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Essay On My Country: Sample Essay in 150 & 200 Words

Updated on
Mar 18, 2024

India, a land of mystique and diversity, captivates the world with its vibrant tapestry of cultures, traditions, and landscapes. Nestled in South Asia, it stands as the world’s largest democracy and a cultural kaleidoscope-like no other. Its history spans millennia, giving rise to a rich tapestry of heritage that includes the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, the Mughal Empire, and the struggle for independence led by Mahatma Gandhi.

The subcontinent’s breathtaking geography encompasses the towering Himalayas to the north, lush forests, fertile plains, and sun-kissed coastlines. India’s influence on art, cuisine, spirituality, and philosophy is profound, making it a captivating subject of exploration. Find out more about India after reading different Essays on My Country.

Table of Contents

1 Geography and Landscape
2 Historical Significance
3 Festivals and Traditions
4 Sample Essay On My Country in 150 words
5 Sample Essay On My Country in 200 words
6 10 Lines Essay on My Country

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Geography and Landscape

India, a vast South Asian nation, boasts diverse geography and landscapes. In the north, the mighty Himalayan mountain range stands tall, harbouring some of the world’s highest peaks, including Mount Everest. These snow-clad peaks not only define India’s northern border but also influence its climate and river systems.

Moving southward, the fertile Gangetic plains stretch across the country, nurturing agriculture and supporting a significant portion of India’s population. To the west lies the Thar Desert, a stark contrast to the lush plains, characterized by arid expanses and shifting dunes. India’s eastern regions are adorned with lush forests, hills, and the Sundarbans delta, famous for its rich biodiversity. Finally, the Indian Peninsula is surrounded by a vast coastline, featuring pristine beaches, coastal plains, and diverse ecosystems.

Historical Significance

India boasts immense historical significance, with a rich tapestry of achievements and milestones:

Indus Valley Civilization: Home to one of the world’s oldest urban civilizations, dating back to 2500 BCE.
British Colonialism: India’s struggle for independence was led by figures like Mahatma Gandhi.
Independence (1947): Gained freedom from British rule, becoming the world’s largest democracy.
Partition: Witnessed the division into India and Pakistan, leading to significant socio-political changes.
Economic Growth: Emerging as a global economic powerhouse.
Cultural Diversity: A mosaic of languages, religions, and traditions, making it a cultural treasure.

Festivals and Traditions

India is renowned for its vibrant tapestry of festivals and traditions, reflecting its rich cultural diversity. Diwali, the Festival of Lights, illuminates the country with lamps and fireworks, symbolizing the victory of light over darkness. Holi, the Festival of Colors, is a riotous celebration marked by playful colour fights and festive music, celebrating the arrival of spring.

Religious traditions like Ramadan and Eid are observed with fasting and communal feasts by Muslims, while Christians celebrate Christmas with midnight masses and carols. India’s diverse population also celebrates regional festivals like Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Navratri in Gujarat, and Durga Puja in West Bengal, each with unique rituals and customs. These festivals not only strengthen cultural ties but also offer a glimpse into the vibrant tapestry of India’s traditions and spirituality.

Also Read: Essay on Population Explosion for Students in English

Sample Essay On My Country in 150 words

India is a homeland of myriad contrasts and a rich tapestry of ancient traditions and modernity. As the world’s largest democracy, it harmoniously embraces diversity with over a billion people representing an abundance of regions, languages and customers.

From the snow-capped Himalayan peaks in the north to the pristine beaches in the south, India’s geography mirrors the kaleidoscope of its people. Its history echoes with the saga of mighty empires from the Mauryas to the Mughals, and the reasonating struggle for independence led by Mahatma Gandhi.

Today, India stands tall as the economic powerhouse, a hub of technology and innovation, while preserving its cultural heritage. The land of contrast ideally mixes ancient wisdom with modern progress. This blend offers an encouraging journey through time and traditions.

Talking about modern India, which is rapidly rising as an economic powerhouse with other industries such as information technology, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, and more, is giving the country an edge. Furthermore, the prestige of the country´s prestigious space program has achieved remarkable feats like the Mars Orbiter Mission.

The soft power of India resonates worldwide through its flourishing movies, music, literature, and cuisine. Moreover, major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru are cosmopolitan hubs driving innovation and entrepreneurship, paving a new and progressive path of development for a new and modern India.

Also Read: World Heritage Day 2023: Theme, History, Significance

Sample Essay On My Country in 200 words

India, my beloved nation, is a captivating tapestry of history, culture, and diversity. Nestled in South Asia, it spans a vast landscape, from the towering Himalayas in the north to the sun-kissed beaches of the south. India’s essence lies in its unity in diversity, with a population that speaks hundreds of languages and practices various religions.

Historically, India has been the cradle of ancient civilizations, including the Indus Valley, Mauryan, Gupta, and Mughal empires. It was here that profound philosophies, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, were born. The struggle for independence, led by luminaries like Mahatma Gandhi, transformed India into a sovereign nation in 1947.

Today, India stands as the world’s largest democracy, a vibrant melting pot of traditions and modernity. It’s an economic powerhouse, driven by sectors like information technology, manufacturing, and agriculture. The iconic Taj Mahal, Jaipur’s royal palaces, and the spiritual city of Varanasi are just a glimpse of India’s architectural marvels.

India’s cultural diversity is equally enchanting. Classical dances like Bharatanatyam and Kathak, classical music with its mesmerizing ragas, and a variety of regional cuisines tempt the senses. Festivals like Diwali, Eid, and Holi add a riot of colours and celebrations to our lives.

India, with all its complexities, is a land that leaves an indelible mark on the heart of anyone who experiences its magic.

Also Read: Essay on Chandrayaan 3 🧑‍🚀: Timeline, Successful Landing

10 Lines Essay on My Country

Find the short and simple Essay on My Country in 10 lines:

Also Read: Essay on Indian Culture in 500 Words

A. India, a diverse nation, boasts a rich history, culture, stunning landscapes, and a billion people from various backgrounds.

A. India’s uniqueness lies in its cultural diversity, ancient history, and being the world’s largest democracy, blending tradition with modernity.

A. “India is my country, a land of vibrant traditions and diverse cultures, where unity amidst diversity thrives.”

Amisha Khushara

Hey there! I'm a content writer who turns complex ideas into clear, engaging stories. Think of me as your translator, taking expert knowledge and making it interesting and relatable for everyone.

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My Country Essay

India has such a deep history and culture that one will become lost in its beauty while looking for it. India is a nation renowned for its cultural richness, delicious cuisine, and friendly people. Here are a few sample essays on the topic ‘My Country’.

100 Words Essay On My Country

Indian culture plays a significant role in people's lives. With its vibrant culture, cuisine, history, and traditions, it makes people's lives happier. Despite the fact that it is recognised as the birthplace of Buddhism and Hinduism, all people of all faiths coexist harmoniously in this region. People fall head over heels in love with India's diverse cuisine and spices, which are famous worldwide. Along with the well-known Taj Mahal, it features amazing architecture and monuments. It has given the world many things, like ayurveda, zero, yoga, and many others. The diverse set of values distinguishes India from other countries of the world.

200 Words Essay On My Country

India, also known as Hindustan, is the biggest democracy in the world. It is a secular and democratic country, meaning that the citizens of India have the right to vote in choosing their leaders. India is known as a country with "Unity in diversity". It means that people with different cultures and traditions speaking different languages live together. India is bounded in the north by the snow-capped Himalayas and in the south by Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean. In the east by the Bay of Bengal and in the west by the Arabian Sea.

India shares its borders with countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. India is one of the oldest civilisations in the world. It has been recorded as the second most populous country after China.

India has immensely contributed to the fields of literature and science. Authors like Rabindranath Tagore, Ruskin Bond, Kiran Desai and many more have contributed largely to Indian literature. In the field of science, India made advancements in nuclear physics, astrophysics and so on. India attracts tourists due to its rich heritage and beautiful climate. India today is striving to become a global leader and a force to be reckoned with.

500 Words Essay On My Country

India is my motherland and I recognise myself as an Indian before anything else. India is also known as ‘Bharat’ and ‘Hindustan’, it is the biggest democracy in the world. It is known for its vast diversity and rich culture. India is one of the world's oldest civilisations, dating back over 4000 years. India is home to many renowned artists, chivalrous warriors and leaders who have contributed largely to making India what it is today.

Political Scenario | 'Unity in diversity' is the best phrase to explain the vast diversity present in our country. People of various cultures, speaking different languages, reside in India. India is a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic with a parliamentary government. This means that a Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister advises the President, the constitutional head of the country. Indians elect their leaders and are free to do anything they desire but under the confines of the law.

Indian History | India's history is divided into ancient, medieval, and modern history. The ancient period began in prehistoric times and ended in the Gupta period. The Middle Ages began in the Post Gupta period and ended with the arrival of the Europeans. From 1858 to 1947, the British ruled India and were exploiting its rich culture and wealth, leading to extreme poverty among the Indians. Then started the Modern period, which was marked by the advent of new technologies, discoveries and ideas.

India's Beauty | India is a country with beautiful landmarks and heritage. Each state of India has its history. Some of the famous landmarks of India are the Taj Mahal, the Jagannath Temple, the Gateway of India, the Red Fort, Qutub Minar, the golden temple, the Sanchi Stupa and so on. There are several tourist attractions in India which people visit during their holidays. Kashmir, Puri, Darjeeling, Kerala, Shillong, Goa, Andaman and Nicobar island are some of those.

Technological Advancements | India is not lagging behind anymore when it comes to technological advancements and science. India has immensely contributed to science and technology in the past few years. Technology has played an important role in boosting India's economy. The growth in this field ponders on the evolution of Indian scientific research. India has contributed on the grounds of astronomy, nuclear physics, astrophysics and many more. Indians take immense pride in their country for its rich diversity and aims to preserve India's heritage.

India During Pandemic

India has the second-largest population in the world and yet it managed the COVID-19 pandemic admirably with its vaccines Covaxin and CoverShield, which protected everyone from the deadly virus. India put a lot of effort towards developing the domestic market with all the Covid-19-related supplies during the pandemic.

India introduced the following protocols and procedures to effectively handle the pandemic situation—

India introduced early bidding procedures and quality assurance protocols.

Efficient supply chain management system was established based on computerised models that help predict cases and hospitalisations, including interprovincial oxygen and intensive care unit requirements based on epidemiological trends.

Expeditious and quality-assured move of COVID products to government e-procurement sites was established which enabled states to access these products at competitive prices without going through a bidding process.

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Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation

Though i am gone, i urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe..

Supported by

John Lewis: Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation

Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe.

By John Lewis

Mr. Lewis, the civil rights leader who died on July 17, wrote this essay shortly before his death, to be published upon the day of his funeral .

W hile my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.

That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, though I was admitted to the hospital the following day. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on.

Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time. I will never ever forget the moment when it became so clear that he could easily have been me. In those days, fear constrained us like an imaginary prison, and troubling thoughts of potential brutality committed for no understandable reason were the bars.

Listen to This Op-Ed

Though I was surrounded by two loving parents, plenty of brothers, sisters and cousins, their love could not protect me from the unholy oppression waiting just outside that family circle. Unchecked, unrestrained violence and government-sanctioned terror had the power to turn a simple stroll to the store for some Skittles or an innocent morning jog down a lonesome country road into a nightmare. If we are to survive as one unified nation, we must discover what so readily takes root in our hearts that could rob Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina of her brightest and best, shoot unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas and choke to death the hopes and dreams of a gifted violinist like Elijah McClain.

Like so many young people today, I was searching for a way out, or some might say a way in, and then I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an old radio. He was talking about the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. He said we are all complicit when we tolerate injustice. He said it is not enough to say it will get better by and by. He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.

Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.

You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time. People on every continent have stood in your shoes, through decades and centuries before you. The truth does not change, and that is why the answers worked out long ago can help you find solutions to the challenges of our time. Continue to build union between movements stretching across the globe because we must put away our willingness to profit from the exploitation of others.

Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.

When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.

John Lewis, the civil rights leader and congressman who died on July 17, wrote this essay shortly before his death.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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Photograph of John Lewis by David Deal/Redux

Loving Your Country Means Teaching Its History Honestly

W hy do you love the United States of America? There is no better time to ask that question than on Independence Day. The answer to that question can and should tell us a great deal about whether our love of country is rooted in a healthy patriotism or a toxic nationalism. The answer to that question can also tell us a great deal about where we stand in one of America’s most intense culture wars, the war over American history.

Where I live, in a deep red part of the country, the fight over history—so vividly covered in TIME’s most recent cover story— is often rooted in fear. Parents are afraid children will not love their country unless they are taught that their country is good. Thus, to learn American history is to learn to be patriots. With that as a backdrop, education about America’s sins is perilous. Negative concepts must be introduced gently, and in precisely the right way, or it will shake the confidence and affection of young minds.

We see this concern quite explicitly in state laws designed to block instruction in critical race theory. One popular provision mandates that “slavery” and “racism” cannot be taught as “anything other than deviations from, betrayals of, or failures to live up to, the authentic founding principles of the United States.” But rooting patriotism in a particular view of the past is to misunderstand what patriotism should represent.

It should not be conditioned on a sense of national supremacism, or even national greatness—but instead on a sense of national home and national community, and the obligations we owe each other to create a more just land.

In his vital book The Four Loves , the Christian writer and theologian C.S. Lewis describes three ways in which people tend to love their nations. The first, and most benign, is what he calls “the love of home”—the love of the place where we live. “As the family offers us the first step beyond self-love,” Lewis writes, “so this offers us the first step beyond family selfishness.”

Moreover, the love of home also produces a sense of fellowship with citizens of other nations. “How can I love my home,” Lewis asks, “without coming to realise that other men, no less rightly, love theirs?”

Lewis then cautions against two other forms of affection, one that is rooted in a “particular attitude to our country’s past” and another that is rooted in the “firm, even prosaic belief that our own nation, in sober fact, has long been, and still is markedly superior to all others.”

Because nations, full of flawed people, invariably commit “shabby and even shameful” acts, rooting love of country in particular narratives or a particular sense of superiority creates a temptation to whitewash the truth, to deceive not so much by commission (actively telling lies) as omission (failing to tell the whole truth.)

For example, several days ago I participated in a fascinating online conversation centered around the question, “When did you first learn about the post-Reconstruction era in the American South?” This was an era of terrifying violence and repression, the era that implemented Jim Crow, and the era that ultimately helped trigger a massive “great migration” where millions of Black Americans fled their homes in the South for cities in the North and West.

I did not learn about these events in my Kentucky public school education. I didn’t learn about, for example, the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 or the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 until I was well in my 40s.

Had I rooted my love of country in the greatness of American history—and there is undeniable greatness—then learning the sheer extent of post-Civil War violent racial oppression would have been deeply disorienting. And it is often disorienting to those who are not taught to stare history in the face, to confront evil and cowardice even as we celebrate virtue and courage.

The terrible realities of 1619—when colonists first brought slaves to American shores—do not negate the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, but they were in direct and often violent tension with each other. And in many ways we live with that tension today. The legacy of centuries of slavery and Jim Crow are not wiped out in the decades of legal and cultural reform since the Civil Rights Act.

A South Carolinan wears the "Stars and Stripes" after the Confederate "Stars and Bars" was lowered from the flagpole in front of the statehouse on July 10, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina.

But we love our country anyway. Why? Not because it is always great—or even always good—but because it is our home. Its citizens are our neighbors. It is our national family. As with any family, loving our family means knowing our family. And yes that means telling our full story, the good, the bad, and the ugly. It means hearing from admirers and critics alike.

We should approach history with a sense of curiosity and security. You won’t make me hate my home. You can, however, motivate me to preserve what is pristine and repair what is broken. You can make me proud of the beauty and sorry for the injustice.

My own family story mirrors the best and worst of our national story. There’s heroism. Ancestors served in Valley Forge and traveled across the ocean to fight in two world wars. There’s betrayal. In the Civil War, the vast majority of my family wore gray. I’m grateful for their virtues, and I’m convicted by their sins. Together, they help motivate me to seek justice in my own turn on this earth.

So teach it all. Good and bad. Ugly and beautiful. Teach it all and understand that the greatest form of patriotism doesn’t depend on cultivating a national narrative but rather in appreciating our obligations to our national home. History lessons shouldn’t be designed to create patriots. They should be designed to educate citizens—secure in the knowledge that well-educated citizens are most apt to learn to love their nation well.

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Moral Values

Essay on My Duty Towards My Country for Students and Children | PDF Download

Herewith, We have composed My Duties Towards My Nation Essay. Being a citizen of a Society, State, or Nation every individual is required to perform some duties of Citizenship. First of all to perform the individual duties, one must be aware of his/her duties towards a nation. To have an awareness of one duty towards a nation, everyone has to refer to this complete article.

Essay on My Duty Towards My country

My Duties Towards My Nation Essay for Students and Children in English: The Fundamental duties of every citizen of India were embodied or added by the 42nd amendment under Article 51A, Part 4A of the Indian Constitution. As per the Constitution of India, my Duties towards my Nation is-

To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem;
To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom;
To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India;
To defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic, and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;
To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
To protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures;
To develop the scientific temper, humanism, and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
To safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity, so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavor and achievement;
To provide opportunities for education to his child (Who is a parent or guardian,), or as the case may be, ward between the age of six to fourteen years.

