This is be a Hell Yeah for me.

numbah is a nationalistic little bastard...

Nationalism is similar to democracy ("The worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried from time to time"-Churchill) in that for all its flaws, it remains far superior to the alternatives. A world organized into nation-states presumes a certain level of nationalism to function. Countries like Canada and Belgium are no exception-they are not de-nationalized states, but rather weak states polarized between two opposing nationalisms. More common are the 'state-nations' of Africa, the Middle East and much of Latin America, where the absence of any nationalism leads to rampant corruption and makes a democracy no more than a fig-leaf for oligarchial rule by native elites and foreign investors.

Nationalism is often blamed for war, but it is usually a scapegoat for other causes. Only when nationalism is combined with a racist belief in a 'chosen people' destined to rule over others, or exterminate them (WWII), or a militarized aristocracy spoiling for a fight (WWI) does nationalism turn ugly. In our own time, a deficit of nationalism is far more likely to cause conflict than the reverse. This is true most of all in the Middle East, where religous fanaticism is filling a nationalist vacuum. Unless monarchies and caliphates make an unexpected comeback, nationalism is here to stay; the best option is not to condemn or ignore it, but rather channel it away from war and towards peaceful competition. There are countless bad books about nationalism; one rare good one is Greenfield's 'The Spirit of Capitalism: Nationalism and Economic Growth', which explains how nationalism was indispensable to the economic development of England, Japan, Germany and the US over the last 200 years.

This is a Jekyll and Hyde ideology. Until about the time of the Enlightenment, nationalism was not a factor. That is why so many countries and states evolved with many, indeed later conflicting language groups. The loyalty was to the ruler and not to the state. The language you spoke made little difference.

The American and French Revolutions changed that. The national state arose with a vengeance. If you did not speak Magyar, for instance in Hungary, you were suspect and viewed as a traitor.

Nationalism was good for reviving and preserving many national groups that were in danger of dying out. It was bad for the rise of the chauvinistic attitudes that led to persecution such as Germanization of the minorities in the East under the Kaisers or Magyarization of the minorities in Hungary. English was forced on the populace in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall. Many other examples exist in history.

Nationalism is good when used to build up pride in country, but bad when used to force uniformity.