Commentary 2 - Democracy

To set the tone in a passage about democracy and human rights, Sernau opens with a trip he took to Myanmar (Burma). This corporate police state features a destitute lower class plagued by currency confusion, economic restrictions, religious tracking, government-controlled houses, apartments, markets, and communication lines, and vague laws that only exist so semi-legitimate arrests can be made if someone crosses the government. He then follows with a voyage into South Africa, and a visit to the prison that held Nelson Mandela and so many other inmates. This was a byproduct of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the entire nation's move towards forgiveness and healing. South Africans were rallying around past injustices and the leader that had emerged from them, and are a proud nation. He then launches into a debate with himself about which term is more appropriate: nation, state, or nation-state. The root of the argument comes from nationalism, or the theory that the nation one lives in is at the top of the world as far as worth, rightness, and glory. He argues that nationalism is more common nowadays than patriotism, which is a love for one's country despite flaws. Patriotism is often seen as the healthier of the two; as nationalism is blamed for many a war. But as Sernau points out, nationalism prompts an almost primal urge to defend one's nation. Stalin was unable to find many supporters for the unpopular international socialism in Soviet Russia, due to destitution, brutality, and misery, but the reason Russians fought the Germanic invasion was because they were defending the Motherland, their home, their land, not the ideals one man held. This innate sense of responsibility and pride in one's nation, culture, and ideals puts a wrench in the idea of transnational union. How can people that so fiercely desire to remain culturally unique subscribe to new laws and policies enacted by a higher power? I believe that if it leads to better living standards and economic prosperity, people will be resigned to putting aside their differences to better themselves and their fellow countrymen.