My Duties towards My Nation:

Being a citizen of India it’s my legal responsibility towards my nation to respect the National Flag and National Anthem, to value, respect, and follow the noble ideas, to protect the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India, to protect, preserve and improve the natural environment (forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife), to protect and preserve cultural heritage sites, to pay taxes with honesty promptly, to guard the country and maintain the spirit of a common brotherhood, etc.,

As a good and responsible citizen of India, I have to perform my moral responsibilities towards my nation to bring gender equality and quality education, to remove poverty, to establish good governance, to remove all the social issues, to abolish child labor, and give healthy youths to the nations. I have to respect everyone and I should treat fellow citizens like my brothers and sisters. I should maintain the cleanliness in my country. I have to strive for the economic growth and development of the nation, I should obey all the rules and regulations enforced by the law, I have to respect the Authorities of my Country, I should not violate any law and motivate others to do the same, I should not bear any crime against anyone in my nation and I should raise my voice against corruption, I should be honest and loyal to every citizen, I should put my consistent efforts to keep my surroundings clean and green, etc.,

My Duty towards My Country: Quotes

“Ordinary man Earns responsibility towards his family but extraordinary man earns duty towards his nation”- Amit Kalantri
Caring for our veterans is the duty of a grateful nation. Unfortunately, the Bush administration and congressional Republicans have not lived up to this duty. -Patty Murray
It is better to do one’s duty, however defective it may be than to follow the duty of another, however, well one may perform it. He who does his duty as his nature reveals it never sins. -Bhagavad Gita No nation ought to keep a navy larger than is necessary to do police duty.-George William Norris
The statesman must bridge the gap between his nation’s experience and his vision.-Henry A Kissinger
A Failure in this Duty did once involve our Nation in all the Horrors of Rebellion and Civil War.-Charles Inglis
It is better to do one’s duty, however defective it may be than to follow the duty of another, however, well one may perform it. He who does his duty as his nature reveals it never sins.-Lao Tzu
All Indians have a sacred duty to guarantee Social Security benefits to our nation’s senior citizens.-Steve King
Once imbued with the idea of a mission, a great nation easily assumes that it has the means as well as the duty to do God’s work.-J William Fulbright
We must watch over the actions and activities of this government and insist that, in words as well as in deeds, the interests of our constituency primarily and of the Nation ultimately are served.-Diane Watson
Many writers upon the science of political economy have declared that it is the duty of a nation first to encourage the creation of wealth; and second, to direct and control its distribution. All such theories are delusive. -Leland Stanford
Mr. Chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens: I am honored by the support of this convention for vice president of the United States.
I accept the duty to help lead our nation out of a job crisis and back to prosperity and I know we can do this.-Paul Ryan

My Duties Towards My Country: Images

Conclusion: I want to conclude this My Duties Towards My Country Essay for Students and Children in English that every citizen must perform his legal and moral responsibilities to maintain peace, prosperity, and progress of the nation. Indeed to say that Performing duties towards the nation is the respect of a citizen towards his/her nation.

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For Love of Country: An Essay On Patriotism and Nationalism

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In scholarly literature and common language, patriotism is often conflated with nationalism, which is associated with an exclusive, intolerant, and irrational attachment to one's nation. As the history of Fascism and Nazism shows, patriotism understood as nationalism can have disastrous consequences. Nevertheless, this book argues that the language of patriotism must be distinguished from that of nationalism. While nationalism values the cultural, religious, and ethnic unity of a people, patriotism is the love of a people's common liberty, which gives us the strength to resist oppression by the selfish ambitions of particular individuals. In addition, patriotism is a rational love, since civic virtue is instrumental to the preservation of law and order, which is the prerequisite of our liberty. The question we must address is how to make our particular love of one's own country compatible with the universal principles of liberty and justice. Through a historical interpretation of patriotism from classical antiquity to contemporary debates, Viroli explores the possibility of patriotism without nationalism; i.e. one that emphasizes political unity based on the republican commitment to the common good, rather than cultural, religious, or ethnic homogeneity.

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Patriotism Essay

Essay on Patriotism

Patriotism is more than just a word; it's a feeling that resides deep within the hearts of individuals who share a common bond with their country. In simple terms, patriotism is the love and devotion one has for their homeland. This essay explores the essence of patriotism, its significance in our daily lives, and how it contributes to the overall growth and prosperity of a nation.

Defining Patriotism

At its core, patriotism is about love and loyalty to one's country. It's the recognition of the values, culture, and shared history that bind people together. This sentiment is not limited to grand gestures or extraordinary acts; it often finds expression in simple, everyday actions that collectively contribute to the betterment of society.

Love for the Land

Patriotism begins with a genuine love for the land one calls home. It's about appreciating the natural beauty, diverse landscapes, and resources that make a country unique. Whether it's the rolling hills, expansive plains, or the sparkling waters that surround us, patriotism involves recognizing and cherishing the inherent beauty of our homeland.

Cultural Identity

A strong sense of patriotism is closely tied to cultural identity. It's the pride in the traditions, languages, and customs that have been passed down through generations. Embracing and celebrating cultural diversity fosters a sense of unity, enriching the fabric of the nation with a tapestry of different backgrounds and experiences.

Shared History

Patriotism is also rooted in a shared history that forms the foundation of a nation. Understanding the struggles, triumphs, and challenges faced by previous generations fosters a sense of continuity and responsibility. By acknowledging the sacrifices made by those who came before us, we honor their legacy and contribute to the ongoing narrative of our country.

Individual Responsibility and Civic Duty

One of the essential aspects of patriotism is the recognition of individual responsibility and civic duty. It's not just about enjoying the benefits of living in a particular country; it's about actively participating in its growth and development. This can range from voting in elections to volunteering in local communities, each act contributing to the collective well-being of the nation.

Patriotism in Daily Life

While grand displays of patriotism, such as national celebrations and parades, are noteworthy, it is in the small, everyday actions that the true essence of patriotism is often found. Acts of kindness, respect for fellow citizens, and a commitment to upholding shared values are all expressions of patriotism in daily life.

Respecting Differences

A patriotic individual understands the importance of unity in diversity. Respecting the differences among fellow citizens, whether they be cultural, religious, or ideological, is a testament to a mature and inclusive patriotism. It involves fostering an environment where everyone feels valued and accepted, contributing to a stronger and more harmonious society.

Environmental Stewardship

Caring for the environment is another manifestation of patriotism. Recognizing that the health of the land directly impacts the well-being of its inhabitants, a patriotic person takes measures to protect and preserve natural resources. This can involve sustainable practices, conservation efforts, and a commitment to reducing one's ecological footprint.

Education and Knowledge

Promoting education and knowledge is a patriotic act that invests in the future of a nation. By valuing learning, supporting educational initiatives, and encouraging intellectual curiosity, individuals contribute to the development of a knowledgeable and skilled population. A well-educated society is better equipped to face challenges and drive innovation, ensuring the continued progress of the nation.

Economic Contribution

Contributing to the economic prosperity of the country is an integral part of patriotism. This involves not only being a responsible consumer but also actively participating in the workforce. Whether through entrepreneurship, hard work, or innovation, individuals play a crucial role in building a robust and thriving economy that benefits everyone.

National Pride and Unity

Patriotism fosters a sense of national pride and unity. This pride extends beyond individual accomplishments to a collective celebration of the achievements of the entire nation. It's about recognizing and highlighting what makes the country unique and exceptional, fostering a shared sense of identity that transcends individual differences.

Challenges and Criticisms

While patriotism is generally seen as a positive force, it is essential to acknowledge that blind nationalism and exclusionary practices can emerge if taken to extremes. A healthy patriotism embraces diversity and encourages open dialogue, recognizing that different perspectives contribute to the strength and resilience of a nation.

Patriotism: A Historical Perspective

An essay on patriotism seems incomplete without delving into the historical context, particularly the role of freedom fighters. They are the heroes of times when the quest for freedom ignited the spirits of individuals who sought independence in economic, social, political, and cultural aspects.

India's Patriots

The history of India’s freedom struggle shines through the immortal courage of heroic personalities like Veer Damodar Savarkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and many more. These great patriots fought for the country and against the atrocities perpetrated on the countrymen.

Singing slogans of ‘Vande Mataram’, ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, ‘Jay Hind’, these patriots went to the cross for the country with a smile on their faces and pride in their hearts. A very inspiring quote by Swami Vivekanand, says, “Do you love the country? Then, come, let us struggle for higher and better things; look not back, no, not even if you see the dearest and nearest cry. Look no back, but forward!”

The gist of Swami Vivekanand’s thought is that when you have started your journey on the path of the country’s welfare, then there must not be any looking back. All you need is to create a list of the priority things that you want to do for your country. Once you accomplish one thing just move ahead with the next one. The slogans like Jai Hind or Bharat Mata ki Jai work as your motivation on the path of doing something for the country. So, are you prepared to do something special for the nation?

Patriotism in Different Roles

People express their patriotism in different ways and in different roles. Soldiers, scientists, doctors, politicians, and other citizens express their patriotism through their hard work in their profession.

Indian soldiers are role models for the youth of India. Highly scrupulous, positively secular, completely apolitical, with an ethos of working hard, simple needs and frugal habits, a soldier is the epitome of courage and unflinching devotion to the country.

Mangalyaan or Mars Orbiter Mission is one of the best examples of scientists' devotion toward the country. In the pandemic situation, the hardship of doctors and nurses proves their devotion towards their country.

Patriotism does not always mean that you have to sacrifice your life for your country; contributing good service towards the country and its people is also equivalent to your sacrifice.

Mathunny Mathews has set a great example of patriotism. Mathews was an Indian, a resident in Kuwait, and was one of the people credited with the safe airlift evacuation of about 1, 70,000 Indians from Kuwait during the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Only celebrating the flag hoisting ceremony on 15th August and 26th January, posing for photos with the flag, and posting on social media doesn’t imply that you are a true patriot. A real patriot is a person who has a true love for his country. He fights against the atrocities upon his countrymen by insiders or outsiders of the country.

Patriotism by Freedom Fighters

An essay on patriotism seems incomplete without the mention of freedom fighters. They are the heroes of the times when we all wanted to get freedom. We all need freedom in economic, social, political, and cultural aspects. These were the people who did not give a second thought before offering complete sacrifice to stay in a free country.

Patriotism is a simple yet profound celebration of love for our country. It encompasses a range of sentiments, from appreciation of the land and culture to a commitment to individual responsibility and civic duty. Patriotism is not a static concept; it evolves as societies grow and change. By embodying the principles of patriotism in our daily lives, we contribute to the collective well-being of our nation, ensuring a brighter future for generations to come. In the end, patriotism is about recognizing the beauty in our shared journey and working together to build a stronger, more united society. Explore the meaning of patriotism, its significance, and the diverse ways in which people express their love for their country. Learn about the role of patriotism in the lives of individuals, from freedom fighters to modern-day citizens, and understand how it contributes to the development of a nation.

FAQs on Patriotism Essay

1. How is patriotism important for a country?

Patriotism helps in promoting brotherhood and belongingness among the citizens of a country. Corruption takes a back seat when the feeling of fraternity exists among the citizens. Also, the love for one’s country creates a feeling of responsibility towards the countrymen and brings forth the best of their services, in various fields.

For example, when an IAS officer is a true patriot at heart, he will ensure that there is no corruption in his immediate system and best efforts are being delivered by his team. Similarly, doctors, soldiers, scientists, and people from every walk of life put their best efforts into serving their countrymen, when they have patriotism deep down in their hearts.

2. What are the important points to be written in an essay on patriotism?

The following outlines will help you write an essay on patriotism in your own words.

What is the meaning of patriotism in simple words?

How is patriotism different from nationalism?

Who were the great patriots of India?

Role of patriotic personalities in India’s freedom struggle.

Showcasing patriotism on Independence Day and Republic Day through social media posts is not always a sign of true patriotism.

How does patriotism play a role in the development of a nation?

These are the basic points for this essay topic, and you may add more examples of patriotic personalities and emphasize the role of patriotism in safeguarding the interests of a nation, in your essay, depending upon the required word count.

3. How can I express my patriotism?

There are many ways to express your patriotism. Some common examples include:

Participating in civic duties, such as voting and volunteering.

Obeying the law and respecting the national symbols.

Educating yourself about your country's history and culture.

Supporting your country's athletes and teams in international competitions.

Contributing to social causes and community development efforts.

4. Is patriotism the same as nationalism?

No, patriotism and nationalism are not the same. Patriotism is a positive feeling of love and pride for one's country, while nationalism can be a more extreme and exclusionary ideology that emphasizes the superiority of one's own nation over others.

5. Can patriotism be dangerous?

Yes, patriotism can be dangerous if it is used to justify harmful actions, such as discrimination against other countries or groups of people. It is important to remember that patriotism should be combined with other values, such as tolerance, respect for human rights, and a commitment to international cooperation.

6. What are some good examples of patriotism in history?

There are many examples of people who have expressed patriotism in positive ways throughout history. Some famous examples include:

Martin Luther King Jr.'s fight for civil rights in the United States.

Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent resistance to British rule in India.

Nelson Mandela's fight against apartheid in South Africa.

The volunteers who helped rebuild communities after natural disasters.

7. What are some common arguments against patriotism?

Some people argue that patriotism is outdated, irrelevant, or even harmful. Some common arguments against patriotism include:

It can be used to justify war and violence.

It can lead to blind obedience and a lack of critical thinking.

It can be used to exclude and discriminate against minority groups.

It can be a form of tribalism that creates divisions between people.

Essay on Role of Youths in Nation Building for Students and Children

500 words essay on role of youths in nation building.

It is a well-known fact that the youth of any country is a great asset. They are indeed the future of the country and represent it at every level. The role of youths in nation-building is more important than you might think. In other words, the intelligence and work of the youth will take the country on the pathway of success. As every citizen is equally responsible, the youth is too. They are the building blocks of a country.

Role of Youth

The youth is important because they will be our future. Today they might be our partners, tomorrow they will go on to become leaders. The youths are very energetic and enthusiastic. They have the ability to learn and adapt to the environment . Similarly, they are willing to learn and act on it as well to achieve their goals.

Our youth can bring social reform and improvement in society. We cannot make do without the youth of a country. Furthermore, the nation requires their participation to achieve the goals and help in taking the country towards progress.

Likewise, we see how the development of any country requires active participation from the youth. It does not matter which field we want to progress in, whether it is the technical field or sports field, youth is needed. It is up to us how to help the youth in playing this role properly. We must make all the youth aware of their power and the role they have to play in nation-building.

Ways to Help the Youth

There are many ways in which we can help the youth of our country to achieve their potential. For that, the government must introduce programs that will help in fighting off issues like unemployment, poor education institutes and more to help them prosper without any hindrance.

Similarly, citizens must make sure to encourage our youth to do better in every field. When we constantly discourage our youth and don’t believe in them, they will lose their spark. We all must make sure that they should be given the wind beneath their wings to fly high instead of bringing them down by tying chains to their wings.

Furthermore, equal opportunities must be provided for all irrespective of caste, creed, gender , race, religion and more. There are various issues of nepotism and favoritism that is eating away the actual talent of the country. This must be done away with as soon as possible. We must make sure that every youth has the chance to prove themselves worthy and that must be offered equally to all.

In short, our youth has the power to build a nation so we must give them the opportunity. They are the future and they have the perspective which the older generations lack. Their zeal and enthusiasm must be channelized properly to help a nation prosper and flourish.

FAQ on Essay on Role of Youths in Nation Building

Q.1 What role does youth play in nation-building?

A.1 The youth plays a great role in nation-building. It has the power to help a country develop and move towards progress. It also is responsible for bringing social reform within a country. The youth of a country determine the future of a nation.

Q.2 How can we help youth?

A.2 As well all know youth is facing too many problems nowadays. We need to give them equal opportunities in every field so they can succeed well. They must be given all the facilities and also encouraged to take the challenge to achieve success.

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Article contents

Nationalism.

Renaud-Philippe Garner Renaud-Philippe Garner Department of Political Science, Aarhus University
https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.2039
Published online: 18 May 2022

Nationalism is a set of beliefs about the nation: its origins, nature, and value. For nationalists, we are particular social animals. On the one hand, our lives are structured by a profound sense of togetherness and similarity: We share languages and memories. On the other hand, our lives are characterized by deep divisions and differences: We draw borders and contest historical narratives. For nationalism, humanity is neither a single species-wide community nor an aggregation of individuals but divided into distinct and unique nations. At the heart of nationalism are claims about our identity and needs as social animals that form the basis of a series of normative claims. To answer the question “what should I do” or “how should I live,” one must first answer the questions “who am I” and “where do I belong.” Nationalism says that our membership in a nation takes precedence and ultimately must guide our choices and actions. In terms of guiding choice and action, nationalist thought proposes a specific form of partiality. Rather than treat the interests or claims of persons and groups impartially, the nationalist demands that one favors one’s own, either as a group or as individual persons. While nationalism does not claim to be the only form of partiality, it does claim to outrank all others: Loyalty or obligations to other groups or identities are subordinated to national loyalty. Together, these claims function as a political ideology. Nationalism identifies the nation as the central form of community and elevates it to the object of supreme loyalty. This fundamental concern for the nation and its flourishing can be fragmented into narrower aims or objectives: national autonomy, national identity, and national unity. Debate on nationalism tends to divide into two clusters, one descriptive and one normative, that only make partial contact. For historians and sociologists, the questions are explanatory: What is nationalism, what is a nation, how are they related, and when and how did they emerge? Philosophers and political theorists focus on the justification of nationalism or nationalist claims: Is national loyalty defensible, what are the limits of this loyalty, how do we rank our loyalties, and does nationalism conflict with human rights?

nationalism
perennialism
civic nation
ethnic nation
liberal nationalism
globalization

Introduction: A Contested Concept

Nationalism is not a consensual idea: We might say that it is doubly contested. On the one hand, there is little consensus on what it is . Primarily, historians and sociologists have conducted descriptive research: They argue for a definition of nationalism as well as an account of its emergence, and they advance typologies of nationalism or stages of its transformation. Arguably, the central debate concerns the origins of nationalism and nations: When did they emerge and why did they do so? Modernists claim that nationalism emerged in the past few centuries and created nations: The ideology invents a new and artificial form of community. Their critics, often experts on premodern eras, either respond that nations are far older than the modernist paradigm allows or that they are transformations of older communities rather than ex nihilo creations.

These debates are not merely about dates. Behind the answer to the question “when did nationalism first emerge?” we find questions like “what is nationalism?” “what is its function?” and “which conditions made it possible or inevitable?” Even among those who agree on an approximate timeline or place for its emergence, we find a range of competing explanations on what produced nationalism: new economic conditions, political transformations, or the power of new ideas.

Nor is there any consensus on the precise relationship between nationalism and nations. For some, nations predate nationalism but are transformed by it, while for others, nationalism creates nations, and for others yet, nations are the modern transformation of prenational communities.

On the other hand, we find intense disagreement about the morality or justification of nationalism. While some scholars seem ambivalent, noting both achievements and failures, and others defend some version of it, there is no gainsaying that nationalism is the object of sustained criticism. The normative debate is further complicated by the fact that what philosophers call “nationalism” only partially overlaps with what historians and sociologists mean by it. Many philosophers and political theorists seem interested in national partiality— the idea that one can, should, or must be partial to fellow nationals—rather than an ideology that orders domestic life and the international order.

