Is "nationality" becoming outdated?

[Asura]

Just saw this today:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-27132035

... Talking about how the Cornish now have a minority status, representing that they are culturally different to other parts of the UK.

It made me think about the upcoming Scottish referendum, as well as the current Crimea situation and the Kosovo situation last year, where they made a bid for independence.

Is the concept of nationality becoming a bit outdated in the EU?

I mean the North of England/South of England are culturally quite different to each other, and often lament each others' attitudes (for example, remember the complaints about having the Olympics in London back in 2008, with London being at one end of the country - or the calls when rebuilding Wembley to instead have the national stadium in the midlands).

I suppose it begs the question of why countries stay countries, and what degree of cultural difference equates to nationality.

[charlesr]

It's all nonsense. We should be Earthish.

[Dogg Thang]

Yep, totally agree with Charles. Culture, I'm all for and I think we can all celebrate our differences and our quirks as long as those differences don't infringe on the rights of others (this does not include being offended, which sure should be a right but not one worth a damn). But nationality? Being proud of what arbitrary borders one happened to be born inside? Or worse, being proud of a flag for some reason? Doesn't make a lick of sense to me.

[charlesr]

I'm all up for celebrating being British, and waving a flag, but it doesn't make me any better or worse than someone from any other part of the world. I'm going to an event at the O2 next week where 20,000 people from all over the world will be waving their own flags, but we will all be waving them together. We all chat and even if we can't speak the same language, we'll have fun together.

If we really want to split the world up it should be into: Pleasant people and rude people. Give each set a flag and then I know which to aim for.

[QualityChimp]

Ah, you off to the Bi-mon Flag-Con again, Chaz?

[sj33]

Nationality is a nonsense and it always has been. It may initially seem to make a certain amount of sense if you live in an island nation and thus have a physical barrier between that island and the outside world, but the concept of nationality begins to unravel once you look at the rest of the world. Mainland Europe is an excellent example - a huge amount of nations in modern Europe literally did not exist as unitary nations a mere 150 years ago (notably Germany and Italy). What constitutes a nation and 'national identity' is ever-changing as borders change in line with geopolitical developments. Nations appear, nations often disappear overnight.

And of course, the whole idea that a nation is something that encapsulates the spirit and culture of a people within a certain land mass is also a nonsense. England itself is an excellent example of this. The massively different economic background (and related history and cultures of a region) can vary massively even over a small distance.

Unfortunately, a lot of people buy into this myth. It's quite easy to get people to subscribe to a dominating ideology, and invented shared nationality under a shared flag. This serves to strengthen the legitimacy of the rulers, as people are then inclined to support their own rulers over those from the 'outside'. It breeds fear, suspicion and even hatred.

The sooner the human race grows out of this adolescent stage, the better.

[EJG1980]

It's all nonsense. We should be Earthish.

This.

But nationality? Being proud of what arbitrary borders one happened to be born inside? Or worse, being proud of a flag for some reason? Doesn't make a lick of sense to me.

This.

Nationality is a nonsense and it always has been.

The sooner the human race grows out of this adolescent stage, the better.

Aaaaand this.

[QualityChimp]

As somebody who was born on Moonbase Alpha, I find all this Earthish talk completely moonist.

[bash]

Being allowed to go into most countries because of my British passport is something I value because I have lots of friends family who despite their wealth/status/whatever cannot go without paying ****loads for visas (which may still go down the drain if their application gets denied) or just being flat out denied.

I hate that sheet, I also hate jingoism. I've never seen any good come from it.

[originalbadboy]

If we really want to split the world up it should be into: Pleasant people and rude people. Give each set a flag and then I know which to aim for.

I would take it one step further and put all the idiots on the Moon, or Mars. Let them all be idiots together;

[sj33]

Being allowed to go into most countries because of my British passport is something I value because I have lots of friends family who despite their wealth/status/whatever cannot go without paying ****loads for visas (which may still go down the drain if their application gets denied) or just being flat out denied.

I hate that sheet, I also hate jingoism. I've never seen any good come from it.

Similarly, I cannot move back to the UK because my wife doesn't speak sufficient enough English to pass the government-imposed English test, nor can I prove that I have a long-term, secure job back in the UK that guarantees ?16,800 annual income (how am I supposed to get such a job without being in the UK?) - both of which are required for a spouse visa in the UK.

This is despite myself being a UK citizen and the government supposedly existing to support the rights of people like me. Instead, I am a virtual exile because of the rules imposed on the whim of a small few within the ruling class.

If I was nationalistic, I'd feel quite betrayed.

[QualityChimp]

It's a bit random, but I really got into a band called Menhir recently.
They play stoner rock riffs, but on top of brilliant samples from Gandhi, The Great Dictator, George Carlin, Larry Smith, Abraham Lincoln and Jacque Fresco, a Futurist and Social Engineer.

Some of Fresco's great quotes in the song "Mt. Aloha" include:
"There are no Negro problems or Polish problems or Jewish problems or Greek problems or women's problems. There are only human problems."
"We're going to do this thing-just as the automobile phased out the stagecoach, just as television stepped in and phased out the old vaudeville and the old motion pictures."
"There are no mayors, there are no politicians, and you don't have to fill out any forms to go to the arts center or music center and you go to a university whether you can afford it or not."

[hide][/hide]

[EJG1980]

As somebody who was born on Moonbase Alpha, I find all this Earthish talk completely moonist.

I would take it one step further and put all the idiots on the Moon, or Mars. Let them all be idiots together;

With no concern for how it affects the indigenous population like QC? He was right about the Moonism, it's rampant!

[QualityChimp]

The Moon is for Moonians! Keep these immigrants out! Dey turk rrrr jrrrrrrbs!

[Neon Ignition]

Moonists have it easy, you should feel more sorry for us poor Plutonians. Dirty Earthists don't even recognise us as a nation anymore...