Nationalism is a braindead ideology

This is tangentially related to politics, but it is part of a much broader discussion that supersedes Lebanon as a state encompasses that of the entire Arab world.

On this subreddit at least, (though I suppose it is true for the majority of Lebanese) nationalism is on the upswing. Many find nationalism as the unifying symbol needed to beat back Shia ideology that concerns itself with global issues unrelated to Lebanon.

While I sympathize with this notion, I believe you are all erring on the wrong side of history. Nationalism is primarily a form of liberalism. Before the nation-state, countries were divided by tribal and familial lines, whereas nationalist ideologies condensed the varied regional dialects, cuisines, rituals, and economic management into one system ruled by a central government.

The obvious implications for currency, tax policies, financial reforms, etc. go without saying. What is of more interest is the cultural domination and its otherwise weak foundation. Liberals needed to unify desperate people with more than just money, so they made the concept of the nation a spiritual identity.

By deemphasizing religion and other global philosophies (communism, fascism, etc.) liberals made your national identity into a deeply rooted mindset. They made clothing, dietary habits, and other shallow one-dimensional cultural icons into the theme of "we are one people".

Such people are not from the same families, nor religion, nor political affiliation, but they become intrinsically tied into a sense of "us" vs "others".

This doesn't work because, for example, being Lebanese doesn't mean anything in of itself. I can be Lebanese and have a Lebanese passport and a Lebanese home address, but that is not enough to create a lasting bond with my compatriots. The stuff they cling to, their flag, their army, their Halal, their language, etc. are just aesthetic options with no moral or spiritual depth. You can wave the flag around and eat Hummus grown in the Lebanese countryside every day but your self-imposed "identity" lacks the strength of character to mean anything outside of a distinct set of circumstances.

Nationalists, in Lebanon and abroad, will then appeal to your sense of pride by pointing out other peoples (Iranians, Israelis, Turks, etc.) and give you a purpose by safeguarding your valued cultural assets. But even then your sense of purpose is predicated on opposing others, on excluding others. You lock yourself off from engagement with the world and become insular and crude. Your culture stagnates and you become a victim of foreign powers who have turned without, not within.

Everyone needs a purpose, and nationalism does not give that. It fails at giving people something to fight for so it settles with giving people something to fight against. And the latter is just a poor imitation of the former.

Imperial powers are those who integrate a global ideology into their governmental bodies. They need this in order to grow, hence they need a belief system that welcomes in others so that their ranks might swell. Instead of clinging to a flag, or a certain style of fashion, or a certain recipe, the imperial states will implement programs meant to influence all people everywhere.

Religion is one tool, such as Christianity or Islam, that wants to enlighten people with a specific message. Communism is another which wants to uplift the working poor with messages of class and strife that appeal to morally significant themes. Or simply that of promoting "civilization" like the Roman or the British who upheld their mission in life which was to spread a form of education to all corners of the known world.

Whatever one thinks of such ideas, they all give people a purpose, they unify a state with a mission that welcomes in followers and brings meaning to each of their citizens outside of the scope of their daily life. It uplifts the soul with a sense of dignity beyond the confines of domestic livelihood and inspires great literature, art, and music.

A nationalist will be limited, their music inspired by self-indulgent praise and hypocrisy while the imperialists will grow and expand until such a time that the nationalist is too weak to confront a larger power and must bow down to a foreign intruder (be it America or someone else).

And then that pride will be worth nothing, because not only have you lost your geopolitical independence, but the entire notion of safe-guarding your trinkets and other nothings will get, piece by piece, consumed by a greater society only to be mismanaged.

That is the fate of Lebanese nationalism, it is a path that leads nowhere because it gives people no purpose to live by. Hezbollah meant something because they were fighting for something beyond themselves. That is what leads to true sacrifice, and perhaps redemption. Even Americans share a similar concept of "democracy" which is the new stand-in for civilization, something they too will fight and die for. It bind people not by ethnicity or citizenship, but by a shared moral identity that crosses all demographics.

Do not take it from me, take it from your own liberals who have moved passed nationalism into globalism (nationalism writ-large) finding their original framework lacking. Lebanon will fall behind, just as Japan did and South Korea, and Norway, and all other ethno-states.

You might believe that it is something that might offer a reprieve from suffering, but there too I disagree. I ask you Lebanese not what you desire to be, but what you are.

There is a famous quote from an American song writer that goes something like: "It's not about having what you want, it's about wanting what you've got".

Think about that for a second. While you glaze upon societies you assume are superior, gaze upon yourselves for a change. Yes you have more corruption, but you have less suicides. Yes Lebanon is more divided due to spiritual and philosophical debates, but you are less alone and have larger families than the so-called "developed world". People might die in war but they don't die from social isolation and a lack of any real purpose.

Do not throw away what you have in the search of something that doesn't exist. And don't let your fledging democracy be handcuffed and chained by foreign powers due to your own obsession with braindead nationalism.