Generally, the seminal works on nationalism are explanatory accounts. In addition, to this difference in age and output, there is a question of reliance. Normative debates depend on descriptive ones. Those making normative arguments tend to draw on the descriptive research—from their conception of nationalism to the extent to which they think the nation is artificial. Consequently, this entry focuses on central descriptive and normative questions, with a longer examination of the former. It begins with a clarificatory section (“ Nationalism or Patriotism? ”) that distinguishes the two eponymous concepts and provides a “core” definition of nationalism. The section “ The Origins and Nature of Nationalism ” provides a critical survey of the central descriptive debate: How and when did nationalism emerge? This section divides into subsections: “ Modernism and Its Proponents ” as well as “ Antimodernism .” The section “ Conceptions of the Nation ” addresses the question of what kind of community the nation is through a critical discussion of the ethnic–civic distinction. Normative questions are considered in the section “ The Justification of Nationalism .” The subsection “ Liberal Nationalism and Its Defense ” distinguishes liberal nationalism from core nationalism before turning to prominent arguments made in favor of and against the former.

Nationalism or Patriotism?

While nationalism and patriotism are sometimes treated as synonymous, there are good reasons to differentiate them. First, patriotism is far older than nationalism. While modernists all believe that nationalism is recent, none contest Greek patriotism during the Medic Wars ( Kohn, 1944 ). This chronological difference depends upon a more basic one: Nationalism and patriotism belong to different categories. Typically, patriotism is viewed as a love for or loyalty to one’s community, whether an emotion or character trait ( Kedourie, 1960 ; Kleinig et al., 2015 ; MacIntyre, 1984 ; Oldenquist, 1982 ). 1 Either way, patriotism is neither an ideology nor a form of politics. Understood as an emotion or a character trait, we can grasp the futility of asking when it first appeared: We do not ask when courage was invented or which society discovered love. 2

This distinction also helps explain why the two phenomena are related and sometimes conflated. If patriotism is older and more basic, it makes sense that nationalism draws on this emotion or character trait that arises naturally within human communities. Conversely, it is unsurprising that those who cultivate love and loyalty for their community are drawn to an ideology centered on it.

Nationalism, however, cannot be reduced to sentiment or a character trait. The standard view is that it is an ideology, whatever else it might be ( Billig, 1995 ; Eriksen, 2002 ; Kedourie, 1960 ; Smith, 1991 , 1998 , 2010 ). 3 Despite a wide variety of nationalisms and nationalist thinkers, we can still identify a few core propositions that were shared by seminal thinkers as well as by nationalist movements. We can refer to this as “core” or “classical nationalism.”

Nationalism begins with a claim about the nature and order of the world: It is divided into distinct and unique nations (i). 4 Then it adds a claim about the human good: Human freedom (or flourishing) is dependent upon membership in a nation (ii). Upon these claims about the world and our nature, they add normative claims. The nation, and only the nation, is the source of political legitimacy (iii). Nations must be autonomous and express their characters (iv). Finally, national loyalty outranks all other loyalties (v) ( Kedourie, 1960 ; Smith, 1991 , 1998 , 2010 ). 5

Together, these propositions can explain a great deal of what we call nationalism. 6 For instance, the quest for authenticity depends upon (i) and (iv). If nations are not unique, then it is hard to understand why authenticity should matter. Nor does it make much sense to stress the value of self-expression is what is being expressed is banal or common. Similarly, the nationalist aim of achieving statehood largely follows from (iii) and (iv). On the one hand, if all alien rule is illegitimate, then why should a nation accept it? On the other hand, it seems plausible that the best guarantee of autonomy and self-expression is state sovereignty. Or consider how nationalism is associated with mass mobilization and self-sacrifice. This is in part a function of (v). These projects are justified by an appeal to rank-ordering; if national loyalty reigns supreme, then all other loyalties must be subordinate.

In sum, while nationalist thinkers and nationalist movements present us with additions or iterations, these five beliefs capture much of what is shared. When one speaks about the age of nationalism or its spread, one is invariably speaking about some or all of these propositions. 7

The Origins and Nature of Nationalism

Since the mid- 20th century , the origins and nature of nationalism have been fiercely debated between modernists and their critics. While the former view has emerged as the dominant paradigm, steady criticism has produced notable rival views.

Modernism developed as a rejection of previous scholarship. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries , school manuals and scholarship presented nations as ancient, even immemorial. History was taught as a multimillennia narrative of nations and their great members. For example, Germans were taught that their nation long predated unification under Otto von Bismarck. The Hermannsdenkmal— a 19th-century monument celebrating the victory of Arminius, a 1st-century warlord, over the Romans at Teutoburger Forest—embodies this belief in continuity between contemporary Germans and their alleged ancestors ( Grosby, 2005 ).

Modernism and Its Proponents

Nationalism is not the awakening of nations to self-consciousness: it invents nations where they do not exist—but it does need some pre-existing differentiating marks to work on, even if, as indicated, these are purely negative. ( Gellner, 1964 , p. 168)

For modernists, nationalism and nations are products of modernity, even necessary features of it. They emerge, together, sometime between the English Revolution ( Greenfeld, 1992 ; Kohn, 1940 ) or Fichte’s Addresses to the German Nation ( Kedourie, 1960 ). Central to modernism is the relationship between nationalism and nations: Nationalism invents nations. The latter are not organic communities. Unlike families or religious communities, they have not and cannot emerge anywhere, any time. The nation is created by nationalism, which in turn is the product of a particular set of sociohistorical circumstances.

This shared belief is also the point of departure for deep disagreement. Which features of modernity best explain the emergence of nationalism and the invention of nations? There are roughly five kinds of answers to this question: cultural, economic, political, ideological, and radical constructivism.

Modern man is not loyal to a monarch or a land or a faith, whatever he may say, but to a culture. ( Gellner, 1983 , p. 36)

Primarily associated with Ernest Gellner, the cultural view claims that modernization created nationalism, which in turn created nations, out of necessity ( Gellner, 1964 , 1973 , 1983 ). The disruption of premodern life caused by industrialization made it necessary to produce a homogeneous culture that would allow workers to communicate independently of context. To overcome fragmented local premodern cultures, one needs an overarching culture: a national culture. For this reason, a high culture is constructed and later a mass education system is devised to ensure its uniform transmission. Nationalism is a product of necessity: It constructs a new form of identity and community as a response to urban uprooting and industrialization. The dislocating effects of modernity require a refashioning of culture and identity.

People is all they have got: this is the essence of the underdevelopment dilemma itself. ( Nairn, 1977 , p. 100)

A rival view explains the origins of nationalism by appealing to another modern phenomenon: capitalism. For theorists like Tom Nairn, nationalism is a strategic response to the uneven spread of capitalism and the power that it provides ( Nairn, 1977 ). The unequal development and spread of capitalism distribute resources and power unequally: There are centers that benefited from the development of capitalism and there are poorer peripheries. Peripheral elites design an ideology that takes advantage of their only abundant resource: people. And to effectively mobilize and motivate those who do not share their class or interests, these peripheral elites must create a powerful sense of belonging. The solution is to draw on popular beliefs and practices to create a new interclass community: the nation. Thus, economic variants of modernism explain the advent of nationalism in terms of recent economic change, namely, capitalism.

On these views, nationalism is both a form of elite manipulation and transformation. The elites must construct a new sense of community to persuade the masses to endorse their priorities and projects. Yet, they must also change; they must become conversant in a language that draws on popular culture, its myths, and symbols, to mobilize this sense of interclass community.

But the clarity of focus on the nation as coterminous with the state cries out for a predominantly political explanation. ( Mann, 1995 , p. 48)

Yet another variant considers the territorial state to be the best explanation for the advent of nationalist ideology. Bluntly put, political changes are what call for a new political ideology. Nationalism emerges within the past few centuries because it is intimately linked to the modern state. The latter is not a collection of fiefdoms or local power structures but a stable administrative structure, centered in a capital, ruling over well-defined territories ( Giddens, 1985 ).

Here too modernity is cast as a disruptive force and nationalism is part and parcel of a response to it. Whatever else it disrupts, modernity destroys premodern polities and political frameworks. Instead of drawing on religious symbols or myths of descent, nationalism is the attachment to those symbols or representations of the modern state such as citizenship.

Other political variants of modernism emphasize interstate competition and the role that militarization plays ( Mann, 1986 ; Tilly, 1975 ). Still, the argument is essentially the same: Nationalism is created by modern states to help them function competitively and effectively in domestic or international affairs. Either way, it is a largely psychological phenomenon, a special esprit de corps tailor-made for the inhabitants of these new large administrative states.

Again, since a nation, ipso facto, must speak an original language, its speech must be cleansed of foreign accretions and borrowings, since the purer the language, the more natural it is, and the easier it becomes for the nation to realise itself, and to increase its freedom. ( Kedourie, 1960 , p. 67)

A fourth variant considers nationalism to be the response to the discontentment brought by modernity. Powerfully articulated by Elie Kedourie, this view presents nationalism as a civic religion, complete with a narrative of the fall, a path to redemption, and exhortations to sacrifice and purification. This creed was birthed by disillusioned marginal German intellectuals and then exported worldwide ( Kedourie, 1960 , 1971 ).

Collective humiliation and powerlessness are to be explained by national disunity, loss of identity, and autonomy. Like ancient Hebrews explaining their political subjugation in terms of their sinful ways, the nationalist blames contemporary discontentment on a failure to honor and safeguard one’s unique and distinct nation. The solution is national revival: The nation must be reunited, autonomy restored, and national identity restored to its authentic self.

Unlike other variants of modernism that see nationalism as the creation of elites seeking to secure the rising power structures or to provide the necessary social identity for the changing times, this view of nationalism as civic religion is invented by powerless members of society.

No surprise then that the search was on, so to speak, for a new way of linking fraternity, power and time meaningfully together. Nothing perhaps more precipitated this search, nor made it more fruitful, than print-capitalism, which made it possible for rapidly growing numbers of people to think about themselves, and to relate themselves to other, in profoundly new ways. ( Anderson, 1983/2006 , p. 36)

Finally, there are radical constructivist accounts that emphasize the artificiality of the nation: Nationalism is a narrative and the nation is a cultural artifact. For instance, Benedict Anderson has famously argued that changes in terms of how we conceptualize time, the combination of the printing press and capitalism, as well as political change meant that we could imagine new forms of community in which large groups of people can simultaneously imagine themselves as equal members ( Anderson, 1983/2006 ).

The convergence of factors explains what is needed for the narrative to take form and succeed. Print capitalism provides both the material means and an economic incentive to help construct and sustain reading publics, united by a vernacular language. Yet, the impetus to tell this story, to imagine such communities, comes from disaffected civil servants. Here we find echoes of the ideological account: Disaffected functionaries in Latin America came to resent their careers stunted by imperial metropoles. In short, the construction of nations through the nationalist narrative is made possible by several factors: new technology, changing ideas, and a class of people motivated to reimagine their sense of belonging.

Modernism is an attractive paradigm. Undeniably, nationalism spread and came to prominence in the past few centuries. Moreover, the nation-state and the notion of popular sovereignty certainly do not appear at home in the premodern world of multinational empires and dynastic power. And its advocates are right to show that much of what has been called ancient or authentic by nationalists was, in fact, neither. 8 Yet, for all its strengths, the modernist paradigm faces important hurdles.

The proliferation of variants reveals deep disagreement; irreconcilable modernisms cast doubt on the promise of modernism. For example, while modernists agree that the nation is a recent creation, they cannot agree on who created it. If nationalism invented nations, who invented nationalism?

For authors who defend economic modernism, it is the invention of peripheral elites who need a new form of mobilization to outcompete richer and more powerful elites ( Hechter, 1975 ; Nairn, 1977 ). Similarly, for those who consider nationalism as a form of political messianism, it is the invention of the marginal and frustrated among the educated and the skilled ( Kedourie, 1960 , 1971 ). Yet, conceiving nationalism as a rational strategy for weaker parties cannot be reconciled with the claim that nationalism emerges as the state’s official ideology to reinforce militarization or with the view that it is devised by elites for the sake of modernization and industrialization ( Gellner, 1964 , 1983 ; Tilly, 1975 ). One is left wondering whether nationalism is the ideology of the downtrodden who seek liberation or the ideology of the ruling class who seek consolidation.

There are deeper problems for modernist accounts. All of them purport to offer a unitary explanation and yet none do. Each variant draws its strength from its ability to compellingly explain certain cases, but none can explain all the central let alone the plausible cases. While economic theories rightly show how nationalism can be a strategy in an unequal contest, this hardly proves that nationalism is the consequence of such conditions: Underdevelopment often fails to produce nationalism, and nationalism regularly emerges among the (over)developed ( Connor, 1994 ). Similarly, explaining nationalism as a response to industrialization fails to account for those cases where the former precedes the latter ( Smith, 1983 ). And political accounts of nationalism fail to explain why nationalist energies can focus on something besides the state or sovereignty. If nationalism is only about the pursuit or consolidation of state power, what are we to make of cultural nationalism: artistic renaissances, campaigns for moral regeneration, and attempts to transform through education? And given that cultural and political nationalism feed off each other, why focus solely on the latter ( Hutchinson, 1987 , 1994 )?

Finally, the modernist paradigm struggles to persuasively answer important questions. Even if modern societies require new forms of community, this does not explain why the nation arouses such powerful and awe-inspiring passions. Put otherwise, how can instrumental accounts, which consider the nation an artificial community invented to serve some further end, explain its motivational power? Some modernists try to explain the power of nationalism by pointing to its self-referential quality: It is a form of self-worship ( Breuilly, 1993 ). But such replies must inevitably fail. Even if group worship provides great motivational power, this fails to answer a comparative question: Why is the national identity so much more powerful than other available identities? Why should an artificial and recent form of self-worship prove so effective?

Antimodernism

The appearance of the nation and its continuation over time is not a historically uniform process that can be attributed to one cause, such as the requirements of industrial capitalism, or confined to one period of time, such as the last several centuries. ( Grosby, 2005 , p. 58)

The primary fault line between modernists and their critics concerns not the origins of nationalism as an ideology but the nature of nations and their antiquity. Rather than conceive of nations as artificial and recent, the critics of modernism consider them to be either ancient forms of community or transformations of premodern forms of community.

Either way, critics of modernism tend to stress the extent to which nations must build upon dimensions of human identity that are far from modern, such as ethnicity or religion ( Armstrong, 1982 ; Gat, 2012 ; Grosby, 1991 , 2005 ; Hastings, 1997 ; Reynolds, 1983 , 1984 ; Smith, 1986 , 1991 , 1998 , 2000 ).

The argument tends to center on an existential claim: Is it or is it not the case that a nation has existed before modernity? For modernists, the answer must be negative. Indeed, if a single nation precedes nationalism, then the former can exist independently of the latter. And this demonstrates that nationalism neither invents the nation as a type of community nor all tokens of it. For this reason, considerable time and energy are expended to show that some nations, or at the very least one nation, existed before modernity.

We should distinguish between two antimodernist strands. Primordialism is the belief that nations are natural: They have always existed, or their origins are lost in time. While such views were more common in the 19th century , there are late- 20th-century attempts to defend primordialism. Sociobiological primordialism considers the nation as an extension of kin selection; our national ties are the product of our evolutionary inheritance and our tendency to favor those who are genetically similar ( van den Berghe, 1978 ). However, such views quickly break down. If the nation is primarily about kin selection, then it makes little sense to cooperate with and sacrifice oneself for those who are genetically unrelated. Even ethnic nations are bound by myths of common descent rather than actual genetic proximity.

Alternatively, we can speak of “cultural primordialism” when (national) culture is treated as a social given, something inherited that arouses powerful and nearly irresistible passions, even if this is only how we feel or perceive these ties ( Geertz, 1973 ). However, this view quickly falters. While “given” or “primordial” ties can be powerful, they are also subject to change, revision, and rejection. Moreover, the theory does not explain the power of these ties so much as rename them. Why should the given be stronger than the chosen?

Far more influential, perennialism accepts that nationalism is a modern ideology, that nations are historical objects—they appear at a point in time—but rejects that they were invented by nationalism in the modern era. 9 We can distinguish between perennialists who believe that the nation is persistent and those who argue that it is best understood as a recurrent phenomenon. The former is the idea that nations, or at least some of them, are continuous intergenerational communities that have existed without interruption while the latter is the view of nations as recurring, going in and out of existence throughout the ages ( Smith, 1998 ).

Because the critics of modernity do not claim that all or most nations are ancient, they readily concede that Tanzania is quite modern. Instead, the debate focuses on the antiquity of specific nations that serve as litmus tests. Thus, Adrian Hastings argued that England had already emerged as a functional national community during the Middle Ages. For him, there is an English national identity, modeled on the biblical model of Israel: a united people keenly aware of their identity, possessing a language and territory, a government, and a shared religion ( Hastings, 1997 ). Later developments, like the Reformation and the spread of a vernacular-language Bible, might reinforce and transform English identity, but what is being changed must be older than these transformations.

Naturally, if the English nation is modeled on something older, then the antiquity of the nation can be pressed further. Perhaps the hardest case for the modernist paradigm is that of ancient Israel. Here we are faced with what appears to be the uninterrupted intergenerational community that was conscious of its distinct identity, as well as possessed a unique language and religion and a homeland. In addition, they shared memories of an independent political community and rebellions against foreign occupation ( Grosby, 1991 ).

Again, cases such as medieval England or ancient Israel are designed to show that while premodern nations might be exceptional, modernism is wrong to assert that nationalism invents the concept of the nation and all instances of it. In a way, we might say that critics of modernity imagine nations like democracy: Most democracies are quite young, and the success of the idea is recent, but that does not show that democracy is a modern invention.

While radical critics of modernism argue that some nations have existed long before modernity, others present a moderate critique. Nations might be recent, but they are continuous with premodern communities. It is reasonable to understand these critics as rejecting the radical modernism of Eric Hobsbawm, who denies any serious continuity between older forms of community, ethnic or religious, for instance, and the nations invented by nationalism ( Hobsbawm, 1990 ; Hobsbawm & Ranger, 1983 ).

These moderate critics argue that nationalism does not create ex nihilo a novel form of community. Instead, nationalism transforms preexisting identities (cultural, ethnic, religious, etc.) to produce the modern nation. For medievalists like Susan Reynolds, it is a mistake to overlook the existence of communities that identified themselves through myths of ethnic descent, customs and laws, and the use of proper nouns. Nations might appear later, but many are rooted in the regnal kingdoms that possessed popular consciousness and a sense of identity ( Reynolds, 1983 , 1984 ).

