This week, my wife and are going to the Olympics. Britain seems to be aflame with Olympic fever; people are desperate to go to any event they can get tickets for, and every newspaper reserves its front pages for the latest British medallists. The pride in hosting the event and the pride in our medallists is palpable. As a Zionist, I see great grounds here for inspiration.
“Nationalism’ is, to most modern ears, a bad word. Nationalism tore Europe apart on more than one occasion. Nationalism and its cousin, Imperialism, were responsible for pillaging the third world and keeping the poor nations poor. Nationalism was at the heart of Nazi evil. To be a civilised member of the post-war West is to shirk nationalism in favour of globalism.
And yet, the Olympics are all about nationalism. In our opening ceremony, we Brits, under the direction of Oscar winning director Danny Boyle sought to present to the entire world what we take it to mean when we say, with pride, that we’re British. The nations of the world are invited to come to compete under the banner of their national flag, while also exhibiting values such as good sportsmanship, effort, endurance, perseverance, self-sacrifice, and the like.
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