A response to post-nationalism

At the London Olympics, as with any other major sporting event, we focus on the winners and losers according to the results. But it's possible to see in the games a different type of defeat: a political, ideological, conceptual and romantic defeat. Who was defeated? The romantic idealists, proponents of post-nationalism, which seeks to create a new world order free of nations.

What are their claims and what do post-nationalists want? They believe that "nationalism" is an expression of the politicization of the "we," and that it is unnatural and creates tensions. Post-nationalist romantics claim that nationalism is not "built in" to the natural world order, but is a product of social construction. It had its beginning and its end has already arrived, all part of the natural process of evolution. In short, in the new, post-nationalist world, there is no "collective identity" that creates nations; instead there are "citizens of the world" who compete against each other in the framework of global, universal social networks.

What good comes from the post-nationalist world? According to the post-nationalists, there are only advantages: There are no wars and there is no terror; there is no importance to territory as an aspect of national identity; there are no longer be tensions between different peoples, tribes and ethnocultural communities; the economy thrives; the hole in the ozone layer will close, and so on. In essence, a new, perfect world would be born.

There is not enough time to discuss all the inherent contradictions in the process of creating such a new world order. Instead, I am interested in claiming that the Olympics are actually the expression of strengthening nationalism and patriotism, which clearly shows that the path to post-nationalism is still long, if there is even a chance at all.

One main expression of strengthening patriotism can be found in the media coverage of Olympic events. It was incredible to see how BBC broadcasters, for example, flew off the handle while covering the various events. They did not wear the hats of objective journalists; instead, they brandished the flags of proud citizens who happened to be journalists. Broadcasters were clearly excited or disappointed in accordance with "their" athletes' performances. Broadcasters from Israel's Channel 1 were no different from their friends from around the world, including television broadcasters from Iran, Egypt, Great Britain and the U.S.

Another expression of this was the behavior of many athletes following victories: Most of them sought their flag and wrapped themselves in it to make a victory lap around the pitch. True, the achievement was personal, but it was also part of national heroism. In other words, the athlete did not earn a personal medal, but a national one.

In conclusion, the Olympics are a challenge to the proponents of multicultural utopias and a world without nations. This point of analysis is relevant to our region and claims that Jews should give up their nationality to create a civil state, as part of the post-nationalist global process. If anyone still thinks we should, just take a look at the Olympics and the universe.