Governments Must Be Nationalists and People Must Be Globalists

I recently listened to a well known figure in the world of Christian rap and hip hop share his heart, what he has been thinking about. It was absolutely intriguing, and some of the points he made hit me deeply. I pondered them for days.

However, there was one area that I simply could not agree with him on, no matter how much it was mulled over in the next days. He described listening to some NASA astronauts recount their experience of leaving earth’s atmosphere and entering space; something called the “overview effect” kicks in for every single person. No matter how vast and beautiful the space ahead of them, they automatically, instinctively, find themselves turning around and looking back at the earth, back toward home.

This speaker told us that when astronauts looked back at the earth, they couldn’t see any borders. There were no divisions, no boundary lines, no different countries. Thus, he mentioned in conclusion, the divides between us, especially national divisions, are man made and should not be looked at. We are ONE human race, and we should operate as it.

If we were solely discussing this concept on an individual level, sure! Absolutely! We, as humans, should be deeply concerned about the well being of humans across the world. Human trafficking, poverty, neediness, and brokenness should be things we are passionate about ending. We don’t operate in a bubble; we must be concerned about the welfare of the common man, no matter where they are located.

However, if this concept is applied to government, it quickly becomes a very dangerous idea. Merriam-Webster defines ‘globalism’ as “a national policy of treating the whole world as a proper sphere for political influence”. This term is comparable to imperialism or internationalism, and sets a dangerous precedent.

The thing that many in this country and across the world do not understand is that governments are not people, and they should not act like a person. Sure, a government may be operated by people; all institutions are. Nevertheless, just as a corporation acts as a unique entity instead of the sum of all the people that make the entity function, so works a government.

This rise to globalism over the past few decades asks governments to stop doing the thing they are supposed to be doing in the first place: considering the best interests of their people, caring for their country in every way they are mandated to do so, and keeping their country secure. Instead, it asks governments to become “citizens of the world”. It tells governments that they must be responsible for the problems and workings of every other country on this planet.

I wanted to jump out of my chair and have a conversation with the person speaking about the problems of a government ignoring national lines and treating the people of the earth as one large bloc. Was the speaker pro-war? It didn’t sound like it, but wars so frequently are a result of globalist intents and not actual national security.

Did he want the economies of every country to suffer? Did he want America to be the policemen of the world? Does he want us to become so dependent on other countries that we are susceptible to blackmail and damage done at any point?

It is a beautiful concept-the people of the world pulling together as one. Individuals should be globalists; we should always be thinking about how to make the lives of other people better, how we can reach out and help them. However, governments should be nationalist in their actions.

Nationalism has gotten an awful reputation, promoted mostly by white supremacists and neo-Nazis in America who pretend that we are not a nation of many nationalities. However, Merriam-Webster defines ‘nationalism’ as “loyalty and devotion to a nation; especially a sense of national consciousness, exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations, or supranational groups”.

Nationalism can be broken down further into subgroups that separate the core of what it is from the wicked intents of those who would misuse the concept. However, it boils down to being focused on your own nation, not the nations around you, and placing the highest emphasis on the interests of your nation. This is how America, and other nations, should function.

Unless it is a desperate measure of humanitarian aid or national security, America needs to focus on America. We must focus on our own people, our own economy, our own immigration reform and health and welfare. We must focus on becoming the greatest nation we possibly can be, and enable the people within our country to go out and care for those around the world. A government should not seek to harm another country, but it also should not go out of its way to make sure that every single action it takes is in the best economic interest of another country.

The world would function better if we remembered that individual people are called to be globalist, and governments are called to be nationalist. We, as one human race, must be responsible for the care and keeping of the others of our race. Governments must be concerned with the unique problems and issues of the country it governs, and how to best run the country for the sake of its own people, not the sake of the world.