Brittany Liu's Blog #1 Science of Humanity

One idea I want to highlight in Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities is his distinction between two concepts of the formation of nationalism and communities.  Anderson clarifies another scholar’s quote by stating, “communities are to be distinguished, not by their falsity/genuineness, but by the style in which they are imagined” (Anderson 6).  He is suggesting that communities are formed from nationalism and they are imagined through the kinship of humanity.  I believe the “falsity” is referring to when people are not considered to be part of the nation because of difference in ethnicity or nationality.  I don’t believe a person is born into a nation feeling the spirit of nationalism: it comes about through the connections made with other human beings regardless of ethnicity or culture.  A nation should not just include its “citizens,” but also the other people who feel the bond to a community that they call home.   

 

A prime example of this is in Nathan Adolfson’s film Passing Through.  I think the title says it all.  Although he was born in Korea, he did not make the deep human connections in his birthplace like he did in America.  That is why Nathan merely passed through without feeling the bond he felt with his adopted family in America.  I know commonality is a big aspect of nationalism for some people, but his similar ethnicity and appearance were not enough for him to feel like he belonged there.  If nationalism was predetermined within himself as a Korean-born male, he should have felt like he belonged in Korea.  But like he said at the end of the film, it was his American family that he felt the strongest connection.   

I believe the purpose of a nation is much like one of the purposes of life: to find the links of humanity.  I don’t particularly like separating nation between nations because they all make up humanity and that is a bond that cannot be broken.  However, realistically a nation is something that is easier to grasp and feel a sense of community, rather than all of humanity.  It is a subset of humanity and within that are communities and then families.  I feel the strongest bond within my family, similar to Nathan.  I am half Chinese, but I know that I am a part of this nation because it is the place that I call home, not speaking in terms of territory, or ethnicity, but because of the deep bonds of my family and friends within the U.S.  Nationalism is not something I opened my eyes to, it was created within me by my sense of community through human relationships.