Globalism vs. Ethno-nationalism

Human Events ^ | 01/30/2009 | Patrick J. Buchanan

[fiodora]

Standing before the Siegessaule, the Victory Column that commemorates Prussia's triumphs over Denmark, Austria and France in the wars that birthed the Second Reich, Barack Obama declared himself a "citizen of the world" and spoke of "a world that stands as one."

Globalists rejoiced. And the election of this son of a white teenager from Kansas and a black academic from Kenya is said to have ushered us into the new "post-racial" age.

Are we deluding ourselves? Worldwide, the mightiest force of the 20th century, ethnonationalism -- that creator and destroyer of nations and empires; that enduring drive of peoples for a nation-state where their faith and culture is dominant and their race or tribe is supreme -- seems more manifest than ever.

Barack won the African-American vote 97 percent to 3 percent over John McCain, and 90 percent to 10 percent over Hillary Clinton in the later primaries. McCain ran stronger than George W. Bush only in Appalachia, the laager of the Scots-Irish.

In Jerry Z. Muller's "Us and Them: The Enduring Power of Ethnic Nationalism," in Foreign Affairs, his thesis is summarized:

"Americans generally belittle the role of ethnic nationalism in politics. But ... it corresponds to some enduring propensities of the human spirit. It is galvanized by modernization, and ... it will drive global politics for generations to come. Once ethnic nationalism has captured the imagination of groups in a multiethnic society, ethnic disaggregation or partition is often the least bad answer."

Disaggregation or partition, the man said.

Are we really in a post-racial America, or is our multicultural multiethnic America, too, destined for Balkanization and break-up?

[shielagolden]

we how have taxation without representation
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1590858026591557284

[Golddigger3]

I think it is a real possibility that we will split up at some point before 2050.

How many people saw the crash coming? How many people before the 60’s would have seen 1/2 of families breaking up, us killing 10s of millions of our unborn children, a vast turning away from real belief (or any belief) in God.?

[Golddigger3]

This is jaw-dropping idea. I wish Freepers would look at this.

[american colleen]

Some good comments on the Human events page directly below Buchanan's piece. Particularly the first comment (actually, it's an editorial).

I'm thinking pretty soon this post here on FR will unfortunately give way to comments disparaging the writer rather than critical thinking about writer's piece.