JohnG@lt wrote:
Penning people in behind arbitrary borders and having their life defined by something they had no control over (where they were born) is completely asinine. I only get one life and if I can make a better life for myself in China or Brazil or Germany what right do you have to stop me? Such a retardedly backwards concept.
National identity and culture is not "arbitrary".
The Chinese have a 10,000 year history of being "Chinese", as an example.
Are you suggesting that the Chinese abandon 10,000 years of cultural heritage in favor of some Utopian vision of a One World People?
It is not so much
"Penning people in behind arbitrary borders", as it is a matter of growing up with a shared national identity and culture.
It's
home, it's
your tribe, it's familiar and safe.
But, to play with a hypothetical scenario,
IF you decided that you just didn't fit in as an American, in any of the varied states that make up the USA, you DO have the option of immigrating to another country.
If you find that THEIR culture, history, traditions, morals, legal framework, economy, and/or general living conditions better suit your ideal, THEN you can apply to become a citizen of THEIR country. Most countries that aren't complete shit-holes (Somalia..), have a process in place for citizens of foreign countries to legally become citizens of their country.
There may be a time when Globalization so intermixes the cultures of the world, that the concept of
National Identity becomes a quaint historical relic - but that time is far off in the distant future, for everyone except deluded academic Utopian dreamers.