>But it is lovely, this land of ours, from California to the New York
>island. Anyway, I am not saying that you _should_ love it: there are
I beg to differ. The suburban wasteland that extends beyond the "New York Island" is hideously ugly - aesthetically and socially - low density sprawl littered with advertisements and tackiness, divided by endless highways, littered with junk, and populated by gun-toting, SUV-driving rednecks. Yuk!
>I'd never be English. I'm American, and that comes with a huge and complex
>freight, much of it awful, some of it wonderful, all of
What does it mean to be an American, or more generally, a national of a country? Michael Perleman says that such identity is only meaningful in the context of exclusion "us versus them." I think that while this is essentially true, there is also another dimension to it - reduction of transaction/interaction costs. It is very difficult to interact with other human being without knowing the language, customs and expectations of your interlocutors. Finding that out constitutes a potential heavy "transaction cost" of every interaction. However, this cost can be dramatically reduced when you and your interlocutors develop a set of shared symbols, expectations, and interpretations of empirical facts (which sociologists call the "stock knowledge"), which are taken for granted in everyday interaction.
The shared stock knowledge and the positive feedback it creates for everyday interaction is the main advantage of "being a national." That is why most people feel closer to their own country than to any other country (even if the other country nationals speak the same language). However, once you master another country's stock knowledge to a reasonable degree you can feel at home these just as in your native country. This way, you can feel a national of any country of your choice - if you have a desire and ability to learn new things, of course. Take that from a perpetual homo peregrinus :).
PS. It is not coincidence that nationalism tends to be espoused by lazy or stupid people - it is their excuse for their inability or unwillingness to learn how to interact with people outside their narrow social circle.
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