Nationalism has received a bad reputation over the recent years. When modern, more ‘evolved people’ think of nationalism they think of images of Nazis, Hitler, and red MAGA hats yelling at immigrants that they are not wanted here. While all of these images are valid, they are not images of people who are practicing nationalism; these are images of extreme people practicing extreme nationalism. It is easy to argue that extreme nationalism can be very harmful, nationalism on the other hand can be a wonderful force for good and is essential for the prosperity of the country and the world. As defined by Britannica, “Nationalism, ideology based on the premise that the individual’s loyalty and devotion to the nation-state surpass other individual or group interests.”  Although some argue against nationalism, it has the ability to unite people for the greater good, mobilize citizens to fight against injustice and it fuels healthy competition leading to societal advancement. 

Nationalism is a simple thing, at the end of the day, all it means is being proud and having a sense of belonging to the nation which you are from. Many people find this to be very easy, they love their country and they have a strong relationship with it. But there are a large number of people who do not have pride in their country. This could be for many different reasons such as they disagree with the politicians who represent them or they do not like something that is going on. However, this is not something that nationalism and true nationalist should be concerned about. It is an old saying that ‘divided we stand and united we fall’ and this should be the core value of nationalism. It is just a proven fact that people gravitate toward people that they feel they share commonalities with. When people have things in common, they are more likely to be friendly and when they are more likely to be friendly, they are more likely to help one another. Nationalism, pride in one’s country, should be the unifying factor for all kinds of people. The United States is a melting pot of people from all over the world, but if we all have the commonality that we are all part of the same country, we can ignore differences and backgrounds and collectively work together. This is a very powerful thing and one that is essential for a nation to survive. If people believe that a strong nation leads to a strong population, then people are less likely to think only of their own self interests. They will sacrifice for the greater good of the nation and the greater good of the citizens of that nation.  

  Nationalism can mobilize people in a time of need, not just united but actually get people in action. Countries with strong nationalism will come to the aid of other countries infringing on rights or liberties that nationalist see as essential in their country and wish to defend. The unification that comes with nationalism is not just a good feeling. Of course, nationalism brings about feelings of pride and fulfillment but it is not just the feelings that are important with nationalism but it is the actions that follow. A part of being a true nationalist is an unavoidable feeling of superiority over other countries or societies. For instance, when talking about nationalist in the United States, it is safe to say that most believe in inherent rights of liberty and freedom and they would fight anyone that might infringe upon those rights. Although this person might be applying this attitude toward their own benefit, we have seen many times that this feeling can also be applied on a greater scale. There are many instances where the United States has entered a conflict because they believe basic, and inherent rights of other citizens of other countries are being infringed upon. Taking our self interests aside, there have been many cases, just in the 20th and 21st centuries, where men and women have sacrificed their safety to spread their beliefs and way of life to other countries. These beliefs are core values that are related to nationalism. Currently, we are dealing with a situation where this is the case. When Russia invaded the sovereign people of the Ukraine, the United States got involved. The reason for this involvement was because Russia was infringing upon the liberties and freedoms of the Ukrainian people. Without a feeling of nationalism, without a feeling that our way of life within our country is superior, there would be no justification for our involvement. Feelings of nationalism is not about superiority for just that country's benefit, but nationalism can fuel mobilization in defense of other countries that share the same values.

Competition, like nationalism, has come under heavy fire in our modern era and many believe it is a bad thing. However, healthy competition can lead to wonderful outcomes and nationalism can lead to healthy competition. There were many horrible aspects of the Cold War, but during this time of great competition between nations, many technological advancement came into play. The space race put men on the moon and made rocket technology a part of our world. It also led to satellite technology that is used every day by the citizens of this planet and fuels many of our modern day technologies. Competition between nations also leads to societal benefits. If a nation’s success is measured by prosperity, then true nationalist will want to see the greatest number of people in their country live prosperous lives. 

As previously mentioned, in our modern society nationalism can get confused with extreme nationalism. Nationalism does not work if it fails to adapt, evolve and is left unchecked. The feeling of superiority that comes with nationalism cannot be at the expense of other people or of other nations. It should not encourage a nation to be isolationist, or a bully that wants to just spread its ideals to the world. All of the images of Nazi’s and bigots should be a warning to people who believe extreme nationalism is helpful, when it is not. As a country and as a world, we have seen the harmful effects of extreme nationalism over and over. We have seen wars and violence come out of extreme nationalism and sadly many people have lost their lives because of these extreme beliefs. However, on the other side, we have also seen that nationalism, without going to an extreme, can be a source of good and can benefit the world.