Yet, the most sophisticated attempt to show continuity between the premodern and modern identity is probably the work of Anthony D. Smith’s. Through several decades of scholarship, Smith has stressed the importance of the longue durée , long-term analysis. To appreciate the emergence of nationalism and nations, we need to look at very long periods in part to avoid becoming narrowly focused on a particular era or set of cases that would lead to hasty generalizations. Where studies of short periods see invention, long-term analysis reveals that “invention” is often reinterpretation or reconstruction of older materials. Attention to the longue durée also helps explain why nationalism resonates. While many of its claims are inaccurate or false, the continuity between ethnic communities and modern nations shows that behind myths of antiquity and rootedness lie real shared memories and practices, an intergenerational sense of belonging that is not the invention of political elites ( Smith, 1986 , 1991 , 1998 , 2000 , 2009 ).

However insightful these rival views are, they are not without their weaknesses. To begin, none of them quite propose a rival grand narrative or general theory that explains the emergence of nationalism or nations. Again, many arguments center on the most convincing cases that can falsify modernism’s claims. Consequently, these case-study arguments often leave us with important questions about patterns and widespread change. Why do some nations like Israel emerge so early while others like Germany emerge much later? Why does the age of nationalism arrive so late if the nation is so old? What explains the appearance of major changes to collective identity if modernity does not invent nations?

Modernists also raise important methodological objections for their critics. For one, they accuse them of assuming that there is more continuity than the evidence supports ( Breuilly, 1996 ). A leitmotiv is that we have little idea what ordinary or plain persons believed in the premodern world given that they have left behind few writings. The writings of literate elites cannot be presumed to represent widespread beliefs or sentiments. 10 Furthermore, even when we do have some insight into what plain persons thought thanks to partial or fragmentary testimony, we must be careful to avoid reading the past through contemporary lenses.

In turn, this focus on written sources has itself been criticized. Azar Gat (2012) has argued that too much has been made of the written word or the lack of it. Not only is very little of human history covered by written documentation, but it is far from the only available evidence. For instance, while we have few texts documenting the sentiments of ordinary people, we have accounts of events that depended upon ordinary people. Gat repeatedly returns to the case of mobilization and war in the premodern world to argue that it is unrealistic to maintain that ordinary sentiments or identities are unknown or unknowable. Small and weak states did not simply coerce thousands if not tens of thousands of men to fight who barely recognized themselves in their elites. A fortiori , this is true of popular uprisings. 11 Simply put, Gat rejects the idea that we are begging the question of national identity or consciousness if they are part of the best explanation of phenomena ( Gat, 2012 ).

Still, this question of national consciousness is not solely methodological. It is one thing to ask on what grounds we attribute such beliefs or sentiments, and it is quite another to ask why this must be demonstrated. Here we shift from a discussion about whether nationalism invents nations to the very nature of the nation. Even if modernists and their critics could agree on how to conduct their inquiry, they might still disagree on its object. If a nation is defined as a group in which mass national consciousness must exist , then demonstrating that nations existed in the premodern world is far harder than if nations only require moderate consciousness. 12 Fundamentally, the question of how to prove the existence of premodern nations is a function of what the nation is.

Conceptions of the Nation

A nation is a soul, a spiritual principle. Two things that, in truth, are but one constitute this soul, this spiritual principle. One is in the past, the other in the present. One is the possession in common of a rich legacy of memories; the other is present consent, the desire to live together, the will to perpetuate the value of the heritage that one has received in an undivided form. ( Renan, 2018 , p. 261)

Despite its centrality, the question “what is a nation?” has been debated since Ernest Renan’s eponymous lecture at La Sorbonne in 1882 . Disagreement over what the nation is—what kind of community is it, how does it differ from other forms?—has produced some striking responses.

Faced with this question, Hugh Seton-Watson admits that there is nothing else to say save that a nation exists when enough people within a community believe that they belong to a nation or act as if they do ( Seton-Watson, 1977 ). Others like Rogers Brubaker deny that the nation is a particular kind of object. Instead, we should consider the “nation” as a category of practice rather than a form of community with set properties. Hence his proposal to “think about nationalism without nations” ( Brubaker, 1996 , p. 21).

Nevertheless, we can identify some broadly consensual beliefs about the nation. To begin, nations are territorial communities: They claim land as rightfully theirs. The homeland is sacred territory. It is imbued with meaning because it is the site of past events that define the group: where battles were fought, the dead are buried, and past generations flourished.

Moreover, nations are always understood as bounded and limited communities. No nation, however ambitious, understands itself as universal. Unlike certain religious communities, the nation does not aspire to or imagine itself as encompassing humankind. Finally, the nation is primarily a group in which membership is inherited, even when it is open to outsiders. Newborns are not without nationality until they reach the age of reason; one receives a nationality at birth even if one later opts to renounce it or to try to obtain another.

Beyond these shared and widely accepted features, we remain confronted by a central question: What is the nature of the community? What unites conationals?

Civic and Ethnic Views of the Nations

Two main concepts of nation and fatherland emerged in the intertwining of influence and conditions; conflicting and fusing, they became embodied in currents of thought in all nations and, to a varying degree, in entire nations. The one was basically a rational and universal concept of political liberty and the rights of man, looking towards the city of the future. In it the secularized Stoic-Christian tradition lived on: in England, it is Protestant form, in France, in its Catholic form. It found its chief support in the political and economic strength of the educated middle classes and, with a shift of emphasis, in the social-democratically organized labor movements. The other was basically founded on history, on monuments and graveyards, even harking back to the mysteries of ancient times and of tribal solidarity. ( Kohn, 1944 , p. 574)

Nations, and nationalisms, are often sorted according to two ideal types: French and German, Western and Eastern, or civic and ethnic. 13 This typology refers to the nature of the community or the identity that defines the nation. The Western or civic nation is primarily a political association and therefore more of a voluntary community. On this view, the nation is a pact or covenant, a social contract. The nation qua political community occupies a territory that is governed by laws and institutions. This is the view of the nation most associated with Western nations, particularly France, where republicanism played an important part in defining membership in the nation.

The Eastern or ethnic nation is defined by descent, or rather the presumed shared descent of its members. Here members understand themselves as ancestrally related, possessing an identity that is inherited and unchosen on the model of the family. The idea of the ethnic nation is often compared to the family as in Walker Connor’s well-known claim that it is perceived as “the family fully extended” ( Connor, 1994 , p. 202).

We might summarize these two views of the nations in terms of competing conceptions of nationality and its attribution— jus soli and jus sanguinis . How one acquires membership is a function of the nature of the community. The former attributes nationality to those born within the national territory while the latter attributes nationality based on the identity of one’s parents. 14

Of course, one’s conception of the nation is linked to other crucial concepts, namely, national identity. How one understands the nature of the community called the nation affects one’s conception of national identity. What it means to be an X—American or Turkish—will depend on the nature of the community in question. If one considers that the United States of America is a civic nation, a social contract in which members of the republic share political ideals and obey the same laws, then being or becoming an American is a function of becoming a member of a political union. On the civic view, who one’s parents are or which religion one practices will often be orthogonal to determining one’s national identity. Yet, if one holds an ethnic view of the nation, then the identity of one’s parents is no longer irrelevant but essential. On this view, to be Turkish is to be ancestrally related to other Turks and thus filiation is central.

However, these are ideal types. They allow us to make analytical distinctions, to explain patterns of thought and behavior, but they do not correspond to social reality. No actual nation is purely civic or purely ethnic but contains both civic and elements. For example, during the Third French Republic, while students learned about la Répulique, une et indivisible , they also learned that their country used to be called Gaul and their ancestors were Gauls. We find both the civic view embodied by the Republic and the ethnic view embodied in shared ancestry. While it is useful to speak of civic or ethnic to pick out what is emphasized, real nations only approximate these models ( Smith, 1991 ; Yack, 1996 , 2012 ). It is perhaps most useful to think of nations as ranging from more civic (e.g., the United States of America) to more ethnic (e.g., Japan).

The division of nations into civic and ethnic communities is not merely a descriptive question. Behind this categorization loom normative issues: We consider the civic nation to be more open and compatible with consent while the ethnic nation is bound through unchosen features—hence the reason why the civic nation is referred to as voluntarist conception while the ethnic nation is an organic conception. While ethnic nationalism might like to describe itself with the language of the family— fatherland, motherland, brotherhood, and so on —a less controversial unchosen association, it remains the case that the ethnic conception of the nationality makes it harder for newcomers to join. One can profess one’s faith in the republic, one can consent to the social contract, but one cannot so easily choose to change one’s (presumed) descent.

Here again, we must not lose sight that if we consider civic nations to be voluntary and ethnic nations to be organic, and that all actual nations combine elements of both models, then no nation is purely voluntarist or organic. This mixed view, which combines consent and inheritance, was already present in Ernest Renan’s seminal lecture. As it is often highlighted, he insists on the importance of consent, famously calling the nation an “everyday plebiscite” ( Renan, 2018 , pp. 262–263). Nevertheless, he also speaks about the importance of an indivisible past, an inheritance of “glory and regrets” ( Renan, 2018 , p. 261).

The Justification of Nationalism

Despite its unrivaled appeal and motivational power, nationalism has seduced few scholars. Several of its most prominent scholars could hardly disguise their contempt like Elie Kedourie or Eric Hobsbawm. Among philosophers and political theorists, it is often met with skepticism or hostility. Ethnic nationalism, the most ubiquitous form, past and present, is largely thought to be indefensible. Civic nationalism, while judged less harshly, is not universally embraced. In the words of an eminent political theorist, nationalism is “the starkest political shame of the twentieth century , most intractable and yet most unanticipated blot on the political history of the world since the year 1900 ” ( Dunn, 1979 , p. 55). Normatively, nationalism is on the back foot.

And yet, there is also considerable misunderstanding. To a large extent, the descriptive and the normative work fail to make contact. Consider what is arguably the most prominent anthology of high-profile philosophical papers on the justification of nationalism, The Morality of Nationalism ( McKim & McMahan, 1997 ). The endnotes reveal that many chapters contain few or no references to major or minor studies of nationalism. Several philosophers base their arguments on a commonsense understanding or on one or two works. Something similar holds the other way around. In Nations and Nationalism: A Reader ( Spencer & Wollman, 2010 ), 3 out of 19 of the authors from the above anthology appear very cursorily in the references. None of those contributing to the first anthology are the authors of any essential texts in the reader.

There are likely many reasons for this situation, but two should retain our attention. First, many normative works on nationalism either fail to distinguish it from patriotism or conflate them. In his defense of “nationalism,” Hurka defines it as “people being partial to their conationals” ( Hurka, 1997 , p. 140). However, so defined, it is indistinguishable from a widespread understanding of patriotism. Similarly, Judith Lichtenberg seems to think that the only difference between nationalism and patriotism is that the former applies before the establishment of the state while the latter applies after it ( Lichtenberg, 1997 ). This is an astonishing claim as it would make patriotism more recent than nationalism.

Second, and more fundamentally, many normative theorists use “nationalism” to mean something very different from the core ideology of nationalism or some variant. Typically, they mean national partiality , which amounts to the idea that one may, should, or must favor the claims or interests of one’s conationals over those of foreigners. For instance, when Thomas Hurka defends a moderate form of national partiality, he is very far from justifying the claim that national loyalty outranks all others, which was proposition (v). It is perfectly possible to favor one’s conationals over foreigners and yet believe that friends and family command a greater loyalty still.

We can add that nationalists, with few notable exceptions, do not have a purely instrumental view of loyalty and sacrifice: They do not love the nation to better serve humankind. 15 Rather, the nation itself is the ultimate end. In other words, the instrumental defenses of national partiality that we find in the philosophical literature share little with the classical view of nationalism. 16

In short, many philosophers are using “nationalism” in a very narrow sense compared to the scholars of nationalism. While we can find important contributions in these piecemeal or partial discussions of the morality of nationalism, we can also find defenses of something that goes beyond some measure of partiality or an isolated defense of self-determination. 17 However, we do not find much of a defense of classical or core nationalism. Commonly, we find a defense of liberal nationalism .

Liberal Nationalism and Its Defense

Liberals then need to ask themselves whether national convictions matter to their way of thinking, to their values, norms, and modes of behaviour, to their notions of social justice, and to the range of practical policies they support. In other words, they must rethink their beliefs and policies and seek to adapt them to the world in which they live. ( Tamir, 1993 , pp. 3–4)

Liberal nationalism is not part of an explanatory theory of nationalism. 18 Instead, it is an attempt to revise nationalism so that it can be reconciled with the dominant post-Enlightenment political framework, liberalism. Recall that the core ideology of nationalism involves certain claims about morality and human flourishing. On the one hand, we find claims about the value of community and membership. For instance, we saw that proposition (ii) of core nationalism was that individual freedom or flourishing required membership in a nation. Either way, the point is the connection between membership in a nation and human well-being. On the other hand, we find claims that are action-guiding: Proposition (v) is that national loyalty always comes first.

To be schematic, the classical view of the nation can be summarized as an ideology with a demanding view of partiality, which rests upon very strong claims about the value of nations. This demandingness is captured by the insistence that one sacrifice everything on the national altar. We find it in a Swiss “political catechism,” exhorting citizens to “sacrifice willingly and joyfully” their property and lives to the fatherland ( Kohn, 1944 , p. 385). Or in the poetry of Thomas Babington Macauley famously taught to British schoolchildren:

Then out spake brave Horatius, The Captain of the Gate; “To every man upon this earth Death cometh soon or late. And how can man die better Than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers, And the temples of his Gods.”

In sum, the morality view put forward by classical nationalism emphasizes the utmost importance of national membership in human flourishing and consequently affirms a rigid hierarchy of duties that places national loyalty above all else. These features—its demandingness, its absolute claims about communal life and flourishing—help explain why many have been so critical.

On the one hand, internal critiques seek to show that the classical view of nationalism is incapable of defending its strong claims. Prominently, we find objections concerning the relative value of the nation and nationality. A popular form of this objection lists the various communities to which one belongs and asks for a clear explanation as to why membership in the nation is so important. To be clear, the argument is not that the nation does not matter but that even if one can establish that it plays a very important role in human flourishing, perhaps even that it is the most valuable form of communal life, this does not yet show that national loyalty must always trump other loyalties ( Lichtenberg, 1997 ).

Here it is worth pointing out how descriptive research is mobilized to make normative arguments. If modernism is true, then the defenders of nationalism must explain why human flourishing depends so much upon a recent invention. Were premodern lives all deeply marred? If nations were invented, why can we not invent more inclusive communities to replace them? Conversely, if the critics of modernity are right, then it is easier to argue that national membership like family membership is a deep feature of human life and flourishing.

On a similar line of thought, one can admit that national autonomy is valuable or defensible and accept that national identity should be expressed and yet challenge precisely what is required to achieve either. If neither national autonomy nor national self-expression requires a nation-state, at least not in all cases, then it becomes much harder to justify nationalist demands for one.

On the other hand, we find external critiques that point to the conflict between nationalism and other normative beliefs or commitments we might have. First, it is difficult to reconcile the core ideology of nationalism with any demanding form of cosmopolitanism. Indeed, given the rigid rank-ordering of loyalties in core nationalism, one’s loyalty to humankind is at best something to be attended to once one’s duties to the nation are discharged. If cosmopolitanism is a commitment to impartial benevolence and the belief that our common humanity is our overriding identity and the object of our strongest loyalty, then they are flatly incompatible.

A similar point can be made about human rights. Understood as bedrock normative claims, human rights would represent (nearly) absolute side constraints. Here too there is a very real possibility that human rights and nationalism conflict. If national loyalty dominates all other loyalties, then it is difficult to understand how a nationalist can coherently choose to honor human rights when these conflict with the demands of the nation. Indeed, when scholars and plain persons evoke how nationalism can be belligerent or fanatical, this is largely what they mean. If loyalty always takes precedence, then there is little or nothing nationalists will not do. And this, its critics say, is precisely why the 20th century was so bloody. 19

Finally, classical nationalism can seem hard to reconcile with a strong commitment to autonomy or political consent. One is obligated to one’s nation and fellow nationals, and yet one’s nationality is often unchosen. This worry is at its strongest when applied to ethnic nationalism as on this view, membership is doubly unchosen: One cannot choose one’s ancestors at birth, nor can one easily later choose to be ancestrally related to members of a new group. Yet, ethnic nationalism is not unique in imposing obligations based on unchosen identities ( Scheffler, 1994 ). Even membership in civic nations is largely unchosen and can be demanding.

Liberal nationalism seeks to reconcile nationalism and liberalism, even showing them to be mutually reinforcing. Proposed initially by Yael Tamir in her seminal Liberal Nationalism , variants of this moderate form of nationalism have also been prominently defended by David Miller and Chaim Gans ( Gans, 2003 ; Miller, 1995 , 1999 , 2007 , 2016 ; Tamir, 1993 , 2019 ). Before addressing arguments for liberal nationalism, we should consider how it generally differs from classical or core nationalism.

First, liberal nationalists abandon the rigid acontextual hierarchy of duties of core nationalism. National loyalty may still outrank other loyalties, but it does not always do so. Most notably, when the human rights of foreigners are at stake, our duties to fellow nationals or to the nation itself must come second. This is the spirit of the “weak cosmopolitanism” we find endorsed by liberal nationalists ( Miller, 2016 ). We might also say that while we have stronger positive duties to fellow nationals than to foreigners, our negative duties to not violate human rights apply equally to all and take precedence over positive duties to fellow members ( Miller, 2005 ).

Second, liberal nationalism is essentially a nonethnic form of nationalism. This does not make it a pure civic nationalism because it focuses on the preservation and transmission of a national identity and a public culture that are not exhausted by constitutionalism. 20 However, it does essentially abandon myths of ethnic descent or ancestral relatedness as a part of national identity ( Smith, 2010 ). While nationality might still be attributed at birth, it becomes considerably easier to join and become accepted within another nation once ethnic descent is jettisoned.

Third, liberal nationalists are more concerned with the relationship between the nation and liberal democracy ( Tamir, 1993 , 2019 ). While many classical nationalists were strong advocates of democratic or republican regimes, it was by no means universal. Indeed, core nationalism is compatible with an authoritarian government so long as it is authentic or expressive of the national character. Indeed, some very prominent nationalists were antidemocratic, like Charles Maurras and l’Action française as well as Russian nationalists, who summed up their view as “Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality” ( Riasanovsky, 2005 ).

To justify their views, liberal nationalists essentially offer two kinds of arguments. Recall, their project is not to revise or rehabilitate democracy or liberalism as it is to revise and rehabilitate nationalism; this explains why their arguments presume the value of democracy and liberalism and focus on establishing the ethical credentials of (a reformed) nationalism.

