the
detriment of our national well-being. Like the old proverb, we are like individual
sticks trying vainly to stand alone when group together we are invulnerable. It
is time that all Americans came to realize this. Together, with a firm belief in our
national ideals of liberty and justice for all, the invincible American people will,
with God’s help, fulfill their glorious destiny.
Darryl Gossett
Nationalism is a state of mind or a belief that one’s own country is the best co^ millio
try in the world. The sense of belonging to a larger group sharing a common wmsto I
guage, history, and aspirations combines with a feeling of responsibility for the P^ctati
tiny of a nation and a willingness to help shape its future. But, nationalism s u jte a
of emotions, thoughts, and actions arouses distrust of the alien and unfamiliar. Wnit-draf
governments manipulate nationalism, people owe their supreme loyalty to a coOent the
try and are willing to fight for that loyalty. The U.S. Hockey team’s recent vic»athave
over the Russians at the 1980 Winter Olympics provides an example of national®. 23
Rather than praise the players of the winning team, fans shouted U.S.A.
persons’s world view and education highly determine his susceptibility to the .
ease, many people are blindly drawn into the irrational emotionalism.
tion the legitimacy of America’s right to do something by thinking, Amer antifjc
right or wrong, is our fatherland.”
Nationalism is dangerous: it has been a cause of modern wars. The Amer«strati(
and French revolutions were the first powerful manifestations of nationalism •
we Americans tend to view those wars as necessary. That is American national mo st
at work. But what about the tiny country of Serbia which also desired local aut^Percen
□rk. dux wnat anout tne imy couniry ui Dcruid wuu.ii cudu ucoucw
The Serbs had their nationalism also. The stress on cultural diversity, P P^cen
... 1 .. 1 , . _ .1 _r 1 1 -tniWi
myi 1 he beros haa tneir naxionaiism aiso. iiic uu uunuiai uivcioii-jt, i'll'
liar traditions, and national languages got out of hand in the mid-19th c^n , ersit
Radical political leaders intensified ethnic tensions to create nation-states in m Te
and Germany, and bred tensions which led to the Balkan Wars, World War I. pop
World War II. , . , , . i
Fortunately, post-European nationalism declined with the international ec ratic
my, military, and political organizations such as NATO, the European °
Steel Community, and the Common Market. Although previously cultural U' tthe
had been nationalism’s goal, the irrational emotional nature causes conflicts " tf
pose as obstacles to the idea of the betterment of mankind and block world peac'/my fgv
Tndav .some Euronean countries use nationalism to justify keeping their p^'j, prop
studi
sub
poor and maintaining a depressed economy. Nationalism seems spontam'|-‘ sub«
but actually the fibers already exist; they merely have been sown together wn ,, lewi
terrifying speed and power of irrational emotionalism.
Our nationalism is being abused
livi
'srsit
Washington
Two-week exploration of city life, national politics, international diplomacy
third world problems, art, technology and culture; 16 students and Dr. Peery lived
and studied in Washington: briefings by Congressional offices, federal agencies,
interest groups, trade associations, etc.; students enjoyed city tours, mapping pro
jects, museum visits, concerts and similar activity; students also had opportunity
to explore the city on their own time, looking at historic sites, parks, restaurants.
Dear Editor:
I would like to respond to the guest
editorial “Challenging the Power Struc
ture,” by Keith j. Leggett. It seems to me
that this article is too vague to warrant
any serious attention from the admin
istration or student body.
Mr. Leggett states, “By using rules and
regulations the administration is able
to manipulate the campus conscience
to achieve its own objectives.” Specif
ically, what are the administration’s
objectives?
In a seemingly dramatic plea for unity,
Mr. Leggett states, “This (cooperation)
then, unifies the campus and establishes
an antiethical conscience to the ad
ministration’s will.” Exactly how does
the “student conscience” differ from the
“administrative will?”
“Also, the student body (in general)
perceives various campus organizations
as reiterating administrative policy in
stead of student concerns.” In what
organization do we perceive this ten
dency? How do these organizations re
iterate administrative policy.?
I realize that the author of this ed
itorial didn’t want to get too specific,
so as not to offend anyone. It may be
possible that the author didn’t offend
anyone, but he also didn’t prove too much
by writing this article. Without clear
definitions of “administrative will” and
“student consicence,” this editorial-
sounds quite rhetorical. It is very pos
sible that there is validity to Mr. Leggett’s
idea. There definitely may be conflicts
between student and administrative
concepts of morality and consceienc.
However, in order to resolve these con
flicts, we must rely on clear, specific
:riticisms and suggestions.
Sincerely,
Patricia A. Hayes
theatres, and other tourist attractions.
Gus Jenk^' It i
ys Stat
^^''Whel
Ladies Night
The girls in Jarvis House met FebP'|'''^sitj
24 for a supper and discussion vvithjj^ 'udei
George Peery. Plans for the me^Vp Ib
were limited to lasagna, salad, % n
made bread, and ice-cream-cake. i,. '''Her
character of the discussion
undetermined until it begi
“character” itself became a Vci^ — k
tant issue. The meeting opened ’'cent
introductions, which gave everyonCj spjtg
opportunity to define her own reaW,’orn;
the whos and wheres and whys ‘1. *0 -
rernak. le esi
n. Wit]
■rv imfi’”ienti
seemed important at the moment. tL'’®al.
tk
talked about the character of Mars 'ij''
as an institution, and encountered
difficulty defining it, which was the'^j • Tl
wer: Mars Hill seems to have a some'h Ici
ambiguous character at this time. >'') g, ’ 9n
seems to be some friction between’i.'’’’osi
servative and more liberal standard’tg'j a .
ethics. And how do rules come
play? Do they really reflect the stand^j,^ ante
of the community? If they do nO q Pcoi
it possible that the rules thems®k ,^lcoi
might be self-defeating? The ethic^',^
sue becomes, “How can I do this
out getting caught?” rather than
this right or wrong?” And does the
forcement of the rules include m’,
derable interpretation? Curfews
for girls? And in all fairness, only
have the protection of locks. Pn’’
tion . . . for girls? Is that impor*
What does that word “girl” say ^
image? How do we ladies maintah'
image as ladies (or women, Wi(|
ever you prefer)? And not as
We left the meeting with many
thoughts and questions. Questions ''
very important . . . Ladies?
Patricia
Photo ID; (on steps of the capitol)
down the steps from top to bottom:
Terry Campbell, Wales Whitehead, Mike
Plemmons, Angie Boring, Alex Navy,
Pete Hatheway, Robin Phillips, Dwayne
Davis, Travis Plemmons and Congress
man Lamar Gudger; on landing above
(left to right); Kay Cunningham,
Dr. Peery, Mark Jordan
MCAT-DAT Review Coun
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30309 phone (404) 874-2^