Tonisha Spratte Blog #1 What ties one to a nation?

Nation is defined by Merriam-Webster as

a (1) : nationality 5a (2) : a politically organized nationality(3) : a non-Jewish nationality <why do the nations conspire — Psalms 2:1 (Revised Standard Version)>

b : a community of people composed of one or more nationalities and possessing a more or less defined territory and government

c : a territorial division containing a body of people of one or more nationalities and usually characterized by relatively large size and independent status

With that said, I don’t know about you but I know I’m still left wondering what a nation is! So I went on to search what is this “nationality” that Merriam-Webster speaks of. One definition says “a people having a common origin, tradition, and language and capable of forming or actually constituting a nation-state” Now that we know what a nation is, how do we know when we belong to one? Referring to the movie we watched in class, Passing Through, what is it that triggers one to feel that they belong, or feel a connection to a specific area, region, or nation? Although Nathan was Korean, when he went to Korea and stayed for six months, he still felt no connection to that nation and I think it’s because, one will not feel a connection to a place without a reason to feel one, and just because you may be Korean or Japanese you will feel no ties to these areas without concrete reason to feel so.

For example, Nathan was Korean but since he had no family (that he knew of), no old friends, or true loves, or fond memories he didn't feel a connection to Korea. He did however, seem to feel a connection to the place where he spent most of his life, where he had a family and childhood memories. It’s like when people get home sick, you don’t get homesick for a “home” that you have never experienced, you long to be at the place that you know, that you have fond memories of, where family may be or where memories of loved ones can be evoked and almost re-experienced.

To sum it all up, in my humble opinion, I do believe that regardless of a person’s race, he/she will feel a connection to the area or nation that they grew up in, the place where their memories start, where they have family, where they call home. I think that that comes with the people you grew up with, with the people you live with and call your family. Without that, what reason would anyone have to call an unknown territory home, or have any type of nationalistic feelings for such any unfamiliar place?