In my mind, I've often thought about global peace. In 8th grade, I realized that it is impossible, given all the interests of the world and sects the world divides itself into. Now in college, I think that religion is the biggest obstacle.
Nationalism is only a problem of world peace if the countries are not allies. Countries live together in harmony for hundreds of years. Eventually through time the countries will fight and kill each other until one country is left to monopolize. There will never be a fully united country though, not due to nationalist per say, but due to the nature of people. Religions will never be able to coexist if they have true followers. That's why atheism is the only form of peace. Now that I think about it I think Karl Marx needs to post on this thread and educate us.
Yeah, they're different thats for sure. Having had 7 years of pre-college religious school education, I am just now thinking outside of the boundaries of religion, and truly questioning if religion TRULY has any purpose in the modern world today, and the increasingly scientific world of the future. I just wish more people would look at the world from another perspective, to really question the importance, and place in the world, of their belief or their feelings of nationalism, and perhaps re prioritize just how important it is to them.
Its not that there is an obstacle in particular to peace, its the fact that chaos is a part of the world we live in. Theres always been war and there always will be war its just a part of this life.
Every era the majority of people think that the world will not change. There are always only a handful of visionaries that can spark change. Things consistent for hundreds of years are changed by revolutionaries. If you are closed minded about things then things will not just change. Technology will eventually evolve to a point where we are completely self-efficient. At this point war for supplies will become non-existent. Only religion will remain and a revolutionary leader will have to take care of that. Too bad that's not going to happen anywhere near my lifetime.
The evil imbedded in all of mankind is what's continuously preventing world peace. Governments want power, access to more resources, land. The need to rule. Every body wants to rule the world.
No revolutionary could ever take care of religion, history has shown us this. Too many people live on their own terms. Now if robots were to take over like in the matrix...lol who knows only time will i suppose.
religion is much more flexible than nationalism and is therefore a more easily manipulated ideology. religion is supposed to serve the purpose of good.. almost regardless of what the religion is. but theres always people to interpret it the wrong way and promote ignorance and violence in its name. and religion often becomes a big part of the identity of a nation. a lot of people in america right now would call our country a christian nation. it's just stupid shit.
Yea its funny to me how many call the u.s. a christian nation when i see far more athiests or agnostics then any christians. of course i dont really hang around churches in my spare time although it seems like theres one on every corner around where i live lol
nationalism... religion could be peaceful..if we'd replace "religion" to "faith to a supreme power".. which is supposed to be the meaning ,yet religion is much more than that.. nationalism has never led to anything else besides hate ,pride ,racism and wars..some wars though happened to be liberating... but still ..if another nationalistic country wouldn't turn imperialistic there would be no reason for a liberating war since there would be no occupation to be liberated from.. many religions act in nationalistic ways too, trying to control and expand.. ugh.. i consider them both obstacles when it comes to peace and freedom..
Most definitely religion. Sure, people care about their country.. but they will go to any lengths to preserve their beliefs.
oh they will go to any lengths to preserve their nationalistic beliefs too.. caring about your country doesnt mean you are nationalistic.. everyone cares about the place they live ...not everyone goes nationalistic thou..
In pure secular terms, even the most vile nationalistic regimes have human leaders who can be negotiated with, ostracized, and/or assassinated. The most zealous citizens of these regimes are usually sane enough to realize that a nation is a human construct and the ultimate sacrifice is not going to bring them eternal reward. On the other hand, fiercely dogmatic religionists see their plight as above human reason, providence and lifespan.