Nationalism is a Terribly Defined, Misconstrued Term – and It’s Causing Problems

Why white supremacy and white nationalism are different.

Author’s note: I would like to begin this piece by clarifying that I am not a white supremacist. I am a Sefardic Jew whose family was decimated by white supremacists but three generations ago. I believe steadfastly in the liberty, equality, and natural rights of all humankind.

If you have ever befriended a person of Jewish heritage and upbringing, it is likely that in their identity they find a certain sense of comfort, of belonging. It may well be a sense of pride; pride derived from the comprehensive and tumultuous history of the Jewish people—our  perseverance despite the unspeakably abhorrent slaughter of our ancestors. In any case, it is fair to say that such a friend might be of the opinion  that Jews worldwide are more than simply a religion—they are a nation; a people, linked through millennia by shared history, culture, ethics, morals and beliefs – a uniqueness to be cherished and recognized. Your friend, then, is a Jewish nationalist: one who recognizes the shared cultural identity of the Jewish people. After all, there’s a rather well-justified reason behind the inclusion of people.

This is no phenomenon. Indeed, Japanese nationalism, Catalan nationalism and Bosnian nationalism are well-established and respected movements of unification among their respective peoples, all of which serve to promote the same goals.

Nationalism in the United States, however, is a far more complicated and controversial topic, particularly in the mainstream political atmosphere. If I asked an everyday American to describe the first thought materialized in their head upon the mention of “nationalism,” they might respond with graphic images of Nazism’s full-fledged implementation at the hands of the NSDAP, or more commonly, a joyously patriotic incantation of Francis Scott Key’s magnum opus. This incredible duality has given rise to public speculation as to the true nature of nationalism. Anything so closely associated with government coercion is bound to develop a subsequent divergence in meaning within the American public, almost in a frighteningly Pavlovian manner.