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Entry: Nationalism is What We Need Now--The Case for an "Unpatriotic Conservatism" Link: http://www.takimag.com/site/article/nationalism_is_what_we_need_now_a_case_for_an_unpatriotic_conservatism#23426 Post contents: "In the present circumstances, a modicum of American nationalism would be a positive thing—not because nationalism is inherently good but because it provides some insulation against temptations to global empire and multiculturalism." One can support the nation-state "against temptations to global empire and multiculturalism" and be a patriot, rather than a nationalist. John Paul II, in his last book, even links the nation-state with patriotism rather than nationalism. (He agrees with Lukacs, Orwell, Hadar, Larison, and me, by the way, on the definitions of these and related terms.) Nationalism, on the other hand, can--and, in the modern world, often does--play right into the hands of global empire and multiculturalism. Montegrin nationalists, for instance, appealed to the E.U. for support for their right to self-determination. Kosovo is independent today because of the actions of the American global empire and because of the support of so many for multiculturalism. When Mexican irredentism in the American Southwest reaches the level that Mexican-Americans demand independence from the United States, they will be doing so out of Mexican nationalism, not Southwestern patriotism. And they will receive support from the chattering classes because of multiculturalism. Sent at: 2008 05 16