In Finland, today is the yearly bank holiday known as Independence day. It is a celebration of attaining independence and considered a day of great importance in Finland. My attitude towards the day is, however, twisted.
First of all, I do appreciate the liberties Finns gained through independence and I certainly do appreciate the efforts of all those who have defended those liberties.A society which supports free expression and other basic human rights is important for the happiness and well-being of people, and gaining independence from Russia and maintaining it through WWII were really important achievements. But beyond that, I don't see much value in independence. Let me explain.
My biggest problem is the nationalism that is always associated with independence. Nationalism is always exclusive in nature, as opposed to inclusive. It is always "we" the against the others. Nationalism without the "others" would be meaningless and nationalism by nature thus promotes partisanship and supports conflicts. Moreover, independence in itself is exclusive in nature. "We" are independent of "them". Let them take care of themselves. Insofar as independence increases the amount of people that have access to human rights, then it is positive. But suppose Helsinki would like to become independent from Finland. Does not really make any sense, does it? (Although I can imagine some local politicians who would support the idea.) It would be an arbitrary division of Finland into parts.
You could argue that separating Finland from Russia is a different case than Helsinki from Finland, since there is a distinct cultural difference between Finland and Russia. The argument falls apart when we realise that there is also a distinct cultural difference between Helsinki, with a city-culture, and most of the rest country, which has a more rural culture. So, the division into states is rather arbitrary. I do think that division of the world into states is useful in our time (that might change sometime though). Having a singular government for the whole world has a great risk of driving the leaders into corruption, which would be very difficult to disband if there are no counter-forces.
When observing the independence day celebrations (in Finland and elsewhere), we observe that a central theme is displaying the national flag and other national symbols. Here, notice the use of the word "national-". By using these symbols we emphasise the nationalistic as well as the exclusive character of the festivities. This is also the reason why right-wing extremists so eagerly embrace national symbols. It is "we" against the "others".
In conclusion, I would much rather celebrate a day of human rights, co-operation, equality, peace and democracy, than a day of independence.
First of all, I do appreciate the liberties Finns gained through independence and I certainly do appreciate the efforts of all those who have defended those liberties.A society which supports free expression and other basic human rights is important for the happiness and well-being of people, and gaining independence from Russia and maintaining it through WWII were really important achievements. But beyond that, I don't see much value in independence. Let me explain.
My biggest problem is the nationalism that is always associated with independence. Nationalism is always exclusive in nature, as opposed to inclusive. It is always "we" the
You could argue that separating Finland from Russia is a different case than Helsinki from Finland, since there is a distinct cultural difference between Finland and Russia. The argument falls apart when we realise that there is also a distinct cultural difference between Helsinki, with a city-culture, and most of the rest country, which has a more rural culture. So, the division into states is rather arbitrary. I do think that division of the world into states is useful in our time (that might change sometime though). Having a singular government for the whole world has a great risk of driving the leaders into corruption, which would be very difficult to disband if there are no counter-forces.
When observing the independence day celebrations (in Finland and elsewhere), we observe that a central theme is displaying the national flag and other national symbols. Here, notice the use of the word "national-". By using these symbols we emphasise the nationalistic as well as the exclusive character of the festivities. This is also the reason why right-wing extremists so eagerly embrace national symbols. It is "we" against the "others".
In conclusion, I would much rather celebrate a day of human rights, co-operation, equality, peace and democracy, than a day of independence.
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