The leader of a country has to wear (at least) two hats. He must fully be a citizen of his country as well as a citizen of the world. He must fully understand his own people, but he must also represent them on the world stage. To do the latter, he must not be blind to his country’s place in the global community. He must understand that the populist rhetoric ‘my country first’ is counterproductive outside of ‘my country.’ That is what leads to wars. When nationalistic demagogues are elected it puts the world at risk. Is there a fundamental conflict between what is best for the world and what is best for ‘my country’? Are we returning to the age of mercantilism where one nation’s gain is tantamount to another nation’s loss? I don’t think we are, but that simplistic explanation is gaining traction among a large section of the population. You can’t elect the man who will stop at nothing to ‘make my country great.’ ‘My country’ can only be great if it is at peace with other countries, if it understands its role in the balance of resources, if it gives to the world and doesn’t simply take.
Patriotism, when not paired with an understanding of our shared, border-less humanity, is a bad thing. The First World War happened because nationalisms were stacked against each other. The people of France and the people of Great Britain and the people of Germany and the people of Russia and the people of Austria-Hungary believed that ‘my country’ was best and ‘your country’ had to lose for ‘my country’ to win. If the twentieth century has taught us anything it is that this kind of pride always leads to a fall. Of course, ‘my country’ should think about its own people, should build a welfare system to protect its weakest citizens, should foster a shared national identity. But that identity should not be based on the exclusion of the other. Our national borders should not blind us to what is common between all humanity. Greatness, when defined as power, is a fools errand. It can never be the end goal because the contest for power is a state of permanent competition. It is unstable by its definition. To make a country truly great, the goal must be not greatness, but humanity. And humanity requires humility. Make ‘my country’ humble.
