Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: We are the "evil empire" we warned everybody about [View all]stevenleser
(32,886 posts)110. Hyperbole + negative nationalism + simplistic arguments. The trifecta.
http://orwell.ru/library/essays/nationalism/english/e_nat
George Orwell
Notes on Nationalism
Somewhere or other Byron makes use of the French word longeur, and remarks in passing that though in England we happen not to have the word, we have the thing in considerable profusion. In the same way, there is a habit of mind which is now so widespread that it affects our thinking on nearly every subject, but which has not yet been given a name. As the nearest existing equivalent I have chosen the word nationalism, but it will be seen in a moment that I am not using it in quite the ordinary sense, if only because the emotion I am speaking about does not always attach itself to what is called a nation that is, a single race or a geographical area. It can attach itself to a church or a class, or it may work in a merely negative sense, against something or other and without the need for any positive object of loyalty.
.
.
.
It is also worth emphasising once again that nationalist feeling can be purely negative. There are, for example, Trotskyists who have become simply enemies of the U.S.S.R. without developing a corresponding loyalty to any other unit. When one grasps the implications of this, the nature of what I mean by nationalism becomes a good deal clearer. A nationalist is one who thinks solely, or mainly, in terms of competitive prestige. He may be a positive or a negative nationalist that is, he may use his mental energy either in boosting or in denigrating but at any rate his thoughts always turn on victories, defeats, triumphs and humiliations. He sees history, especially contemporary history, as the endless rise and decline of great power units, and every event that happens seems to him a demonstration that his own side is on the upgrade and some hated rival is on the downgrade. But finally, it is important not to confuse nationalism with mere worship of success. The nationalist does not go on the principle of simply ganging up with the strongest side. On the contrary, having picked his side, he persuades himself that it is the strongest, and is able to stick to his belief even when the facts are overwhelmingly against him. Nationalism is power-hunger tempered by self-deception. Every nationalist is capable of the most flagrant dishonesty, but he is also since he is conscious of serving something bigger than himself unshakeably certain of being in the right.
.
.
.
Negative Nationalism
[examples]
(i) Anglophobia. Within the intelligentsia, a derisive and mildly hostile attitude towards Britain is more or less compulsory, but it is an unfaked emotion in many cases. During the war it was manifested in the defeatism of the intelligentsia, which persisted long after it had become clear that the Axis powers could not win. Many people were undisguisedly pleased when Singapore fell ore when the British were driven out of Greece, and there was a remarkable unwillingness to believe in good news, e.g. el Alamein, or the number of German planes shot down in the Battle of Britain. English left-wing intellectuals did not, of course, actually want the Germans or Japanese to win the war, but many of them could not help getting a certain kick out of seeing their own country humiliated, and wanted to feel that the final victory would be due to Russia, or perhaps America, and not to Britain. In foreign politics many intellectuals follow the principle that any faction backed by Britain must be in the wrong. As a result, enlightened opinion is quite largely a mirror-image of Conservative policy. Anglophobia is always liable to reversal, hence that fairly common spectacle, the pacifist of one war who is a bellicist in the next.
.
.
.
George Orwell
Notes on Nationalism
Somewhere or other Byron makes use of the French word longeur, and remarks in passing that though in England we happen not to have the word, we have the thing in considerable profusion. In the same way, there is a habit of mind which is now so widespread that it affects our thinking on nearly every subject, but which has not yet been given a name. As the nearest existing equivalent I have chosen the word nationalism, but it will be seen in a moment that I am not using it in quite the ordinary sense, if only because the emotion I am speaking about does not always attach itself to what is called a nation that is, a single race or a geographical area. It can attach itself to a church or a class, or it may work in a merely negative sense, against something or other and without the need for any positive object of loyalty.
.
.
.
