The Illegitimacy of (most) Nations
Posted: 2002-08-02 06:02am
Hello, everyone.
I recently read Mike's page on the Israel/Palestinian conflict, and I admit to being surprised by his vehement opposition to the Israelis. Myself, as a citizen of the United States, I have always felt an affinity with the Israelis akin to that I feel with the West Europeans and the Japanese. Despite our differences, we are all (for the most part) liberal, capitalist societies; friends and allies. On the other hand, the Palestinians have always struck me as sinister, with values more akin to Saddam Hussein's or Ayatollah Khomenei's.
That aside, the moral basis of Mike's article was grounded mainly in his section entitled "The True Nature of Israel." First off, he reminds us that Israel was founded:
However, upon further consideration, it occurred to me that Mike might not have noticed this (as I originally had not) for the very reason that he is a citizen of Canada, a former member of the British Empire. The British were the first to craft a nationalism that was not necessarily racist, through their inclusion of English, Scotch, Welsh and later Irish into a single identity that was based upon shared ideals and allegiances. Mike's inheritance of this ideal-based nationalism marks him as rare among the peoples of the world. However, my reading of his rant leads me to believe that he sees this as the default state of being.
Anyway, if my train of thought hasn't derailed somewhere along the line, it seems to me that the logical conclusion of Mike's condemnation of Israel is a similar condemnation of the Palestinians (though Mike condemned the Palestinians, he did so for their leadership rather than for their nationalist ideas). Furthermore, all nations which exist primarily to advance a particular ethnic group (in other words, without a governing ideal) are illegitimate.
This seems like quite a strong conclusion. Does Mike endorse this position? What about the rest of the denizens of this forum?
I recently read Mike's page on the Israel/Palestinian conflict, and I admit to being surprised by his vehement opposition to the Israelis. Myself, as a citizen of the United States, I have always felt an affinity with the Israelis akin to that I feel with the West Europeans and the Japanese. Despite our differences, we are all (for the most part) liberal, capitalist societies; friends and allies. On the other hand, the Palestinians have always struck me as sinister, with values more akin to Saddam Hussein's or Ayatollah Khomenei's.
That aside, the moral basis of Mike's article was grounded mainly in his section entitled "The True Nature of Israel." First off, he reminds us that Israel was founded:
He then goes on to point out:on the premise of racial and religious separatism and apartheid
This is what got me thinking. Really, how unusual is a state that is based on race? Most every form of nationalism on the planet is based upon "blood and soil." France exists because people who called themselves French, having lived on the land that is France for centuries, decided to make themselves a state. The same is true for the Japanese, the Chinese, the Arab states, etc. What makes the Jewish state morally inferior to the Arab state of Jordan?You have been conditioned by the media and perhaps by religious upbringing to blindly accept that a Jewish state is a reasonable idea, but consider the idea of an "Aryan state", and you will see the problem. The whole idea of Israel is that the Jewish race needed a country (in a place delinerated by religious birthright) where they could freely discriminate against non-Jews!
However, upon further consideration, it occurred to me that Mike might not have noticed this (as I originally had not) for the very reason that he is a citizen of Canada, a former member of the British Empire. The British were the first to craft a nationalism that was not necessarily racist, through their inclusion of English, Scotch, Welsh and later Irish into a single identity that was based upon shared ideals and allegiances. Mike's inheritance of this ideal-based nationalism marks him as rare among the peoples of the world. However, my reading of his rant leads me to believe that he sees this as the default state of being.
Anyway, if my train of thought hasn't derailed somewhere along the line, it seems to me that the logical conclusion of Mike's condemnation of Israel is a similar condemnation of the Palestinians (though Mike condemned the Palestinians, he did so for their leadership rather than for their nationalist ideas). Furthermore, all nations which exist primarily to advance a particular ethnic group (in other words, without a governing ideal) are illegitimate.
This seems like quite a strong conclusion. Does Mike endorse this position? What about the rest of the denizens of this forum?