The first kind of argument put forward by nationalists might be called communitarian . These arguments are all noninstrumental in the sense that they do not derive the value of national community or loyalty from its contribution to either liberal democracy or liberal conceptions of justice. The arguments focus on the value of community independently of its contribution to democracy or social justice. We might further divide this argument into arguments over the intrinsic worth of national communities and the constitutive role of national communities in human flourishing.

The former strives to demonstrate that nations are valuable communities; they are the site of shared meaning and values. Cultures or cultural communities are good things, and they should continue to exist. Moreover, if we add that these cultures are distinct and unique—proposition (i) from core nationalism—then we ought to appreciate that preserving and sustaining nations provides the world with a diversity of cultures ( Berlin, 1976 ). If culture is good, then nations are valuable as incarnations of culture, and if we value a diversity of cultures, we ought to value the irreducible plurality of nations.

The latter kind of argument seeks to show how nations are constitutive of human flourishing. In their strongest form, they claim that one cannot flourish outside of the nation while weaker versions simply highlight how dispensing with the nation or national makes human flourishing harder or less complete than it otherwise might be. Here, we find various iterations. Some focus on the relationship between national identity and self-esteem ( Berlin, 1979 ; MacCormick, 1982 , 1991 , 1996 ; Margalit & Raz, 1990 ; Nielsen, 1999 ; Tamir, 1993 ; Taylor,1992 ), others on how our understanding of morality is conditioned by our membership in a nation and our participation in its moral traditions, its interpretation of principles or values ( MacIntyre, 1981 , 1984 , 1988 ; Taylor, 1989 ; Walzer, 1983 , 1987 , 1994 ). Others still insist on how choice and personal development require communal membership ( Kymlicka, 1995 ; Tamir, 1993 ).

The key point is that all these arguments seek to show that without the nation, human life would be greatly impoverished. Our national identities and our national loyalty constitute, at least for many of us, part and parcel of what it is to live a meaningful or good life.

The second kind of argument is instrumental: The value of the nation is derived from its role in sustaining either liberal democracy or liberal conceptions of justice. National identity and loyalty are either presented as necessary or uniquely valuable means of achieving our political aims of popular rule or social justice. Put otherwise, these arguments all work back from our commitments to democracy or justice and argue that once we properly appreciate how nations can help us achieve our aims, we will value them.

The most famous, the trust argument , has many variations. Essentially, we begin with the need for trust: To cooperate, to sacrifice for others, we must trust that others will reciprocate. For instance, in a democracy, the minority must believe that the majority will not abuse its power and will relinquish it when it loses. All must believe that others are equally committed to the common good. Yet, within large groups, trust cannot rest on personal knowledge of individual track records. To establish trust and motivate people to cooperate and make sacrifices, people need to feel committed to something above and beyond the partisan factions. The nation is presented as an engine of social trust because national identity will bind together and motivate nationals to work as a team. Liberal nationalists present the nation as (uniquely) capable of providing the identification and trust necessary to overcome the various forces, like disagreement or egoism, that threaten social cooperation, sacrifice, and trust ( Canovan, 1996 ; Kymlicka, 2001 ; Miller, 1995 ; Moore, 2001 ; Schnapper, 1998 ).

Of course, not only democracy requires social trust. Redistributive policies and social justice also require cooperation and sacrifice from people who are personally unacquainted. Here too, the argument goes, national identity provides the necessary identification and motivation.

In short, liberal nationalism is defended on two grounds. Noninstrumental arguments are fundamentally arguments about the value of community tout court or its constitutive role in human flourishing. Either way, they need to defend a certain conception of human nature or one about intrinsic value. The instrumental arguments are less ambitious as they begin from the commitments held by many critics of nationalism, such as democracy and social justice, and seek to show the cost of eliminating national identities and loyalties.

While more moderate than classical nationalism, liberal nationalism has not been spared criticism. On the one hand, it faces internal critiques. For instance, the trust argument has been the target of a fair amount of skepticism. Does national identity bind and motivate as its advocates claim? Critics have argued that it is far from clear that national identity can or does create the kind of affective bond and trust that its proponents claim. For instance, there appear to be plenty of cases in which fellow nationals distrust each other and would prefer to deal with foreigners if they had the choice ( Abizadeh, 2002 ). Moreover, given that a central claim can be empirically verified, we are entitled to ask what quantitative evidence can be produced in addition to sociohistorical narratives about the relationship between nation-states and welfare states. Here, even defenders of liberal nationalism concede that testing the claim has only provided partial support ( Miller & Ali, 2014 ).

Multiple external criticisms have been formulated, but two are particularly noteworthy against the backdrop of globalization. 21 An older and quite prominent critique is egalitarian. Essentially, these critics begin by identifying our commitment to equality and then show how nation-states contribute to inequality: They favor nationals at the expense of foreigners. While this might be tolerable in a world where everyone had access to a decent life, it is intolerable when so many lack so much and others live in abundance. In sum, the argument seeks to show that liberal nationalism, or any variation that does not significantly depart from the status quo, is deeply incompatible with a commitment to human equality ( Caney, 2005 ; Pogge, 2002 ; Singer, 1972 ; Steiner, 1994 ).

The second critique focuses on how liberal nationalism remains at odds with certain conceptions of human rights. Here, research is undeniably influenced by the political reality of the early 21st century ; migration and refugee crises have stimulated debate on the morality of borders. Behind talk of borders, we find the deeper conflict between, on the one hand, the notion of collective autonomy or the self-determination of peoples and, on the other hand, a human right to free movement or to immigrate. If liberal nationalism allows that one can exclude people from one’s group or territory, then we must ask whether self-determination comes at the expense of a basic right. For those who endorse a human right to immigrate, liberal nationalism’s support for borders and exclusion is objectionable ( Carens, 2013 ; Oberman, 2016 ).

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1. Classically, patriotism was classified as a virtue (i.e., an admirable character trait). Yet, its ethical credentials have been increasingly questioned in the wake of World War I. Still, proponents and opponents of patriotism tend to agree that it is a character trait.

2. One view is that patriotism is loyalty to political institutions, specifically republican, rather than to an ethnocultural community ( Connor, 1994 ; Dietz, 1989 ; Taylor, 1997 ; Viroli, 1995 ). However, this definition is questionable. Even if “patriots” has often been used to name advocates of republicanism, it is certainly not the only recorded use. Nor does this view match the common uses of “patriot” or “patriotism” to speak of the intense loyalty of those who have no institutions or do not necessarily believe in republicanism (e.g., patriotic Kurds). Worse, if patriotism is loyalty to institutions and nationalism is loyalty to an ethnocultural group, then those who defend this distinction seem committed to the claim that nationalism is ancient. How else can they describe loyalty to the Jewish people and Kingdom during the Jewish-Roman wars?

3. A prominent dissenter in the literature is Benedict Anderson. He claimed that nationalism was more like kinship or religion, no doubt in part due to what he considered to be its philosophical poverty and even incoherence ( Anderson, 2006 , pp. 4–5).

4. We might say that nations are numerically distinct and qualitatively distinct as opposed to manufactured objects that are numerically distinct but qualitatively indistinct.

5. The point is not that there existed a clear doctrine called “core nationalism” that people simply adopted or not. There are and have been nationalists of all ideological stripes—conservative, liberal, socialist, and so on. The point of putting forward core nationalism is to identify those beliefs most shared between them that allow us to recognize that despite their differences and nuances, there are common threads.

6. This view is open to the challenge that it primarily summarizes Western nationalism. For those interested in an influential non-Western perspective, see Chatterjee (1986 , 1993 ).

7. An example is the way in which proposition (iii) has become so central to nationalist movements in the wake of the French Revolution. The age of nationalism and later decolonization delegitimized the millennia-old institution of empire by spreading the proposition that all alien rule is illegitimate.

8. From Thanksgiving that commemorates events in the early 17th century but only becomes a national institution in the late 19th century, to the 19th-century invention of distinct clan tartans in Scotland, more than one practice or symbol is far more recent than commonly believed ( Hobsbawm & Ranger, 1983 ).

9. Authors like Azar Gat would be unhappy with this label. Nevertheless, his overall argument is far more critical of modernism than anything else. Indeed, insisting on the antiquity of the national state seems like a form of perennialism ( Gat, 2012 ).

10. Modernists are skeptical of identity unsupported by institutions. Identity that is not affirmed and transmitted through institutions is “fragmentary, discontinuous and elusive” ( Breuilly, 1996 , p. 156).

11. The battle of Raphia and the subsequent popular Egyptian revolt against Hellenistic rule is a textbook case drawn from the premodern world ( Gat, 2012 , pp. 118–119). Similar examples abound in Gat’s account.

12. For instance, Walker Connor insists that nations begin at the end of the 19th or early 20th century because they require mass consciousness, which in turn depends upon mass communication and standardized education. Adrian Hastings believed that so long as national consciousness extends to many people beyond government circles and the ruling class, then one can speak of a nation ( Connor, 1994 ; Hastings, 1997 ).

13. These are the most prominent, but they are not the only classification of nations and nationalism. For instance, one may draw the line between secular and religious forms of nationalism ( Juergensmeyer, 1993 ).

14. While many accept that there are different kinds of nations, some reject this pluralism in favor of a monolithic view. Walker Connor insists that all nationalism is ethnic nationalism ( Connor, 1994 ).

15. Perhaps the most notable exception is Johann Gottlieb Fichte, who often defends nationalism as essential for the progress of humanity ( Fichte, 2008 ). Notwithstanding these passages, Fichte certainly sounds like an ardent nationalist.

16. Authors who defend loyalty to the nation or national partiality purely as a means of achieving the greatest happiness or to ensure the maximal discharging of moral duties, such as R. M. Hare and Robert Goodin respectively argue, are hardly endorsing “nationalism” ( Goodin, 1988 ; Hare, 1981 ). Few nationalists think of their nation as a mere tool let alone believe that humanity is the ultimate object of loyalty.

17. An excellent example of the way that debate has proceeded is the way that Alasdair MacIntyre (1984) is cited or discussed. MacIntyre does not discuss let alone defend nationalism but patriotism. His focus is clearly on a character trait and not an ideology: Nowhere does he claim that all political legitimacy comes from the nation or that nations must be as autonomous as possible. Of course, this does not mean that MacIntyre’s defense of patriotism is irrelevant—he does after all make strong claims about communal life and human flourishing. The point is that many philosophers and political theorists treat nationalism and national partiality as interchangeable. Consequently, what is discussed on the heading of “nationalism” in the normative debate is often an anemic understanding of what historians and sociologists are discussing.

18. Authors like David Miller might reply that liberal nationalism is not a contemporary reconstruction of nationalism but a view inspired by historical nationalists such as Giuseppe Manzini and John Stuart Mill ( Gustavsson & Miller, 2019 ). While one might convincingly argue that Manzini advocated something sufficiently like contemporary liberal nationalism, things are less clear for Mill. While he did believe that national sentiment was crucial to representative government, he also advocated colonialism on the grounds that it made the colonized better off—a point hard to square with core nationalism ( Bell, 2010 ).

19. The accusation that nationalism is particularly responsible for brutal and total wars in the 20th century is widespread ( Smith, 1998 , 2010 ). Even if the accusation is correct, nationalism was also a driving force, if not the driving force, behind decolonization. Whatever historical debates are to be had about what causes what, the cost-benefit analysis of nationalism is likely more complex than François Mitterand’s “ Le nationalisme, c’est la guerre .”

20. If by “constitutional patriotism” we mean that people are primarily loyal not to a cultural community but the norms and values of a liberal democratic constitution, then liberal nationalism remains a form of nationalism ( Habermas, 1994 ).

21. There is no shortage of external critiques. Feminist authors have pointed out the extent to which nationalism can be understood as a gendered ideology: one that rarely grants women an equal role in the nation or addresses their concerns ( Elshtain, 1993 ; Enloe, 1989 ; Walby, 1992 ). Similarly, those whose argue that we inhabit an increasingly postnational or globalized world argue that the nation and nationalism are obsolete ( Falk, 2002 ; Horsman & Marshall, 1994 ; McNeill, 1986 ).

Nationalism and Foreign Policy
Religious Nationalism and Religious Influence
Nationalism in African Politics

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Essay on my Duty towards my Country for Students

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My Duty towards my Country Essay: Duty of any person of the country in his/her any age group is a must to do responsibility of that person towards his/her country. There is no any particular time which will call anyone to perform the duty towards country however it is the birth rights of every Indian citizen to understand and perform all the duties towards their country as daily routine or whenever required according to the type of duty. The Prime Minister of India , Narendra Modi, has said to discuss this topic in the schools, colleges and other places at the Republic Day celebration of India 2016.

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Long and Short Essay on Duty towards my Country in English

We have provided here variety of essay on my Duty towards my Country in order to help students. All the my Duty towards my Country essay are written using simple English language especially for the students. They can select anyone according to the need and requirement:

Duty towards my Country Essay 100 words

We can say that duty is a moral and legal responsibility of a person which he/she must have to perform towards country. It is a task or action needed to be performed as a job by each and every citizen of the country. Performing duties towards the nation is the respect of a citizen towards his/her nation. Everyone must follow all the rules and regulation as well as be courteous and loyal for responsibilities towards the nation. There are various duties of a person towards nation such as economical growth, development, cleanliness, good governance, quality education, removing poverty, removing all the social issues, bring gender equality, have respect to everyone, go for voting, remove child labour to give healthy youths to the nation and many more.

Duty towards my Country Essay 150 words

Duty towards country is having moral commitments and performing all the individual or group responsibilities. It is must be understood by each and every citizen of the country. India is a country which believes ‘unity in diversity’ where people of more than one religions, casts, creed and languages live together. It is a country famous all across the world for its culture, tradition and historical heritages however still counted as developing country because of the irresponsibility of its citizens.

There is a big gap between rich and poor people. Rich people do not understand and perform their responsibilities towards poor people. They forget their responsibility of economical growth in the country which is possible by eliminating poverty from the country. Everyone should help backward people to grow up, remove social issues, corruption, bad politics, etc running in the country. A very good example of loyal and selfless duty towards country is the duty performed by the Indian soldiers at the borders.

They stand up there 24 hrs to protect us and our country from the rivals. They perform their duty regularly even they face various big problems on the orders. They are away from their loved ones and do not get comfort and luxury life. However, despite of getting all the basic facilities in our life, we are unable to perform even our small responsibilities like cleanliness, following rules, etc.

Duty towards my Country Essay 200 words

Individual Duties of People towards Country

Being a citizen or a member of the society, community, or country needs some duties to be performed individually. Everyone has to perform duties of citizenship in the country in order provide bright future. A country is backward, poor, or developing, everything depends on its citizens especially if a country is democratic country. Everyone should exist in the state of good citizen and be loyal towards country. People should follow all the rules, regulations and laws made by the government for their safety and betterment of life.

They should believe in equality and live with proper equation in the society. Being a common citizen, no one shows sympathy with the crime and must raise voice against that. People in India have power to elect their chief minister, prime minister, and other political leader through their votes, so they never waste their votes by selecting bad leaders who can corrupt their country. However, they should understand and know properly about his/her leaders and then give right vote. Their duty is to make their country clean and beautiful. They should not destroy and dirt the heritages and other tourist places. People must take interest in the daily news other than their daily routine activities in order to know what bad or good are going on in their country.

Duty towards my Country Essay 250 words

India is a religious, cultural and traditional country and famous for the unity in diversity. However, it needs more efforts from the end of its citizens to keep it clean, free of corruption, free of social issues, crimes against women, poverty, pollution, global warming, etc for more development. People need to understand their duties towards country instead of shouting and blaming to the government. Each and every person is individually responsible for the growth and development in the country. People should never forget a famous quote said by Lao Tzu that, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”. Everyone should be aware of their fundamental duties and follow without ignorance. As being a good and responsible citizen of the country, everyone must perform duties very loyally as:

People should obey all the rule and laws made by the government. They should respect the authority and do not break rules as well as motivate others to do the same.
They should not bear any crime against them and must raise voice against corruption. They must perform civic and social duties without negatively affecting the society.
They should provide solutions to needy people, vote intelligently and pay their all taxes a proper time.
They should take the help of acts like RTI, RTE, etc for the goodness of society.
Everyone must involve in the cleanliness campaign to keep surroundings and locality clean. They should teach kids to use dustbin to throw useless things and take care of the public properties.
People, who are able, must leave their gas subsidy for poor people.
Everyone should be honest and loyal to the country and fellow citizens. They have feeling of respect to each other and must respect social and economic policies for the welfare of the country.
People must involve their kids in the education and take care of their health and childhood. They should not force their kids for child labour and other crimes.
People should try their best to make a best country of the world.

Duty towards my Country Essay 300 words

Duty of a person is the responsibility which he/she needs to perform individually. A citizen living in the society, community or country has various duties and responsibilities towards the society, community and country to be performed in right manner. People should have faith in goodness and never ignore important duties towards their country.

My Duties towards my Country as being a Citizen

Years have been passed since our country got independence from the British rule by the sacrifices of many great freedom fighters. They were real followers of their duties towards country who really made possible the dream of freedom in the country by paying very costly cost of lives of millions of people. After independence of India, rich people and politicians got involved in their own development only and not the country. It is true that we have been independent from the British rule however not from the greediness, crimes, corruption, irresponsibility, social issues, child labour, poverty, cruelty, terrorism, female infanticide, gender inequality, dowry death, gang rape, and other illegal activities.

It is not enough making only rules, regulations, laws, acts, campaigns and programmes by the government, they are needed to be followed strictly by each and every Indian citizen to be really free from all the illegal activities. Indian citizens need to perform their loyal duties towards country for the betterment of everyone by eliminating poverty, gender inequality, child labour, crimes against women and other social issues. Indian citizens have right to select their own political leader which can lead their country in right direction towards development. So, they do not have right to blame bad people in their life. They must keep their eyes opened while voting their political leaders and chose the one who is really free of corrupt mind and has capability to lead a country.

It is must for the people of India to perform their duties individually towards country to really become independent in true sense. It is very necessary for the development of the country which can be possible only from the end of its disciplined, punctual, dutiful and honest citizens.

Duty towards my Country Essay 400 words

A person has various duties in his/her life towards himself, family, parents, kids, wife, husband, neighbors, society, community and most importantly towards the country. Duties of a person towards country are very important to maintain its dignity, bright future, and lead it towards betterment.

