The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #160853   Message #3817660
Posted By: Allan Conn
02-Nov-16 - 04:25 AM
Thread Name: BS: Nationalism - a good or bad thing?
Subject: RE: BS: Nationalism - a good or bad thing?
"If I understand the spirit of the opening question correctly then I would reservedly go for bad."

I'd say bad nationalism is bad. It is simply wrong to dismiss all nationalists as believing in something bad. As I've already pointed out and evidenced by the youtube clip the current leadership and direction of the nationalists in Scotland is much more open and inclusive than the leadership and direction of the British gvt. Of course in truth both are nationalist it is just that they disagree on what should be their national gvt.

Some simple facts. The nationalist gvt in Scotland gave EU citizens the vote in the Scottish referendum - the UK gvt did not in the EU referendum. The SNP in their white paper on independence guaranteed that everyone legally living in Scotland would retain their rights of residence in an independent Scotland - whereas months after the Brexit vote the UK gvt still chooses not to guarantee such rights so that EU citizens can be used as pawns in negotiations. Of the major politicians the SNP leader was one of the first, possible the first, to castigate the UK gvt for not guaranteeing such rights. The SNP leader held public meetings with hundreds of respresentatives of EU citizens tring to assure them that the Scottish gvt would do everything it can to secure their rights.

Sorry but this idea that if you are a nationalist then you automatically believe in something wrong and negative simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Each person should be judged on their actions and what they say and not castigated if they believe their national gvt should be something other than what it is at the moment. Believing in the self determination of the nation is not the same as being chauvinistic and believing that your nation is superior and more important than other nations. It is perfectly compatible to believe in independence and want your country to be inclusive, open and ready to work together with other countries.