sounds like the ugly side of nationalism...lalyil wrote:It's easy to laugh about this but unfortunately this feels painfully true. I feel I need to mention Israel... my country has always been considered a 'Jewish-Democratic' country. Of course it's impossible to be both Jewish and Democratic. But we've always claimed we're "the only democracy in the middle east". In the past few years, especially since our current prime minister was elected (whom I despise), the country has gotten more and more religious, I don't mind Judaism, I have many religious friends, but many more are taking it to an extreme. The government actually supports this change.. giving religious Jews their own buses, the fees on these buses are cheaper than on regular buses, and women have to sit in the back!! It's like the 50s or something. Also, people in my country have always been, in a way, really snobbish. Israelis generally really feel like they're better than anyone else. It's getting worse and worse though. It's like they're oblivious to the outside world. Killing innocent children in enemy countries is absolutely fine, and telling the government they shuld bomb Iran when you don't need to be a smart ass to know it'd be the most idiotic thing to do.
I could go on and on about it but basically, people here are getting more religious, more racist, they take everything to the extreme. It's honestly getting out of hand. When I talk to scholars about the future of this country, they all truly believe it won't last too many more years.
i think nationalism has been Israel's shield against foreign aggression.. but some countries take it too far
nationalism demands unaccommodating leaders..
appearing belligerent, strong, and conservative.. the byproducts of such a reign are:
rampant and in your face organized religion, indifference towards minorities, and stubborn domestic/foreign policies
and you know the country is in trouble if there is no active and genuine liberal movement.. just one made for the sake
of appearances (superficial)..
hopefully that is not the case with Israel.. and people such as yourself can change the tide..