@baseddesigner.eth
What is a national identity?
1. Territory - a line on a map someone drew after a war etc. You happened to be born inside it.
2. Language - shapes how you think before you know you're thinking.
3. Mythology - stories, national heroes. Selected, not inherited.
4. Symbols - flag, anthem. You were trained to feel something when you see them.
5. Education - the state's version of history in the state's language. What's left out is also a decision.
6. Bureaucracy - passport, tax number, military service. Some of the hooks that make it hard to leave.
7. Social pressure - "where are you from?" is not curiosity. It's a sorting mechanism but goes far beyond this, in US its "how much you make".
None of these are identity. They're systems designed by someone for a purpose.
3 replies
1 recast
10 reactions