I am an Indian citizen as I took birth here. As being a responsible citizen of the country, I have many duties towards my country which I must fulfill all that. I have to perform my duties in various aspects and all that related to the development of my country.

What is Duty

Duty is a task or action needed to be performed by each and every individual of the country on regular basis for the betterment and more development. Performing duty loyally is the responsibility of Indian citizens and is the demand of development in country.

What are my Duties towards my Country

Citizen of a country is the person who lives almost his/her full life and leaves his/her ancestors too, so everyone has some duties towards country. Take an example of home in which various members live together however everyone has to follow all the rules and regulations made by a most senior person or head of the family for the betterment and peaceful life in the home. Just like that, our country is like a home in which people of various religions live together however they need to follow some rules and regulations made by the government for more development in the country. Loyal duties of citizens aim to remove all the social issues, bring real independence in the country and come under the category of developed countries.

People working in the government or private offices, must go on time and perform their duties loyally without wasting time as there is a true saying that “if we destroy time, time will destroy us”. Time never waits anyone, it runs continuously and we should learn from the time. We should not stay until we get the goal in our life. The most important goal of our life is to make our country a great country in true sense.

We should not be selfish people and understand our duties towards country. It’s we, not others who are both, the victim and the benefiter. Our each and every activity affects us in positive and negative manner (if we do positive we become benefiter and if we do negative we become victim). So, why we do not take pledge today to take our each and every step positively in right direction in order to get protected from being a victim in our own country. It is us who have right to rule the country by selecting a good leader. So, why we blame others or politicians, we should blame only us and not others as it’s we who are not performing duties according to the demand. We have been involved in our own daily routine only and have not any mean to other’s life, extracurricular activities, political affairs of the country, etc. It is our mistake that our country is still in the category of developing country and not in the developed country.

It is a big problem man; we should not take it easy. We should not be greedy and selfish; we should live and let others live a healthy and peaceful life. The bright future of our country is in our own hand. Still there is a time and chance for us, we can do better. Start living with open eyes and perform true duties towards the country. We should maintain the cleanliness of our heart, body, mind and surrounding areas for the good start.

Duty towards my Country Essay 600 words

Duties of Citizens towards Country as : Following are the responsibilities of Indian citizens at their different positions:

Parents : Parents are highly responsible for their country as they are the main source of giving good or bad leaders to the country. They are considered as the first basic school for their kids so they should be attentive all time as they are responsible to nourish the future of the country. Because of some greedy parents (whether poor or rich), our country is still having poverty, gender inequality, child labour, bad social or political leaders, female infanticide, and thus poor future of the country. All the parents should understand their duties towards country and must send their kids to the school (whether boy or girl) for proper education, take care of the health, hygiene and moral development of their kids, teach good habits and etiquettes, and teach them their responsibilities towards country.
Teacher : Teachers are the secondary source of giving their country a nice future by making their students as good and successful citizens of country in the future. They should understand their duties towards country and never show difference among their students (rich and poor, genius and average students, etc). They should teach their all students in equal manner in order to give good leaders and bright future to the country.
Doctor : A doctor is considered as God for the patients as he/she gives new life to them. Because of some greedy doctors, high technique treatments are not available within the country. They are very costly to which poor or even middle class people cannot afford. Some government doctors do not perform their duties well in the hospital and open their personal clinics at many places to earn more money. They should understand their responsibility of making available all the costly treatments at affordable cost within the country. They should not go abroad after higher study however, work in their own country for better development.
Engineer : Engineers are highly responsible for the infrastructure development in the country. They should positively use their knowledge and professional skills in right direction to develop their country. They should not involve in corruption and be loyal to their duties.
Politician : The status of the country depends on its politician. A politician (who is not greedy and not involved in corruption) plays various great roles in the development of country whereas a corrupt politician can destroy the country. So, a politician must understand and perform his/her duties towards country.
Policemen : Police is allotted at various places in the city, state and national level in order to maintain security, peace and harmony all over the country. They are the hope of people, so they should be loyal towards people as well as country.
Businessmen : The duty of a businessman towards his country is to create more employment in the country and not in abroad in order to improve economy as well as reduce poverty in the country. He should not involve in the corruption and smuggling.
Sportsperson : Sportsperson should play their games and sports loyally in their own country and should not involve in any type of corruption or match fixing as they are role model to many growing youths of the country.
Common Citizen (Aam Adami) : Common citizens are highly responsible in various ways to their country. They should understand their loyal duties and chose a good leader to lead their country in right direction. They should make their home and surrounding areas neat and clean so that they can be healthy, happy and free of diseases. They should be disciplined, punctual, and always be on time without getting late even for a minute to their job where they are working in any profession.

My Duty towards my Country Essay FAQs

What is my duty towards the country.

Your duty towards the country is to be a responsible citizen, follow the law, and contribute positively to its progress.

What can I do for my country essay?

You can help your country by being educated, supporting local businesses, and actively participating in community service.

What are my duties as the citizen of India essay?

As a citizen of India, your duties include obeying the law, paying taxes, and participating in the democratic process.

How can we make India a better country essay?

We can make India a better country by promoting education, reducing poverty, and fostering unity among its people.

How many duties are there in our country?

There are many duties in our country, but some of the most important ones include respecting others, protecting the environment, and upholding justice.

What is my duty as a student towards my country?

As a student, your duty towards your country is to gain knowledge, work hard, and prepare yourself for a productive future.

What are your duties towards your family?

Your duties towards your family include providing emotional support, helping with chores, and showing love and respect.

What would I have done for my nation?

You can serve your nation by working honestly, respecting diversity, and participating in community development.

Essay on Nation and Nationality

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Here is a compilation of essays on ‘Nation and Nationality’ for class 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on ‘Nation and Nationality’ especially written for school and college students.

Essay Contents:

Essay on the Concept of Nation and Nationality
Essay on the Definition of Nation and Nationality
Essay on the Factors in the Growth of a Nation (Marks of Nationality)
Essay on the Difference between Nation and Nationality
Essay on the Difference between a Nation and a State
Essay on the Theory of One Nation, One State
Essay on the Conclusion to Nation and Nationality

Essay # 1. Concept of Nation and Nationality:

A nation is body of persons inhabiting a definite territory and thus united to one another because they belong to the same country. These persons constituting a nationality are drawn from a number of different races or breeds which, after wandering in many places, got settled down in a particular territory.

A nation is therefore, not necessarily a race like the Nordic, Alpine or the Mediterranean, but rather a mixture of races.

As a result of long mixing together, the members of a nation develop two forms of mental sympathy. First, they have a common tradition which has grown up in the course of a common past history, a common language, a common religion, a common culture or way of life and common social habits. Secondly, they have a common will to live together, because they are under the impression that they have a liking for the institutions and laws which suit their way of life. In this way, a nation tends to form a separate state for the expression and realisation of its national character and will.

The French idea of the nation that began with the French Revolution of 1789 is, however, very simple. According to the French conception, the nation is simply the population of the territory of France united by the bond of “love of the national soil”.

Thus the French nationality was something rooted in the soil of France, its sunshine, its wine, its speech, its social habits and its way of life. The idea of the nation is generally the basis of a state. But it is not always that in a state there is, only one nation. For example, India is a nation, though consisting of diverse interests.

Essay # 2. Definition of Nation and Nationality:

The word “nation” is derived from the Latin term Natus which means born. So in its derivative sense nation means a group of people that have a common racial origin. This was the conception of nation for the German philosophers. This idea of nation is definitely misleading because there is no nation in the world belonging to the same racial stock.

According to J. W. Garner- “A nation is a culturally homogeneous social group which is at once conscious and tenacious of its unity of psychic life and expression.”

So Lord James Bryce said- “Nation is a union of men having racial or ethnographic significance”.

According to J. K. Bluntschli- “Nation is a union of people bound together by language and customs in a common civilisation which gives them a sense of unity and distinction from all foreigners.”

For R. N. Gilchrist, nationality may be defined as “a spiritual sentiment or principle arising among a number of people usually of the same race, residents on the same territory, sharing a common language, the same religion, similar associations and common ideals of political unity.”

J. W. Burgess’ definition of nation is- “a population with ethnic unity, inhabiting a territory, with geographical unity.” For Stephen Butler Leacock, “a body of people united by common descent and common language” makes a nation. To Ernest Barker- “A nation is a community of persons living in definite territory and thereby bound together by the bonds of mutual love.” In the same vein, Ramsay Muir defined nation as “a body of people who fell themselves to be naturally linked together by certain affinities which are so strong and real for them that they can live happily together, are dissatisfied when disunited and cannot tolerate subjection to peoples who do not share the ties.”

According to A. E. Zimmern, it is “A body of people united by a corporate sentiment of peculiar intimacy, intensity and dignity, related to a definite home-country.” Again, Pradier Fodere’s definition is- “Affinity of-race, community of language, of habits, of customs and religion are the elements which constitute the nation.”

In all such definitions most of the political thinkers emphasise that every society which has enough of a distinct tradition to be called a character has a natural right to political independence and what is called, in the jargon of the hour, self-determination. John Stuart Mill thinks that any portion of mankind may be said to constitute a nation if they are united among themselves by common sympathies.

But racial purity cannot be found in the modern world because the population of every modern country has a mixed blood. Nation has also nothing to do with a definite territory, though this is the general notion of a nation. So it is said that nationality is not a matter of political frontiers or round skulls and broad noses, but a matter of the heart and soul. In this connection V.P. Singh, the former Prime Minister of India said- “A nation is not a map on a piece of paper. It lies in the heart of the people”.

We may conclude about the definition of nation with the words of Ernest Renan- “A nation is a soul, a spiritual principle. To have a common glory in the past, a common will in the present; to have done great things together, to want to do them again; these are the conditions for the existence of a nation.”

Essay # 3. Factors in the Growth of a Nation (Marks of Nationality):

The following are some of the factors responsible in the growth of a nation, though none of them is indispensable:

i. Linguistic Unity:

Language, which is the dress of thought, is another cementing factor in the making of a nation. A common language and a common literature create a kind of like mindedness which emotionally unites several people covered by the bond of language and literature.

Since language is directly linked to a specific territory and these together provide the basis for a common life-style, language should be made the basis for administrative units, wherever possible. But language is never an essential factor in the growth of the state. For example, India having 17 major languages, which create some artificial barrier among the entire population, is still a nation.

ii. Religious Unity:

A common religion can be very helpful for a nation. But this too is not an indispensable factor. India is a country where almost all the religions of the world are to be found existing side by side. Even then, India is a nation. Pakistan, which was created on the basis of the Islamic faith in 1947, was shattered by a co-religious sector in East Pakistan that broke away from Pakistan and established a new state called Bangladesh. The tie of a common religion could not hold together the two parts of Pakistan. Here language proved to be more important than religion.

E. H. Carr on traits of nation:

(i) The idea of common government whether as a reality in the present or past or as an aspiration of the future;

(ii) A certain size and closeness of contact between all individual members;

(iii) A more or less defined territory;

(iv) Certain characteristics of which the most predominant trait is language;

(v) Some common interests of the individual members;

(vi) Some common feelings associated with the idea of nation in the minds of the individual members.

iii. Geographical Unity:

Geographical factor has proved to be a remarkable source for the formation of national unity. It is a design of nature to bring a kind of identity by way of climate and other phenomenon of geography which provide the people an opportunity to live together. They have a tendency of like-minded or common behaviour which ultimately unite them into one homogeneous people.

iv. Historical Unity:

Historical unity is considered to be very essential for the formation of nationality. A common heritage binds people together. The Indians nurtured the lesson of unity because of their bondage under the British imperialists. A common political aspiration brought together the Greeks though separated by geographical barriers.

In this connection John Stuart Mill observes- “The possession of a national history, and consequent community of recollections, collective pride and humiliation, pleasure and regret connected with the same incidents in the past are strongest of all the factors which generate the feeling of nationality.”

v. Cultural Unity:

A common way of life and mannerism can foster the cause of a nationality. Thus we find the culture pattern as a responsible factor in the growth of a single nation.

Essay # 4. Difference between Nation and Nationality:

There is a subtle point of distinction between nation and nationality. When a group of people have some kind of identity with regard to any of race, language, mannerism, etc. or even a sentimental or emotional affinity, that group constitutes a nationality.

When that group aspires for or actually attains a political status like independence that nationality becomes a nation.

The moment a nationality gets a separate state of its own, it becomes a nation.

So Lord James Bryce rightly said:

“The difference between the two is of political organisation. Nationality is a nation in the making. As soon as a nationality secures political independence it becomes a nation.”

Thus a nation is the total of a nationality plus statehood. So when a nationality demands for a homeland of its own, it becomes a nation.

According to C. J. H. Hayes:

“A nationality by acquiring unity and sovereign independence becomes a nation.”

For example, former East Bengal in Pakistan was a nationality. But the moment East Bengal became independent of Pakistan under the name of Bangladesh she became a nation.

There is another way of distinguishing a nation from a nationality. According to some political scientists, the distinction between the two is not of a political organisation but of number. When there is one ethnic or racial group it is a nationality.

When several ethnic or linguistic groups join together in a bigger way that conglomeration is called a nation. For example, in India, there are various linguistic and racial groups like Bengalis, Marathis, Punjabis, etc. Each group is a nationality and India is a nation.

Essay # 5. Difference between a Nation and a State:

Although we use the two terms nation and state to mean the same thing, in actuality there is some difference.

Nation is one of feeling while state is one of reality. We know that a state is composed of population, territory, sovereignty and government. Whenever these four elements are available a state is constituted.

Absence of any of them negates the statehood. A state may have more than one nation. For example, before the First World War, Austria and Hungary, two distinct nations, made one state, though there was no element of unity between Austria and Hungary.

Again, the basis of the two concepts is different – a nation is based on the consciousness of unity because of psychological or spiritual feelings. But in a state there is a political unity.

So A. E. Zimmern distinguishes the two thus:

“Nationality, like religions, is subjective, statehood is objective, nationality is psychological, statehood is political; nationality is a condition of mind, statehood is a condition of law, nationality is a possession, statehood is enforceable obligation; nationality is a way of feeling, thinking and living, statehood is a condition inseparable from all civilised ways of living.”

Most of the modern states are nation-states. We may, for example, cite England, Italy, Germany, etc. There is a trend among the modern political writers to equate nation with the state. This gives rise to the theory of one nation, one state.

It is insisted that there should be as many states as there are nations. In other words, statehood should be identified with nationhood, and there should not be any state having more than one nation. This right is known as the right of self-determination.

Sir John Stuart Mill, who is the strongest exponent of this theory, maintained:

“The boundaries of a state should coincide in the main with those of nationalities.”

According to him, a multinational state is unsatisfactory because there is no unity except obeying the common authority.

Whether India is a Nation:

We refer to India as a nation-state. Is the term appropriate? The term state stands for a political entity, while the word nation in the sociological sense means the state. Let us take the case of state. India is definitely a political entity. But the problem comes with the expression nation. Is there one society, in the sociological sense, in India? To give the answer in the positive, India must have commonness in race, religion and language.

It is common knowledge that India does not have common racial unity. All races of the world are to be found in India, it is for this reason that India is called an anthropological museum. This goes on the minus side of nation. As for religion, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism are the main religions of India today. Hindu-Muslim animosity is persistent in Jammu and Kashmir, of course, with the backing of Pakistan.

Otherwise also, there is sporadic incidents of communal riots in India. In 1980 Hindu- Muslim riots broke out in Moradabad and rocked the entire province of Uttar Pradesh. So it is difficult to say that India has religious oneness.

The position with regard to common language is equally disappointing. Indian constitution recognises 17 languages which are called official languages. In addition, there are 1,500 recognised mother tongues, which cannot be excluded from the definition of language.

Language means communication. And modern day developments have shown that communication is imperative in order to bring about participatory development and authentic nation-building.

As a matter of fact, in the context of a vast multi-lingual entity like India, appropriate communication is possible only through the language of its peoples i.e. their mother tongues. Language in India, instead of becoming a means of communication has very often degenerated into a basis of dispute and identity crisis. This has led to creation of Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Meghalaya.

The process is still on the anvil. So neither racially nor religiously nor linguistically India offers a homogenous whole. So it is difficult to call India one nation. This is at least what comes up at the first sight. But if we have a close-up view of it we must be impelled to draw a different conclusion.

We have borrowed the term nation-state from the west. There each nation demanded its own “political roof” and applied it to a condition where numerous nations and cultural conglomeration came to form a state in the wake of the two World Wars. In India, the term has not been used to mean one state but one cultural mainstream, i.e., to build one nation at the cost of other cultural collectivities.

In that case Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, though having differences, have a unified combine which is the state. As several flower plants constitute one garden despite the colour, and odour, differing, so several cultural units combine to make one nation and one state. All said and done, India must be one nation, because the Indians feel that they are so.

Essay # 6. Theory of One Nation, One State:

When a group of people have an identical entity in race, religion or language or even some kind of emotions and ideals of like nature, they qualify to form one nation.

Their next desire becomes to form one state. This idea became current in the wake of the First World War. President Woodrow Wilson was a priest of his theory of one nation, one state.

Thus the moment each group of people develop a national character, each must have an opportunity to have its independent political life.

The most prominent exponent of this doctrine is John Stuart Mill who is said to have maintained in this book Representative Government – “ It is in general a necessary condition of free institutions that the boundaries of governments should coincide in the main with those of nationalities.”

The theory has two lines of arguments. First, if a state consists of only one nationality, there will be more unity and the united energy may be channelized for the all-round progress of the state. Conversely, if the states are formed according to their national character, there will be an end of the majority ruling over the minority.

This will close the story of exploitation. So Pakistan had been created by carving a slice of land having Muslim population in 1947. Again, the Bengali-speaking population felt the need for an independent homeland. So was created Bangladesh in 1971.

Criticism of the Theory of One Nation, One State:

The theory evoked the following criticism. In the first place, if various nationalities live together, there will be an exchange of cultures, which will strengthen each group and enrich their outlook. In the second place, the theory is impracticable.

The race group, language culture and religion orders are so widely and indiscriminately distributed that it is almost impossible to give every nation group a separate slice of land to form a state.

We may give the example of Czechoslovakia. After the First World War, Czechoslovakia was separated from Germany. But many Germans who were inhabitants of Czechoslovakia were left without any political entity for them. They were made a minority population in the new state.

The USSR, which had been a union of several ethnic population, allowed in 1991 to break away from the union and form as many as fifteen states. It is apparent that these states are feeling uneasy in the absence of a strong inherent power to ensure economic viability and defence potentiality. So although the theory one nation, one state may sound attractive, it has several practical difficulties.

