Discussions on

National Flag,
Not being colonized,
Being the land of multi-ethnic group and Socio-cultural diversity and
Celebrating nations and nationalities day in demonstrating nationalism and social
identity.
1) National Flags
Flags are condensed symbols, or key symbols. National symbols are central to any nation state.
They provide an outward representation for a collective, its history, and its achievements. Given
the very idea that a nation has to be regarded as a social construction.

National flags are central images of nationhood and are used to represent, justify and glorify
nations. The use of flags and participation in ceremonies help symbolize commonality and the
imagined oneness of nations but such notions can also become highly divisive. National
ceremonies and national day design have therefore become of great importance for nation
builders and policy makers in multi-national and multi-ethnic states.

2) Not being colonized

Colonialism is Relationship in which one country is subject to the authority of another.
Colonialism is a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another.
Usually involves the settlement of citizens from colonial power in the colony.

A spirit of imperialism was one cause of colonialism which is the domination by one country of
the political, economic, or cultural life of another country. Colonialism promotes the idea of
national superiority. Imperialist felt that they had the right to take control of countries they
viewed as weaker.

Not being Colonized has the following outcomes:-

Formulating and regulating policies independent of imperialist rules
Local economies became independent of influences from western nations
Being free from imperialist challenges
Individuals and groups can resist and exercise against colonial domination
Preventing from western culture being spread to own regions and resist to cultural
influences.
Enabling to organize the traditional and political units of own society
Cultivating domestic products for a food to local community.
Ensuring the construction of infrastructures such as transportation, education, and
medical care with improved and liable to the local society.
Equal and equitable distribution of nations natural resources among local community.
Guarantee of National dignity and National interests.
International recognition, patent and copyright prevalence of own local crops, foods, and
other products.
Demonstrating of the social and cultural heritages of native peoples
Capability of Competing within the global economy.
 3) Being the land of multi-ethnic group and Socio-cultural diversity
Identities are malleable, complex and multiple. They evolve and are expressed according to the
changing needs and opportunities facing individuals and communities. The flexibility and
multiplicity of communitys identities is due to the fact that different aspects of identities
intersect combining and modifying each other in the process. An ethnic group is defined by itself
and other groups by its distinctive cultural, linguistic and religious attributes. This is a different
term from race. Sometimes there is a conflation of the two terms where race and ethnicity are
combined in a somewhat confused way. The diversity of multi-ethnic groups and socio-cultural
varieties has its own advantage on building colorful identity and entire development of
multicultural society with tolerability.

4) Celebrating nations and nationalities day

National ceremonies are good highlight for the formation of nations and national identities, and
examine how they contribute to the expressions of partner hood. Collective ceremonies and
symbols have something important to tell us about the character, the self-identity and the
collective consciousness of the social community members of one nation. National ceremonies
express deeper aspects and meanings of the nation. National ceremonies provide comfort and
anchorage in an ever changing world. National symbols and ceremonies have an effect upon the
community they represent, that is, they raise collective consciousness of `who we are' and `where
we are from. National ceremonies vary in age because the nations they represent vary in `age',
the latter being a function of national independence and continuity. We Ethiopians Celebrate
Nations and Nationalities day of National Ceremony in every year of the December 8.

5) Our Reflection
Multi-Ethnicity and diversity in cultures are attractive and persuasive indicators within well-
organized social communities. To be a citizen of the world, an international person, has long
been an ideal toward which many strive. Unfortunately, history is also rich with examples of
totalitarian societies and individuals who took it upon themselves to shape everyone else to the
mold of their planetary vision.

A person's national identity results directly from the presence of elements from the "common
points" in people's daily lives: national symbols(national flags), language, colors, nation's
history, blood ties, culture, music, cuisine, radio, television, and so on. People with identification
of their nation view national beliefs and values as personally meaningful, and translate these
beliefs and values into daily practices.

In case of the justifications to colonization of a people, which create images on the identity of
colonized there are many manifestations used, but one universal image that has been put on
native people is laziness. Another image reflected by the colonized community also the feeling
of inferiority. Generally not being colonized and free from any external subordination on the
native community has the advantage on development of sociological and socio-ideological
entitlements for the indigenous cultural spheres and social practices.
 6) Conclusion
Nationalism is one's identity or sense of belonging to one state or to one nation. It is the sense of
a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, language and
politics. Nationalism and social identity may refer to the subjective feeling one share with a
group of people about a nation, regardless of one's legal citizenship status. Social identity is
viewed in psychological terms as "an awareness of difference", a "feeling and recognition of 'we'
and 'they'".

The expression of the above discussed titles (national flags, multi-ethnicity, not being colonized
and celebrating nations and nationalities day) are characterized by national pride and positive
emotion of love for one's country.