Part of a Whole:the Sins of Nationalism and a Mini Life Lesson

Amirah Ahmad

每个人自出生的那一刻起就被规定了国籍，这仿佛是我们最根本的身份标签，热爱祖国也是我们最自然和最基本的道德底线。但跳出国界，我到底是谁？我对于这个世界意味着什么？世界于我又是什么样子？作为世界公民，我们在抵制歧视和种族主义的同时，有没有真正地尝试去融入这个世界？也许只有在探寻四海一家的路上，我们才会遇见真正的自己。

It’s been a year and a half since I’ve been writing for this literary magazine.Nearly every month, I’ve written a piece about American traditions and customs as well as stories about China and Inner Mongolia from “American” perspective.From my point of view, I’ve been hoping to shed some light on1. shed light on： 使……被充分理解，阐明。the United States to people who may have not been there and want or to people who simply are curious about the culture.

However, I have come to realize that my incessant coverage on “American”customs is an effect of inherent, zealous nationalism.2. incessant： 不断的，连续的；coverage： 新闻报道；inherent： 固有的，内在的；zealous：热情的。I’ve been transforming my patriotic3. patriotic： 爱国的。thoughts into words. I managed to embed4. embed： 作为本质部分体现。the pride I have in my country into my stories. I’m writing to apologize. Although nationalism is an admirable quality for citizens across the globe, we must realize that it divides us. We have 196 countries in the world, each carrying its own culture, society, economy, and population. Each of these countries has a population that, hopefully, is proud of its nation. What often occurs, however, is our nationalism blinds us of seeing the world as one uni fied compilation5. compilation： 汇集。of people. We’re not a common being, rather a being in common.6. 我们不是普通的个人，而是共同的存在。

After realizing my own American-leaning bias has slipped through my articles,I have slowly started to acknowledge the hardcore7. hardcore： 中坚的，根深蒂固。nationalism that dominates each citizen. Blind nationalism not only divides the world in 196 compartments,but also inhibits cosmopolitanism.8. compartment： 隔间，区划；inhibit： 抑制，约束；cosmopolitanism： 世界主义，四海一家。Rather than being citizens of our respective9. respective： 分别的，各自的。nation, is it not better to be citizens of the world? As citizens of the world, our urges to discriminate, be racist, or be possessive of our culture would be impeded by our desire to be part of the global community.10. 作为世界公民，我们原有的歧视、种族主义以及对自己文化的独占心理都将被我们四海一家的愿望所代替。possessive： 不愿与人分享的，有独占欲望的；impede：阻碍，妨碍。

After all, what is a nation? The only thing that separates me, in America,from you, in China, is an ocean. I read about Chinese news every day, thinking about my friends and colleagues I’ve left behind from two summers ago. Nations are nothing but geographical locations, so to divide ourselves according to our national borders is preposterous11. preposterous： 荒谬的，可笑的。.

What made me realize the importance of cosmopolitanism was when the world practiced it. The day of the Taliban Peshawar school massacre12. Taliban Peshawar school massacre： 巴基斯坦白沙瓦塔利班武装袭击军校事件。2014年12月16日，塔利班武装分子袭击了巴基斯坦西北部地区一个军队管理学校，死亡人数达130余人，120余人受伤，遇难者多为孩子。in which at least 132 children have died was one of the most cosmopolitan days I have witnessed.It seems like the death of innocence has a certain power that can move the hearts of millions. Across the entire world, people condemned the attack, expressing their disgust of targeting the children.13. condemn： 谴责；disgust： 厌恶。Everyone I spoke to that day mentioned the attack. On Twitter, people from England, America, Pakistan, and Indonesia were sounding off14. sound off ： 高谈阔论，大声疾呼。on the massacre. For a number of hours, we were united as citizens of the globe, all expressing our concerns for the children and disgust for the attackers. The unity we expressed should be consistent, every day, every week,every year. We must unite, we must acknowledge we’re all parts of a whole. A beautiful, earthly, wholesome15. wholesome： 健康的，健全的。, whole.

The preceding paragraph sounded like a great way to end my dialogue, right?However, I have one more piece of knowledge I’d like to share with you, that may or may not connect to my previous points. It links to the same idea of readjusting identity, but more on a personal level. It’s funny. Adults used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. When I was 5, I would tell them I wanted to be a doctor. Later, I realized I pass out16. pass out： 晕倒，昏厥。at the sight of blood. When I was 7, I would tell people I wanted to be a vet17. vet： 兽医，veterinarian的缩写。. That was only because my other friends wanted to be veterinarians. When I was 12, I wanted to be a neurologist18. neurologist： 神经病学家，神经科医师。. I soon realized I did not want to go to medical school. When I was 16, I told people I wanted to become a journalist. That dream has passed me by as well. Adults don’t ask me what I want to be when I grow up anymore, because frankly, I’ve grown up quite a bit. They assume I’m on the path of becoming what I want to be. Let me tell you a little secret: I have no idea where I’m headed.

Countless people have told me that it’s ok if I don’t know what I want to do,but subconsciously19. subconsciously： 潜意识地。feel like they’re all lying. I should know what I want to do by now, or at least have an inkling20. inkling： 模糊概念，略知。of my interests. How can I know my interests when I don’t even know who I am? Alright, I may be a little melodramatic21. melodramatic： 夸张的。now but it’s a serious question. Who are you? What world do we live in? What is your identity? Are you de fined by your country? Am I simply an American and are you simply Chinese? Is there more to our national identity or are we small,unrecognized little pieces in the game that is life? I hope I have aroused some selfidentity questions, because I believe that’s what life is all about. We struggle to find ourselves. This may be the reason why we are guilty of such strong nationalism.We don’t know who we are, but we know what our country is, so we’ll stand by it to the end. It’s important to separate ourselves from the masses, however. It’s even more important to stick with the masses, because we learn about ourselves through others. We mustn’t limit our identities to what we know. Instead, we must explore the world, different countries and customs, and different people. Despite such incongruities22. incongruity： 不协调，不一致。, we may be able to finally learn about ourselves.

I realize this wasn’t the typical column I usually write, but I believe in spontaneity23. spontaneity： 自发性。. I sat down at my desk and began to write down my thoughts, and here they are. I assume many of my readers are young adults, trying to make a living or a meaning of life. Although I am unsure myself, I’m here to tell you that you’ll be okay as long as you explore. Try new things and take risks and somewhere along the way you will find yourself.