Essay # 7. Conclusion to Nation and Nationality:

All the factors listed above are strong forces in the creation of nationality. But none of them is indispensable. Nationality is something sentimental and subjective, while the factors mentioned above are all objective, so the presence or absence of any of the factors may not necessarily lead to the birth or death of nationality.

For example, Switzerland is a nation, though there are diverse races, languages and religions. Similarly, the Jews constituted one nation even though there is no. geographical unity so much so that they have no common or definite territory to live in. So Harold J. Laski rightly said- “ Nationality is essentially spiritual in character, a sentiment, the will of the people to live together.”

Essay on Nationalism: Top 4 Essays | Citizens | Political Science
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The Citizenship In The Nation Merit Badge: Your Ultimate Guide In 2022

As an American involved in Scouting, you’ll need to earn your Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge to reach the rank of Eagle. This badge will teach you what it means to be a good citizen and give you the knowledge and means to create a positive change in your country. Keep reading, because in this post I’ll be walking you through each of the answers needed to earn your Citizenship in the Nation merit badge!

Citizenship In The Nation was updated to new requirements in 2023 To see my up-to-date guide to the Citizenship In the Nation merit badge, Click Here !

Being an informed citizen is critical, especially in today’s chaotic political climate. By understanding the foundations of our democracy and being a good citizen in your community, you’ll help instill the Scouting spirit in others and guide our country in the right direction!

Before we get started, if you have other Eagle-required merit badges to earn, I’d recommend checking out my Difficulty Ranking Guide to Every Eagle-required Badge . There, you’ll also find the links to my other merit badge guides, as well as a description and summary of each badge’s requirements. I’m certain this resource will be helpful to Scouts on their road to Eagle! Also, remember that ScoutSmarts should just serve as your starting point for merit badge research. In school, we’re taught not to plagiarize, and the same is true for Scouting worksheets. Answer these questions in your own words, do further research, and I promise you’ll gain much more from every merit badge you earn!

Citizenship in the Nation has an equal mixture of knowledge requirements, research, and activities. For the activities you choose, I’ll also be providing some insights and tips from when I completed this badge. Be warned, there are some tricky requirements, so this will take at least 2 weeks to finish. Be prepared!

If you’re up for the challenge, it’s time to get started. Take a few minutes to thoroughly read and understand the requirements you’ll need to complete. Then, you’ll be ready to begin earning your Citizenship in the Nation merit badge.

What Are The Citizenship In The Nation Merit Badge Requirements?

Explain what citizenship in the nation means and what it takes to be a good citizen of this country. Discuss the rights, duties, and obligations of a responsible and active American citizen.
Visit a place that is listed as a National Historic Landmark or that is on the National Register of Historic Places. Tell your counselor what you learned about the landmark or site and what you found interesting about it.
Tour your state capitol building or the U.S. Capitol. Tell your counselor what you learned about the capitol, its function, and the history.
Tour a federal facility. Explain to your counselor what you saw there and what you learned about its function in the local community and how it serves this nation.
Choose a national monument that interests you. Using books, brochures, the Internet (with your parent’s permission), and other resources, find out more about the monument. Tell your counselor what you learned, and explain why the monument is important to this country’s citizens.
Watch the national evening news five days in a row OR read the front page of a major daily newspaper five days in a row. Discuss the national issues you learned about with your counselor. Choose one of the issues and explain how it affects you and your family.
Declaration of Independence
Preamble to the Constitution

The Constitution

Bill of Rights

Amendments to the Constitution

List the six functions of government as noted in the preamble to the Constitution. Discuss with your counselor how these functions affect your family and local community.
With your counselor’s approval, choose a speech of national historical importance. Find out about the author, and tell your counselor about the person who gave the speech. Explain the importance of the speech at the time it was given, and tell how it applies to American citizens today. Choose a sentence or two from the speech that has significant meaning to you, and tell your counselor why.
Name the three branches of our federal government and explain to your counselor their functions. Explain how citizens are involved in each branch. For each branch of government, explain the importance of the system of checks and balances.
Name your two senators and the member of Congress from your congressional district. Write a letter about a national issue and send it to one of these elected officials, sharing your view with him or her. Show your letter and any response you receive to your counselor.

1. Explain what citizenship in the nation means and what it takes to be a good citizen of this country. Discuss the rights, duties, and obligations of a responsible and active American citizen.

Citizenship gives an individual the rights, duties, and legal responsibilities associated with belonging to a nation. In your case, you’re likely a citizen of the United States and are afforded certain privileges like protection under our government and the ability to vote once you’ve reached the age of 18.

However, not everyone can be an American citizen. There are 4 primary ways that a person can gain United States citizenship.

Being born on US soil
Being born of parents who are US citizens
Applying for US citizenship and completing a lengthy immigration process (This is called becoming a naturalized citizen)
Through the completed naturalization of parents if a child is under 18 at the time.

American citizenship is not available for everyone and is actually one of the most sought-after forms of citizenship in the world. In fact, usually, only around 680,000 immigrants are naturalized each year out of a pool of over 6 million applicants. That means that only 10% of people who try to become US citizens actually do!

What Does It Mean To Be a Good Citizen?

At a minimum, a good citizen is one who follows all of a nation’s laws and gives back to their country by paying taxes. Acting as a constructive member of society, you’ll help to fuel our government’s activities and make your community a better place to live in.

Within the US, another measure of a good citizen is their participation in our democracy. By following the news and making an effort to understand our national issues, you’ll become informed and make more educated decisions when voting. In turn, this will help to weed out corruption and form a more honest government.

Voting in elections is just one of the duties of an active US citizen. Every citizen has non-negotiable expectations that are placed on them at birth or when they become naturalized. Some of your duties as a US citizen include:

Making yourself aware of all federal, state, and local laws.
Following all laws and regulations in good faith.
If you witness any crimes, reporting what you’ve seen to the authorities.
Attending jury duty if you are called upon.
Paying all of your taxes honestly and in a timely manner.
Fighting in the military and defending your country, if necessary.
Voting in local, state, and federal elections to strengthen our democracy.

The Bill of Rights outlines many of your basic freedoms as an American citizen (more on this later). As a US citizen, your main rights include:

The right to vote (if age 18 or older).
Freedom of speech, religion, and expression.
The right to a quick, fair trial by jury.
Freedom to apply for employment and work within the country.
The ability to run for a political office.
The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Basically, the goal of US law is to provide citizens with the right to do or believe almost anything they want, as long as it doesn’t harm anyone else. To put it more elegantly, “Your right to swing your arms ends just where another person’s nose begins. “ (the identity of the speaker is disputed).

To be a good citizen, you should fulfill more than just your duties. You should also make an effort to improve your community and country. Overall, the main principles that should guide your actions, as an active citizen of the USA, include:

Being good to your fellow citizens. Try to follow the Scout Oath and Scout Law at all times.
Staying informed and making an effort to participate in our democracy.
Trying to be active in your community.
Respecting everyone’s rights to voice their own opinions. Even if those opinions differ from your own.
Calling out any injustices and speaking up for the less fortunate.
Donating or volunteering to give back to your community.

2. Do TWO of the following:

During the time I was working on Citizenship in the Nation, I chose to complete options 1 and 4. It was a really cool experience to visit a historic landmark in my state, and I think you’ll enjoy visiting a landmark as well! Afterward, it was a quick process to finish researching my chosen national monument.

When working on this requirement, I’d recommend you complete requirement 4 and choose some sort of national facility to tour. However, if you have the opportunity to visit two locations with your troop, that’d be a fun time too. In the section, I’m going to be guiding you through option 4 and giving you advice on how best to research the national monument of your choosing.

Step 1: Visit the list of national monuments and select a monument to research. For this example, I’ll be showing you my research on the Statue of Liberty.

Step 2: Note the important details, then write out a list of facts about your monument. This can include the date of creation, location of the monument, number of visitors per year, and a brief description of its history. Take the time to write this information down to later discuss with your counselor.

Example of my list after step 2:

Name: Statue of Liberty
Date established as a national monument: October 15, 1924
Location: New York/New Jersey
Description: Approximately 151 feet (46 m) tall, the Statue of Liberty commemorates the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence and is a gesture of friendship from France to the U.S. It receives over 4 million visitors annually.

Step 3: Click your location’s name to visit the full article on your monument. Skim through the information and pick out some interesting details. Note down 3 fun facts from the article to also share with your counselor.

Additions to my list after step 3:

Fun fact 1: Designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and its metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel (designer of the Eiffel Tower.
Fun fact 2: The Statue Of Liberty was dedicated (officially opened) on October 28, 1886. It was also renovated and rededicated from 1982-2000.
Fun Fact 3: The robed female depicted by the statue represents Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom.

Step 4: Click one of the government webpage citations at the bottom of the article to find a reputable website to use in your sources. Take 1 fact from that website to also add to your list.

Additions to my list after step 4:

Fact 4: You are able to visit the crown and pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, but availability is limited and must be reserved beforehand. Citation: National Parks Service (nps.gov).

With these 4 steps, you should have more than enough information and reputable sources to speak with your counselor. Be sure to also highlight why your chosen monument should be considered important to our country’s citizens. Additionally, if you’d like to go the extra mile, you can also visit your school or local library to find a book on your national monument.

I know that for some of you this sort of research method may seem obvious, but to those of you who aren’t using it, you really should. Not only will outlining your findings and identifying credible sources in page citations save you time in researching merit badge answers, it’ll also make your school assignments easier.

3. Watch the national evening news five days in a row OR read the front page of a major daily newspaper five days in a row. Discuss the national issues you learned about with your counselor. Choose one of the issues and explain how it affects you and your family.

Surprisingly, I found this to be one of the most fun requirements of this badge. If your parents or any of your siblings watch the news, just join them for a few days. Ask them how they think the issues you’re hearing about would affect your family. It’ll make for a great conversational topic, and you’ll be able to learn more about how they see the world.

This requirement got me to watch the news with my Dad for the first time and was the start of a great ritual. Even after finishing the merit badge, I’d still join him to watch the evening news at least once or twice a week.

If you aren’t able to watch the news on TV, newspapers or even news websites would also be fine. It doesn’t take too long to get a basic idea of some of the current national issues that are taking place. Once you have a few topics in mind, be sure to consider how these ongoing events might impact you and your family.

4. Discuss each of the following documents with your counselor. Tell your counselor how you feel life in the United States might be different without each one.

The declaration of independence, the preamble to the constitution, the bill of rights.

The Declaration of Independence was a formal statement, drafted by our nation’s founding fathers, that asserted the separation of American colonies from the rule of the English crown. From this document, ratified on July 4, 1776, we established ourselves as an independent nation, governed by the people, for the people.

In the famous declaration, the line, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” is especially important. This sentence promises to oppose tyranny and helped to guide our country on the right path.

If Thomas Jefferson did not write the Declaration of Independence, we might still be a part of England today. Democracies might be much rarer, or may not even exist at all. In any case, there is little chance we would enjoy the same freedoms and rights as we currently do.

The Preamble to the Constitution appears above the Constitution and serves to introduce the Constitution’s purpose, guiding principles, and intended values. Scholars believe that the preamble represents the founding father’s intentions of what the Constitution represents , as well as what they hoped it would achieve.

Since it’s a short passage, take a second to read the entire Preamble to the Constitution:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The main messages in the preamble, in order, are ensuring justice, peace of mind, safety, prosperity to all, and continued freedom for ourselves and our children. The preamble helps us to better understand and interpret the Constitution. Without it, we might mistakenly focus on the wrong aspects of the Constitution.

The Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. This means that it takes priority over all other federal, state, and local laws. The Constitution essentially serves as a guide to the philosophy and principles that grant citizens of the US certain rights and freedoms.

There are seven articles that make up the United States Constitution. These articles outline our country‘s political, judicial, and civil structure. The Constitution creates a system and process where no part of the government can become too powerful.

The goal of the constitution is to stop dictators and monarchs from coming to power. Without the Constitution, we’d likely not have been able to maintain a stable government for over 200 years. However, the constitution can be changed to better guide justice according to the times (these changes are called amendments).

The Bill of Rights consists of the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution. Simply put, these amendments guarantee the personal rights of US citizens and limit the abuse of government power. In essence, the first 10 amendments making up the Bill of Rights are:

Freedom of religion, speech, and the press.
The right to keep and bear firearms.
Freedom to refuse housing soldiers in your home.
Protection from searches and confiscation of property without a warrant.
Protection from self-incrimination, being tried twice for the same crime, and a guarantee to a fair trial by jury. An individual will also not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due legal process and will be compensated for any unjust losses they might suffer.
The right to a jury, lawyer, and speedy trial.
Guarantees the right to a jury trial in civil cases. Prevents courts from overturning the prior verdict.
Prohibits ‘cruel and unusual punishments, ‘ as well as excessive fines or bail costs.
If some rights are not mentioned in the constitution, they cannot take away from rights held by the people.
Powers not defined in the Constitution are delegated to the states or the people.

While the Constitution serves as a blueprint for the US government, the Bill of Rights secures the liberties of its citizens. Without the Bill of Rights, the government might exert too much power over its citizens and infringe on their freedom. By immediately adding these amendments to the constitution, our founding fathers helped to preserve the rights of the people for generations to come.

Including the Bill of Rights, the US Constitution has seen a total of 27 amendments. These amendments act as clauses added to the constitution that keep our government up-to-date with the changing times.

The abolition of slavery and the right for women to vote are included in the list of amendments that have been added throughout our country’s history. Currently, because it takes two-thirds support from both the House and Senate to approve a new amendment, the most recent amendment was added almost 30 years ago on May 5, 1992.

Without amending the US Constitution, we wouldn’t have been able to make changes to our laws and become a more tolerant nation. Amendments are a great way to make positive changes over time, but require unity and cooperation within our government.

5. List the six functions of government as noted in the preamble to the Constitution. Discuss with your counselor how these functions affect your family and local community.

To refresh your memory on what we covered earlier, the Preamble to the constitution introduces the Constitution’s purpose, guiding principles, and values. The six functions of government as noted in the Preamble are as follows:

We the people, in order to form a more perfect union : As a nation, we’re open to continual improvement. We’ll continue to make amendments to our constitution in order to improve the unity of our country and the lives of its people.
Establish justice : We will handle disagreements in a fair and just manner. Our laws will be in the interests of all citizens.
Ensure Domestic Tranquility : We’ll make the United States a safe country to live within. Citizens will be protected , and have no need to fear for their lives.
Provide for the Common Defense : Our nation will uphold a strong military to defend against foreign attacks. There will be no need to fear the possibility of an invading nation.
Promote the General Welfare : The United States will use its resources to improve the standard of living for all of its citizens.
Secure the Blessings of Liberty to Ourselves and our Posterity , do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America: These rights and freedoms will be secured, not only in the present, but also for your children and future generations as well.

Each of the functions of the Preamble helps to protect US citizens. By ensuring an acceptable standard of living and peace of mind from outside threats, the Preamble to the Constitution helps to create a safe environment for American families and communities.

6. With your counselor’s approval, choose a speech of national historical importance. Find out about the author, and tell your counselor about the person who gave the speech. Explain the importance of the speech at the time it was given, and tell how it applies to American citizens today. Choose a sentence or two from the speech that has significant meaning to you, and tell your counselor why.

For this requirement, you’ll need to choose a speech of national historic importance to research. You can find a list of significant American historical speeches by clicking the link here . Choose one that you might like. Below, I’ll be using the Gettysburg address as an example of what main points you could cover when reviewing your speech.

Gettysburg Address Example:

Abraham Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg address on November 19, 1863, during the American Civil War. At the time of his influential speech, Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States of America. Lincoln is one of the most widely known US presidents, having fought for the emancipation of all slaves during his time in office. Today, Abraham Lincoln is still well respected and remembered, even having his profile carved into the side of Mount Rushmore. In his iconic Gettysburg address, Abraham Lincoln commemorated the fallen Union soldiers and reaffirmed America’s national purpose of liberty and equality for all of its inhabitants. One of the most remembered and quoted lines from his speech is, “This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” This line still rings true for American citizens today. As a society, we’re always trying to form a more perfect nation, and by creating a government of the people, for the people, our nation will continue to prosper. The significance of this line is that, even 150 years later, we’ve still been able to maintain our democracy and succeed as a nation. More than that, we’ve combated injustices and passed positive laws, making our country a more free and just place for all of its citizens.

Now that you know all about the Gettysburg address, you might be interested in hearing it for yourself! Check out this quick and awesome video (2:52) of a guy reenacting the iconic speech in public.

7. Name the three branches of our federal government and explain to your counselor their functions. Explain how citizens are involved in each branch. For each branch of government, explain the importance of the system of checks and balances.

Our federal government is divided into three separate divisions called the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive branches. This separation is called a system of checks and balances and is done to limit the power of any one group. In the section below, I’ll be breaking down each of the government branches, individually:

The Legislative Branch

The Legislative branch of government is in charge of creating our nation’s laws. This branch is mainly directed by the US Congress, which is comprised of both the Senate and House of Representatives. As citizens of the US, we elect our fellow citizens as congress members, thereby creating a government of the people.

Congress is also in charge of creating an annual budget, approving proposed laws, and keeping the President’s power in check. By representing the people of the United States and creating just laws, the Legislative branch exists to be the main voice for the citizens of the United States.

The Executive Branch

The Executive Branch is in charge of approving and enforcing our nation’s laws. This branch consists of the President, Vice President, the President’s cabinet, and 15 other departments along with many other staffers.

The President is tasked with nominating Supreme Court Justices for the Judicial branch, conducting diplomacy with other countries, and evaluating laws submitted by the Legislative Branch. To maintain a system of checks and balances, the President can also veto legislation created by Congress. However, Congress can overturn this veto with a 2/3rds majority vote.

The Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch of government interprets the meaning of laws and judges whether any governmental actions violate the Constitution. This branch consists of our Supreme Court and other federal courts. The US President is in charge of nominating our Supreme Court Justices.

The Judicial Branch has the final say in all legal cases that could set a precedent within our country. If there are any questions as to whether the other branches are acting unconstitutionally, the Judicial Branch will be in charge of delivering a verdict.

This system of checks and balances exists to prevent one branch from obtaining too much power. Here are some examples of checks and balances that you can discuss with your merit badge counselor.

