Ask any American, from the dog catcher to the philosophy
professor, what the difference is between a nationalist and a patriot, and they
will respond with a blank look on their faces. The professor may after a moment
or two mumble something meant to sound like a definition, but you'll find it
inadequate and walk away. And yet, you have all these American pundits and
so-called journalists praising themselves and each other for being patriots
while chiding the Egyptian people for exhibiting a little bit of nationalist
tendencies. Go figure.
I am not going to try figuring this out but I have a few
observations to make in light of the explosive responses I was able to monitor
– those that opposed the remarks made by Russia's Vladimir Putin on American
exceptionalism. Let me tell you, they were universally opposed; and vehemently
so. In any case, long or short, direct or indirect, I place those responses in
one of two categories. One category pertains to America as a nation; the other
pertains to the people of America as individuals.
I suspect that what happened to me while watching the
spectacle is a normal human response that must have happened to other watchers
– which is that I compared myself with what I was hearing the Americans say
about themselves and about their country. Well, I was born Egyptian but am now
Canadian. This being the case, what I heard the Americans say about their
country being a land of opportunity to which people flock from everywhere, I
found it to apply to Canada as well. And this should make me and my country
exceptional.
Also, what I heard the Americans say about being a people
who rally around an idea more than the bloodline to which they belong, reminded
me of the 30 million people who filled the streets and squares of Egyptian
cities making demands on their government, and telling foreigners to keep their
noses out of their affairs. That makes them exceptional both as individuals and
as a nation. Call them patriots, call them nationalists or call them whatever
the professor will want to say about the subject. Who cares anyway what the
definition may be?
After a while, something happened with consequences that
unraveled a mystery preoccupying me for a long time. I began to feel a sense of
inflated pride about being who I am. Because I never felt this way before, and
could not understand those who did, the feeling unsettled me. I stopped
monitoring the Americans for a moment to probe myself and see what was going
on. Was I mutating into another being or something? I discovered to my relief
that no, I was not mutating.
But I found that as a Canadian, we were the country that
harbored the slaves who fled the American monsters that kept them in chains.
And so I concluded that if these characters think of themselves as exceptional;
they must think of us as infinitely more exceptional. And being of this image
in the eyes of others must have been the thought that worked on my subconscious
mind, giving me the inflated pride to which I was not accustomed. I breathed a
sigh of relief knowing that this shall pass.
But while making that sort of comparisons, it occurred to me
that unlike the Southern Europeans who colonized South and Central America, the
Northern Europeans colonized Canada, the United States and Australia. Yes,
those who came to the “New World” from Southern Europe committed atrocities
toward the indigenous people but did not slaughter them wholesale. This is why
the South and Central American cultures contain strong indigenous flavors and
strong indigenous bloodlines.
By contrast, the people who came from Northern Europe to
settle in North America and Australia, first slaughtered the indigenous people
then built empires using the wealth they plundered in Africa and Asia,
something the Southern European did not do because they had few if any colonies
in Africa or Asia. In the case of the United States, the Americans also had the
advantage of cheap slave labor they imported from Africa.
So where does that leave us: Egyptians, Canadians, Americans,
Russians or whatever? Are we all exceptional? Exceptional my ass; we're all
mortals, and we'll go back to being dust again.
Maybe there is a life after this one but till you see what
that is, hold your pride my friend because we don't know if there will be room
to feel the pride out there – be it nationalistic or patriotic.