Against Nationalism
Conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg recently expressed the common view that “A little mystic nationalism is a good and healthy thing because it provides the emotional sinew that helps us hold onto...
View ArticleOn Patriotism
Some commenters and others reacting to my post on nationalism raise the issue of its relationship to patriotism. Even if nationalism is an evil, perhaps patriotism can still be good. Patriotism is...
View ArticleJonah Goldberg on Nationalism
Jonah Goldberg of National Review has written a response to my post criticizing nationalism. Here is his main point: Somin admits that he’s being more than a bit unfair to me in his post since, I was...
View ArticleAn Underappreciated Advantage of American Professional Sports Over...
This month, as two years ago, we have an interesting coincidence of a Celtics-Lakers NBA finals and a major international soccer tournament. In 2008, I wrote a post on the subject that I think is still...
View ArticleCurrent Controversies Volume on Patriotism
The Current Controversies series has recently published a volume on Patriotism, which includes contributions by Eugene Volokh and myself. Mine is an expansion of this post, which argues that patriotism...
View ArticleWhen a Horse has to be More than Just a Horse to be Eligible for the Olympics
In order to compete in the Olympics, a horse has to be more than just a horse [HT: Tyler Cowen]. It also has to have the right “nationality”: Their bond was a gold-medal partnership years in the making...
View ArticleRacial “Obligations” of Mixed-Race People
Co-blogger David Bernstein links to a New York Times column by Thomas Chatterton Williams which argues that “[m]ixed-race blacks have an ethical obligation to identify as black — and interracial...
View ArticlePutin Signs Law Banning Adoption of Russian Orphans by Americans
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently signed a law banning the adoption of Russian orphans by Americans: President Vladimir V. Putin signed a bill on Friday that bans the adoption of Russian...
View ArticleO Say Can You See
Happy 4th of July, everyone. This is a holiday in which I think about the Declaration of Independence, but sometimes find myself, like today, drifting to think about America’s national anthem. Views...
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