The President can veto laws proposed by the Legislative branch.
The President also holds the power to nominate Supreme court Justices for the Judicial branch.
Congress can overturn the President’s veto with a 2/3rd majority vote and also has control over the budget the Executive branch is allowed.
Congress also has the power to impeach (start the process to remove) members of both the Executive and Judicial branches.
Within the Judicial branch, the Supreme court can declare both proposed laws and presidential actions unconstitutional.
Members of the Judicial branch also have no maximum time they’re able to serve.

As citizens today, we’re able to involve ourselves in each branch of government by electing members to Congress, voting for our President, and signing petitions that are reviewed by our courts. Through this complex system of checks and balances, we’ve been able to distribute power evenly throughout the 3 branches of government and keep our nation free.

8. Name your two senators and the member of Congress from your congressional district. Write a letter about a national issue and send it to one of these elected officials, sharing your view with him or her. Show your letter and any response you receive to your counselor.

After following the news for a week and learning about your country‘s history, writing a short message about a national issue should be a breeze for you. Use this website to identify who your two state senators are . Then, click the following link to identify one of the Congress members from your state .

All that’s left to do is to write a short letter to one of these individuals. My letter was about two paragraphs, but yours can be a little shorter or a little longer. Usually, one of their staff will respond to you, but if you’re lucky, your actual representative could get back to you as well!

If you’ve made it to this point in the guide, congratulations! The citizenship merit badges aren’t easy, but will provide you with the skills to better understand the world around you. Now that you’re ready to earn Citizenship in the Nation, you’re one step closer to becoming an Eagle Scout!

If you found this guide helpful, I’ve also written other merit badges walkthroughs, as well as articles helping you to be a better leader in your troop . Check ScoutSmarts often, because I’m constantly uploading new content for Scouts like you. Until next time, best of luck on your Scouting journey!

I'm constantly writing new content because I believe in Scouts like you! Thanks so much for reading, and for making our world a better place. Until next time, I'm wishing you all the best on your journey to Eagle and beyond!

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This Merit Badge is Required to earn the Eagle Scout Rank

What is the Constitution of the United States? What does the Constitution do? What principles does it reflect? Why is it important to have a Constitution?
List the six purposes for creating the United States Constitution set forth in the Preamble to the Constitution. How do these purposes affect your family and community?
The function of each branch of government
Why it is important to divide powers among different branches
How each branch "checks" and "balances" the others
How citizens can be involved in each branch of government.
Declaration of Independence
The Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution) and the 14th Amendment
The traditional United States motto "E Pluribus Unum".
Watch the national evening news for five days in a row or read the main stories in a national media organization (e.g., a newspaper or news website) for five days in a row. Discuss the national issues that you learned about with your counselor. Choose one issue and explain how it affects you, your family, and community.
Who the author was
What the historical context was
What difficulties the nation faced that the author wished to discuss
What the author said
Why the speech is important to the nation's history.
Visit a place that is listed as a National Historic Landmark or that is on the National Register of Historic Places. Tell your counselor what you learned about the landmark or site and what you found interesting about it.
Tour your state capitol building or the U.S. Capitol. Tell your counselor what you learned about the capitol, its function, and the history.
Tour a federal facility. Explain to your counselor what you saw there and what you learned about its function in the local community and how it serves this nation.
Choose a national monument that interests you. Using books, brochures, the internet (with your parent's permission), and other resources, find out more about the monument. Tell your counselor what you learned, and explain why the monument is important to this country's citizens.
Name your representatives in the United States Congress. Write a letter to your representative in Congress explaining your views on a national issue. Show your letter, along with any response you might receive,to your counselor.

NOTE: The text of the last sentence in requirement 8, as it appears in the merit badge pamphlet, and on Scouting.org, reads, as follows:

We assume that deleting the words shown in red results in the correct wording, which is what we have included in the requirements above.

BSA Advancement ID#: 3 Scoutbook ID#: 25 Requirements last updated in: 2022 Pamphlet Publication Number: 35871 Pamphlet Stock (SKU) Number: 655629 Pamphlet Revision Date: 2014

Blanks in this worksheets table appear when we do not have a worksheet for the badge that includes these requirements.

Page updated on: April 11, 2023

Honduras: Deciphering its Status as a Developing Nation

This essay about Honduras explores its rich history, contemporary challenges, and potential for development. From ancient Mayan roots to modern struggles with poverty and corruption, Honduras grapples with a complex socio-economic landscape. Despite facing obstacles such as political instability and environmental pressures, the nation demonstrates resilience and potential for positive change. By addressing systemic issues and fostering inclusive growth, Honduras can unlock its full potential and emerge as a model of sustainable development in Central America.

How it works

Honduras, nestled in the heart of Central America, holds a complex tapestry of history, culture, and challenges that shape its status as a developing nation. From its ancient Mayan roots to its modern struggles with poverty and political instability, Honduras presents a multifaceted narrative that demands attention and understanding.

At first glance, Honduras might be overshadowed by its more economically prosperous neighbors, but beneath the surface lies a nation grappling with the complexities of development. To decipher its status, one must delve into its history, socio-economic landscape, and the myriad of factors influencing its trajectory.

Historically, Honduras boasts a rich heritage dating back to the ancient Mayan civilization, whose remnants still dot the landscape with archaeological sites like Copán. However, colonialism left an indelible mark, shaping the socio-economic dynamics that continue to reverberate today. The legacy of Spanish conquest and subsequent waves of influence from European powers and the United States has deeply influenced Honduras’ development path, often to its detriment.

In the contemporary context, Honduras faces a plethora of challenges hindering its development. Poverty and inequality stand as towering obstacles, with a significant portion of the population living below the poverty line. Despite being rich in natural resources such as minerals, forestry, and agriculture, the benefits of these assets have not been equitably distributed among its citizens. A small elite class controls much of the wealth, leaving many marginalized communities trapped in a cycle of poverty.

Moreover, political instability and corruption have plagued Honduras for decades, undermining efforts to enact meaningful reforms and foster sustainable development. The country has faced numerous coups, contested elections, and instances of authoritarian rule, further eroding trust in government institutions and impeding progress. Corruption scandals have siphoned public funds away from essential services and infrastructure projects, exacerbating socio-economic disparities and fueling social unrest.

Compounding these challenges are environmental pressures, including deforestation, soil degradation, and vulnerability to natural disasters such as hurricanes and droughts. Climate change amplifies these risks, threatening agricultural productivity and livelihoods, particularly for rural communities dependent on subsistence farming.

However, amidst these adversities, Honduras exhibits resilience and potential for positive change. Civil society organizations, grassroots movements, and international partners are actively engaged in initiatives aimed at addressing the root causes of poverty, inequality, and political instability. Efforts to promote transparency, accountability, and good governance are slowly gaining traction, albeit amid significant resistance from entrenched interests.

Furthermore, Honduras benefits from its strategic location as a gateway between North and South America, offering opportunities for trade, investment, and regional cooperation. The expansion of the Panama Canal and initiatives such as the Central America-4 (CA-4) Border Control Agreement have the potential to enhance economic integration and facilitate cross-border commerce, thereby stimulating growth and development.

In recent years, the Honduran government has taken steps to attract foreign investment, particularly in sectors such as tourism, manufacturing, and renewable energy. Infrastructure projects, such as the expansion of ports and highways, aim to improve connectivity and unlock the country’s economic potential. Additionally, initiatives to promote education, healthcare, and social welfare seek to empower marginalized communities and foster human capital development.

Nevertheless, realizing Honduras’ full potential as a developing nation requires a concerted effort to address systemic challenges and foster inclusive and sustainable growth. This entails strengthening democratic institutions, promoting the rule of law, and combating corruption at all levels of society. It also involves investing in education, healthcare, and social services to empower individuals and communities to thrive in the global economy.

Furthermore, prioritizing environmental conservation and climate resilience is essential to safeguarding Honduras’ natural resources and mitigating the impacts of climate change. By harnessing its cultural heritage, natural beauty, and human capital, Honduras can position itself as a dynamic and resilient nation capable of overcoming the challenges of the 21st century.

In conclusion, Honduras’ status as a developing nation is characterized by a complex interplay of historical legacies, socio-economic challenges, and opportunities for growth and transformation. While the road ahead may be fraught with obstacles, the resilience and resourcefulness of the Honduran people offer hope for a brighter future. By addressing the root causes of poverty, inequality, and political instability, Honduras can unlock its full potential and emerge as a model of sustainable development in Central America and beyond.

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Rally Held At Louisiana Capitol Protesting Stay-At-Home Order And Economic Shutdown

Sara Cline, Associated Press Sara Cline, Associated Press

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Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/louisiana-lawmakers-approve-surgical-castration-option-for-those-guilty-of-sex-crimes-against-children

Louisiana lawmakers approve surgical castration option for those guilty of sex crimes against children

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A person found guilty of a sex crime against a child in Louisiana could soon be ordered to undergo surgical castration, in addition to prison time.

Louisiana lawmakers gave final approval to a bill Monday that would allow judges the option to sentence someone to surgical castration after the person has been convicted of certain aggravated sex crimes — including rape, incest and molestation — against a child younger than 13. Several states, including Louisiana, currently can order such criminals to receive chemical castration, which uses medications that block testosterone production in order to decrease sex drive. However, surgical castration is a more invasive procedure.

“This is a consequence,” Republican state Sen. Valarie Hodges said during a committee hearing on the bill in April. “It’s a step over and beyond just going to jail and getting out.”

WATCH: Sex education ‘is under attack’ by a wave of proposed legislation, advocate warns

The bill received overwhelming approval in both of the GOP-dominated chambers. Votes against the bill mainly came from Democrats, however a Democratic lawmaker authored the measure. The legislation now heads to the desk of conservative Gov. Jeff Landry, who will decide whether to sign it into law or veto it.

Currently, there are 2,224 people imprisoned in Louisiana for sex crimes against children younger than 13. If the bill becomes law, it can only be applied to those who have convicted a crime that occurred on or after Aug. 1 of this year.

The sponsor of the bill, Democratic state Sen. Regina Barrow, has said it would be an extra step in punishment for horrific crimes. She hopes the legislation will serve as a deterrent to such offenses against children.

“We are talking about babies who are being violated by somebody,” Barrow said during an April committee meeting. “That is inexcusable.”

While castration is often associated with men, Barrow said the law could be applied to women, too. She also stressed that imposing the punishment would be by individual cases and at the discretion of judges. The punishment is not automatic.

If an offender “fails to appear or refuses to undergo” surgical castration after a judge orders the procedure, they could be hit with “failure to comply” charge and face an additional three to five years in prison, based on the bill’s language.

WATCH: How families can protect children as FBI sees increase in online sextortion cases

The legislation also stipulates that a medical expert must “determine whether that offender is an appropriate candidate” for the procedure before it’s carried out.

A handful of states — including California, Florida and Texas — have laws in place allowing for chemical castration, but in some of those states offenders can opt for the surgical procedure if they prefer. The National Conference of State Legislatures said it is unaware of any states that currently have laws in place, like the bill proposed in Louisiana, that would specifically allow judges to impose surgical castration.

Louisiana’s current chemical castration law has been in place since 2008, however very few offenders have had the punishment passed handed down to them — with officials saying from 2010 to 2019, they could only think of one or two cases.

The bill, and chemical castration bills, have received pushback, with opponents saying it is “cruel and unusual punishment” and questioned the effectiveness of the procedure. Additionally some Louisiana lawmakers have questioned if the punishment was too harsh for someone who may have a single offense.

“For me, when I think about a child, one time is too many,” Barrow responded.

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Sexual abuse of Native American children at boarding schools exposed in new report

Nation May 29

Only 1 kind of alien could make it to Earth, expert says

Updated: Jun. 04, 2024, 12:21 p.m. |
Published: Jun. 04, 2024, 11:42 a.m.

The harsh traveling conditions wouldn't be possibly for organic life forms. (photo by Brooke Denevan via Unsplash) Brooke Denevan

Claudia Dimuro | [email protected]

Alien invasions of all sorts have been depicted in various media over the decade, from the terrifyingly tentacled species in “Independence Day” to the bug-eyed, brain-exposed Martians of “Mars Attacks!”

However, an expert has come out and said that — should alien life forms truly be attempting to get to Earth — only one type would be successful.

THE WIDER IMAGE

In albania, two women take on a nation with a rooftop wedding.

Edlira Mara (left), Alba Ahmetaj (centre), 44, and their twin daughters get ready for their wedding ceremony in central Tirana, Albania, May 19, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga

By Florion Goga

Filed May 31, 2024, 11:09 a.m. GMT

Photography by Florion Goga

Writing by Fatos Bytyci and Florion Goga

Filed June 03, 2024, 08:00 a.m. GMT

In many ways Alba Ahmetaj and Edlira Mara lead an ordinary life. They brush their twin daughters’ hair before school and play fight with them in their flat on weekend mornings. They have matching shoulder tattoos that mark their 14 years together.

But in their fight to be treated like other families, the lesbian couple did something extraordinary.

At dusk on Sunday, May 19, friends cheered as they stood out on the rooftop of the mayor’s office in central Tirana, kissed, exchanged rings and got married.

Their marriage is not acknowledged by the state - Albanian law does not recognise same-sex civil unions. It has prompted outrage from the political right and the powerful religious community.

But for Alba and Edlira, it was a real expression of love, a cry for equality and, as far as they know, the first wedding of its kind in the Muslim-majority Balkan country.

“There are two people in love ... and now they have finalised it with this beautiful ceremony,” Edlira said after the wedding. “Society will never be ready ... What does this mean? That I cannot live?”

While much of western Europe has made strides towards marriage equality, governments in much of the centre and east oppose change.

In Albania, religion was prohibited for half a century under communism. Today, the country is known for its tolerance among Muslims, Catholics and Orthodox Christians. These faiths are united in their opposition to same-sex marriage.

When plans for the couple’s wedding became public, social media was flooded with thousands of threatening comments. Police officers guarded the building during the ceremony.

Two days later, opposition parties held a protest against the mayor over separate corruption allegations. But the speakers turned on Alba and Edlira too, accusing them of destroying family values.

The furore over the wedding was just the latest stage in what the couple say has been a long struggle to get the same rights as heterosexual couples.

When their daughters were born three years ago, the couple said they both wanted to be registered as parents, but that was not allowed under law. The children are registered under Edlira, the biological mother.

“Our society is very patriarchal and homophobic,” Alba said before the wedding. “If you see comments on Facebook or Instagram ... you will see how little tolerance we have as a nation.”

One of her twin daughters hugs Edlira as their dog Rainy looks at her empty plate, during breakfast at home in Tirana, Albania, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga

Alba does her daughter’s hair at home in Tirana, Albania, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga

Alba, Edlira and their twin daughters have breakfast at home in Tirana, Albania, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga

Alba and one of her twin daughters play at home in Tirana, Albania, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga

Edlira and one of her twin daughters feed their cat Pufi through the window of their apartment, in Tirana, Albania, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga

Alba and Edlira pick up their twin daughters from nursery in Tirana, Albania, May 17, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga

Alba picks up one of her twin daughters, at a park in Tirana, Albania, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga

Alba inflates balloons for her twin daughters as Edlira laughs, a day before their wedding ceremony, at home in Tirana, Albania, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga

Alba and Edlira make arrangements for their wedding, a day before the ceremony, at home in Tirana, Albania, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga

Alba and Edlira’s twin daughters play at their apartment in Tirana, Albania, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga

Amid the struggle, the wedding became a bright spot. To prepare, the family blew up balloons in their apartment. On the evening of the ceremony, friends helped the couple into their big white wedding dresses.

They walked, holding their daughters’ hands, towards the altar through a crowd of friends who threw white rose petals. Around them were the sights of downtown Tirana and mountains beyond, covered in mist.

They were wed by two British pastors.

“We are fighting against 90 percent of the population,” Edlira said. “Both of us are changing a lot of things.”

The Wider Image

Photography: Florion Goga

Writing: Fatos Bytyci and Florion Goga

Photo editing and design: Marta Montana Gomez and Maye-E Wong

Text editing: Edward McAllister and Andrew Heavens

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Name your two senators and the member of Congress from your congressional district. Write a letter about a national issue and send it to one of these elected officials, sharing your view with him or her. Show your letter and any response you receive to your counselor. Citizenship In The Nation was updated to new requirements in 2023
Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge
What difficulties the nation faced that the author wished to discuss; What the author said; Why the speech is important to the nation's history. Choose a sentence or two from the speech that has significant meaning to you, and tell your counselor why. Do TWO of the following: Visit a place that is listed as a National Historic Landmark or that ...
What Is a Nation?
A nation is a soul, a spiritual principle. Two things which, properly speaking, are really one and the same constitute this soul, this spiritual principle. One is the past, the other is the present. One is the possession in common of a rich legacy of memories; the other is present consent, the desire to live together, the desire to continue to ...
Nation-state
Nation-state building. Although France after the French Revolution (1787-99) is often cited as the first nation-state, some scholars consider the establishment of the English Commonwealth in 1649 as the earliest instance of nation-state creation. Since the late 18th century the nation-state has gradually become the dominant vehicle of rule over geographic territories, replacing polities that ...
Nation
v. t. e. A nation is a large type of social organization where a collective identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, territory or society. Some nations are constructed around ethnicity (see ethnic nationalism) while others are bound ...
Honduras: Deciphering its Status as a Developing Nation
Essay Example: Honduras, nestled in the heart of Central America, holds a complex tapestry of history, culture, and challenges that shape its status as a developing nation. From its ancient Mayan roots to its modern struggles with poverty and political instability, Honduras presents a multifaceted
The Greatest Liar of All Time Gets a Criminal Conviction
The Nation Magazine. The disgraced, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump, facing 81 criminal indictments, has always been a master of projection.
These are dark times in a divided nation. Pickup basketball is a ...
At a time when Americans are divided by race and class and age, pickup basketball cuts across those lines. On the court, it doesn't matter what you look like or what you do for a living, and the ...
5 Strategies To Unlock Your Winning College Essay
The best essays have clear, coherent language and are free of errors. The story is clearly and specifically told. After drafting, take the time to revise and polish your writing. Seek feedback ...
Louisiana lawmakers approve surgical castration option for those ...
Louisiana lawmakers gave final approval to a bill that would allow judges the option to order someone to undergo surgical castration when the person is convicted of a sex crime against a child ...
Only 1 kind of alien could make it to Earth, expert says
By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other ...
In Albania, two women take on a nation with a rooftop wedding
In Albania, two women take on a nation with a rooftop wedding. Edlira Mara (left), Alba Ahmetaj (centre), 44, and their twin daughters get ready for their wedding ceremony in central Tirana ...