The art of balancing national unity with diversity

We’re human beings with goals and dreams in our lives that motivate us to wake up in the morning. We’re human beings who have all sorts of ideas about our place in the universe. Some of us are more individualistic than others. But there’s an overarching identity and shared heritage uniting us – in the form of our nations.. We’re part of a vast collective of millions. Now, balancing between national unity and diverse ideas citizens have about who they are as individuals in relation to the state without society falling into chaos but thriving proves that we’re dealing with a mature and well-developed nation. Of course, it’s not just regimes that impose their will on citizens. In Israel, there’s the draft for men and women and all the complexities surrounding the topic. The fact is, a well-armed and well-trained population is an asset (a must?) in a world getting closer to the global conflagration by the day. European nations (aside from Finland and Switzerland, perhaps) ought to pay close attention to the Israeli model and apply whichever aspects of that model they can. As I write in my recent Kyiv Post article –

”It’s also vital to keep in mind that Poland is no Finland or Israel when it comes to the awareness of the population and bunker infrastructure. The Finns know exactly how to behave during an alert, be it a drone or a missile attack. That’s just not the case in Poland.”

Back to social issues on the ground. Some groups won’t be integrated into society. That’s just how it is. Their beliefs don’t allow it. They don’t feel like they belong to the same nation, yet they’ve been around for so long that uprooting them just isn’t logical or practical. They don’t want to take part in the draft, for example. What then? If such groups aren’t the majority, then they can be an interesting cultural mosaic, but if they get too powerful, that might threaten the cohesion and security of the state. Well-organized nations can handle such challenges. It’s a real test. It’s also vital to understand if these groups want to expand or if they are fine as they are and if they view the main state, so to speak, with indifference or open hostility. These are crucial factors, because external state actors can and will use such groups as pawns if they get the chance.

We talk about civil wars and, of course, there have been lots of civil wars across the world for all sorts of reasons. The Middle East has been awash with them over the years. And then, there’s the psychological civil war, as I call it. Sure, you can say internal conflict, but when you say conflict, our minds conjure up tanks and bullets. The psychological civil war is when people formally belonging to the same nation, who have passports with the same flag as they travel abroad, are actually so different that it’s fair to classify them as citizens of different nations. The only reason these two, or more, groups interact with one another without bloodshed is because of some state structure keeping it together.

If that state structure (the government) starts taking sides with one of the groups and persecuting others, then the psychological civil war might turn into a full-blown civil war. When you’re from group A and you see a fellow citizen who happens to belong to group B as your enemy, no less of an enemy than some external threat, then it’s only a matter of time before such a state becomes a war zone. A failed state. Political disagreements are fine, ideological disagreements and debates are welcome. That’s what makes us different from regimes. But the minute socio-political divisions run so deep that it’s not just about politics but about identity and seeing others from the same nation as enemies and traitors, that’s a road to hell. Whoever is your nation’s external enemy – be it Iran, Russia, take your pick – can only sit back and applaud.

A well-developed and mature nation welcomes diversity of opinions and values all citizens, including intervening abroad if need be. In times of crisis, the citizens of that nation unite, putting aside their ideological disagreements, because they know the external enemy is targeting all of them. Nations that get it will thrive. Nations that are so divided they can’t even agree on that basic principle – will fail, eventually, either as a result of civil war, external invasion or both. Around three years ago, in one of my Kyiv Post articles, I tried to look at the challenges facing Ukraine after the war. The list of challenges facing Ukraine that I bring up in my Kyiv Post article also applies to other nations – at their core, these challenges are universal, albeit the cultural and geopolitical context differs.

I don’t know about you, dear reader, but I’ve never had a problem with empires. It’s no secret that empires are the norm throughout history. Empires welcomed, even encouraged, diversity among its citizens but there was unity and cold calculation in key matters. Citizens of empires felt proud, particularly when their empire contributed culturally to the world. So many aspects of who we are today dates back to ancient empires. Clapping, thumbs up, and thumbs down gestures, architecture, and so much more, can be traced back to the Roman Empire, and even earlier. Then, there are the evil empires, as we’re acutely aware, that see national unity as defined by the leader as a form of divine diktat while diversity is anathema and individuals mean little to nothing.