A Response to Kendall's Blog:

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          I think you're offering some really good insight into nation/nation building. You've got me thinking - what IS more important when building a nation? Is it something that we can quantify? Is it something that we can just use as a blanket statement for all nations, or is it dependent on the situation and the past of the people that you're trying to make into a nation? In class we talked a lot about different ways to classify a nation (ethnic vs. civic), but never really pondered the weight of those two individually.
          This is something that I've thought a lot about too. When growing up and being taught about countries and nations, we are taught in a way that gives us the impression that the two are synonymous. Educators make it seem like once you have a set leadership and develop a country, then you automatically have a nation. But, through this class, we are learning that this is definitely NOT the case. Just because you get people together under one government does not mean that they are unified under a nation - I think that is something that we can also see in the society we live in today. It reminds me of what Haley mentioned in class the other day - we are a country but are we a nation? Is there a sense of nationalism in the United States?
          It's crazy how through the education we have received beforehand, we have been taught not to think much about culture in regard to a nation. But, cultural unity is so important in actually uniting people. It fosters a different kind of unity, one that is more or less chosen than forced upon people like the development of a government and a country.
          You're so right about the embellishment of history, especially in war heroes. Of course an important figure's good deeds are going to be embellished and the bad things ignored, but I never thought about how much that may affect us and our unity. Is the embellishment overall good for us because it does unify us, or does it lead us to live and believe a false reality? This makes me think of the many important figures in the history of the United States, because embellishment is definitely not a stranger to our history.
          I loved your post Kendall, it really got me thinking!

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