Funk Babblings

I am glad that Silicon Mayhem mentioned the difference between nationalism and imperialism. They do go hand in hand but are not the same thing.

I consider myself a nationalist. I do believe that our country is about the best nation to live in on Earth. I do not believe it is flawless, in fact I am painfully aware of its flaws. Simply put, I think that despite those painful flaws it is about the best thing going in the world. There are other cultures and nations that are also very wonderful in the world and I also believe that a lot of them have been able to maintain that status because they are under the shield of the US and the allies we lead.

That being said, we've also destroyed and betrayed some wonderful cultures and we don't need to go back to the 19th century to find examples. Not supporting the Iraqi uprisings after the first Gulf War should make any American patriot sick.

There is another way to look at your last point about innocents' suffering. Even if you assume everyone cares about the suffering of innocents, which history shows isn't often the case, the argument can be made that while many innocents suffer in the short term civilization often benefits in the long term. Usually periods of great development for the human race are linked to imperial conquest and consolidation of power. Pick any empire and look at the advancements it made in the development of civilization, science, etc... Then look at the people who suffered at the same time. I am too much of a realist not to accept that history does show this to be one truth.

I am also too much of an idealist to believe this is the only way progress can be made. I hope that as a race we're growing past that point, in fact I believe technology is forcing that growth upon us. Modern warfare has already taught us that open conflict is no longer as viable a solution to solving our differences. The fact that we didn't have a nuclear war before the end of the Cold War shows that we're starting to learn that lesson.
Getting back to my nationalistic side, this is why I would love to see a president who will lead the nation to take a greater role in the UN. Once again, it isn't a perfect body, but it is the largest organization that actually tries to give a damn about the world as a whole. I believe that when the US backs the UN it can accomplish impressive things. When that happens you have the fall of a tyrant like Milosovich. When you have a president who turns America against the UN you have the government of Sudan going unpunished while they try to outpace Rwanda for the "most countrymen killed" award.

It takes power to get nations to work together. We have a lot of power. If we use it responsibly we can bring great change to the world without trampling the weak. To me, that IS nationalism and patriotism.