It is also worth emphasising once again that nationalist feeling can be purely negative. There are, for example, Trotskyists who have become simply enemies of the U.S.S.R. without developing a corresponding loyalty to any other unit. When one grasps the implications of this, the nature of what I mean by nationalism becomes a good deal clearer. A nationalist is one who thinks solely, or mainly, in terms of competitive prestige. He may be a positive or a negative nationalist that is, he may use his mental energy either in boosting or in denigrating but at any rate his thoughts always turn on victories, defeats, triumphs and humiliations. He sees history, especially contemporary history, as the endless rise and decline of great power units, and every event that happens seems to him a demonstration that his own side is on the upgrade and some hated rival is on the downgrade. But finally, it is important not to confuse nationalism with mere worship of success. The nationalist does not go on the principle of simply ganging up with the strongest side. On the contrary, having picked his side, he persuades himself that it is the strongest, and is able to stick to his belief even when the facts are overwhelmingly against him. Nationalism is power-hunger tempered by self-deception. Every nationalist is capable of the most flagrant dishonesty, but he is also since he is conscious of serving something bigger than himself unshakeably certain of being in the right.
.
.
.
Negative Nationalism
[examples]
(i) Anglophobia. Within the intelligentsia, a derisive and mildly hostile attitude towards Britain is more or less compulsory, but it is an unfaked emotion in many cases. During the war it was manifested in the defeatism of the intelligentsia, which persisted long after it had become clear that the Axis powers could not win. Many people were undisguisedly pleased when Singapore fell ore when the British were driven out of Greece, and there was a remarkable unwillingness to believe in good news, e.g. el Alamein, or the number of German planes shot down in the Battle of Britain. English left-wing intellectuals did not, of course, actually want the Germans or Japanese to win the war, but many of them could not help getting a certain kick out of seeing their own country humiliated, and wanted to feel that the final victory would be due to Russia, or perhaps America, and not to Britain. In foreign politics many intellectuals follow the principle that any faction backed by Britain must be in the wrong. As a result, enlightened opinion is quite largely a mirror-image of Conservative policy. Anglophobia is always liable to reversal, hence that fairly common spectacle, the pacifist of one war who is a bellicist in the next.
.
.
.
Edit history
Please sign in to view edit histories.
161 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
RecommendedHighlight replies with 5 or more recommendations
Considering the only emotion most Americans seem comfortable expressing is outrage ...
1000words
Oct 2013
#1
which is why so many flock to our borders and apply to our institutions of higher learning
Pretzel_Warrior
Oct 2013
#4
I'm satirizing you. Not serious about gold. Gold prices are currently in a falling trend.
Pretzel_Warrior
Oct 2013
#26
I can be unhappy about some of our foreign policy choices without resorting
Pretzel_Warrior
Oct 2013
#43
Well it's certainly not for the health care, minimum wage, paid vacations, left-wing politics,
mr blur
Oct 2013
#13
So, you're going to accomplish your goal by expressing your hatred of the USA
geek tragedy
Oct 2013
#19
Ladies and Gentlemen, you will see above this post an ad hominem logical fallacy
Taverner
Oct 2013
#55
You're going back 40 and 60 years to justify your point that our gov't is bad?
stevenleser
Oct 2013
#68
Which is still not the current administration. Your comment was present tense, not past tense. nt
stevenleser
Oct 2013
#96
You are wrong: Hawaii, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Phillipines were former US Colonies
Taverner
Oct 2013
#40
Most people in Central America don't hate the United States the way you do. nt
geek tragedy
Oct 2013
#50
It's easier to pound on a scapegoat than to come up with good arguments. That's the BOG fascination
stevenleser
Oct 2013
#98
It's weird, they treat BOG as not only pro-Obama cultists, but also rightwing jingoists
geek tragedy
Oct 2013
#101
The OP was pure hatred of the United States. Allow me to bold all of the hate:
geek tragedy
Oct 2013
#118
Well, I have been there once, and much of my social group are Mexicans and Hondurans...
antigone382
Oct 2013
#160
I know my own experiences having traveled there at least once per year, plus
geek tragedy
Oct 2013
#97
Well, he does hate America, but I agree he explained that hatred pretty well, so
geek tragedy
Oct 2013
#53
I agree and support your views,Taverner. We or should I say, the powers-that-be, have..
BlueJazz
Oct 2013
#58
You may be interested in which country provided the most aid, by far, to the 2004 tsunami victims.
Nye Bevan
Oct 2013
#155
I think the "power brokers" that run the US are the "evil" element, which makes us all look bad.
tenderfoot
Oct 2013
#156