Our president has recently called himself a nationalist, saying that “that word” should be OK and should be celebrated in his group of supporters and followers. Why should we care? Among all of the things President Donald Trump has said, why should this instance matter in the slightest?
The reason is that language matters. The word “nationalism” has a past and is associated with a certain way of viewing ourselves and of viewing others. Merriam-Webster describes nationalism as “a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests.