Nationalism: Preserving and Fostering Traditions and Customs

Nationalism is a sentiment of loyalty toward the nation which is shared

by the nation. It is defined as strong even extreme patriotism and pride in
one’s country, so much so that it may lead to conflicts with other nations
that are also highly nationalistic.

Nationalism is important because people have naturally organized

themselves into groups with common interests and goals ever since the start
of human civilization. People have established a strong intrapersonal and
interpersonal relation within themselves and with others.

People who speak the same language, share the same ethnicity or
faith, or happen to be like-minded politically, or any combination of those
things, might want to have their own country and a government of their
choosing, which represents the things they wish to preserve, emphasize, and
grow. They want to foster what they believe is good for the country and for
the betterment of the citizens.

Meanwhile, nationalism is often associated with patriotism.

Nationalism is a political, social, and economic ideology and movement
characterized by the promotion of the interests of a particular nation,
especially with the aim of gaining and maintaining the
nation's sovereignty (self-governance) over its homeland. Patriotism is the
feeling of love, devotion and sense of attachment to a homeland, and a
sense of alliance with other citizens who share the same sentiment.
Nationalism, therefore, seeks to preserve and foster a nation's traditional
culture, and cultural revivals have been associated with nationalist
movements. It also encourages pride in national achievements, and is closely
linked to patriotism.

It depends on the people on how they are going to show their

nationalism. It is on how they show how proud they are for the culture they
have. Filipinos are indeed unique; wherever they are, they are still
recognized for being respectful and hospitable. The “po” and “opo” manner
is still evident, it is a way of showing respect to the elders and to others.
Patronizing our very own products before those “imported products” is a
great way to show nationalism. It is really important to show love for our
products because it is where we gain economy. It helps as well in promoting
our country, where we can gain tourists that would bring our economy to
rise.

Nationalism, nowadays, is not usually shown, for we should speak our

native language but because of the modernization that we have, people tend
to speak foreign language a lot more. It is also due to the demand of work
that we are experiencing, companies are now targeting to be globally
competitive in which Filipinos are adapting very well. We may speak English
due to our nature of work but still in our hearts, we are proud because
Filipinos are really flexible to changes. Our ancestors are part of this
flexibility that we have, they were colonized by many countries, and they
have absorbed all the changes and cultures that these colonizers brought.
They fought for our country, and now we are free. We are free to show the
world that we are united and that we love our country.

Nationalism, therefore, seeks to preserve and foster a nation's

traditional culture, and cultural revivals have been associated with
nationalist movements. It also encourages pride in national achievements.