Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
On Nations and States: What does It Mean to be Russian?
In the past few days I had a few conversations with several people about those vague things called state, nation, and people. Some of it came up with regards to the Swiss referendum I talked about in my last post. A little bit more was in the contexts of those things that certain people tend to call 'un-American'. A friend is writing a paper about the way Russia refuses to treat people with HIV/AIDS because it is considered an evidence of moral turpitude, and therefore it is "not Russian"and undeserving of state funds. In all those cases, it seems as if the people, or maybe just some of the people, have this image of what it means to be part of a nation - something that is more than just being a citizen of the country.
Nations, in all those cases, hold certain values more important than others, and define themselves through them. "To be American means to be honest and hard working". "To be Russian means to be of moral character". "To be West-European is to be Christian, or at least to keep your religion a private matter." I can understand such sentences if they describe a reality. But then they should have started "some Americans are..." or "Most West Europeans are...". Otherwise, it is clear that they are not true statements. After all, not all Americans are honest, not all Russians are of good moral character, and so on.
I can also understand them as aspirations: "Americans/Russians/West Europeans should be...". But that's where things become dangerous. To what extent should countries educate their citizens to be one thing or the other? On one hand, I feel a liberal impulse to say that countries should be empty of any values - they should provide their citizens with fundamental services and that's it.
On the other hand, the Netherlands (or so I've heard) make immigrants sign a statement that they acknowledge the fact that in the Netherlands they are likely to see gay men show affection to each other and that they are ok with that. That sounds to me a lot like like the sentences we started with, something like "Dutch people are tolerant". This is more than just a descriptive statement - it is a demand of those who want to become Dutch. But the fact that it is a demand doesn't make it unacceptable. On the contrary, if one society has managed to create a safe haven for minorities, it makes sense for that state to protect itself from outsiders who would not be tolerant towards them. I see it as if the state weighs the well being and aspirations of gay citizens against those of intolerant immigrants (after all, the tolerant immigrants are naturalized) and rightly prefers those of its own citizens.
So it is clear that a state can educate to some values. I also think that education to good moral nature or honesty is just as valid an as targets as toleration. I even think that it's ok for a state to have a public religion. So where's the line? Why do the statements cited at the beginning of this post hurt the ear so much?
It seems to me that the answer is not in the permissive roles of the state, but in the state-nation relations. A state may attempt to educate its citizens. But pulling the population in one direction does not mean that whoever isn't pulled is not part of the nation. States may have values. Nations should not. So the United States may promote the values of honesty and hard work. But it must be recognized that you are part of the American nation even if you are lazy and deceitful, if only you are a citizen. (It's a little hard to use the Russian example since it's outrageous to think that HIV/AIDS says something of a person's morality, but let's assume for a minute that that was true -) Russia may encourage moral behaviour. But failure to follow doesn't make you not Russian. It only makes you an immoral Russian. If you hold citizenship, you deserve treatment. It's like saying that New York is a fun place, and that the municipality encourages the exciting and eventful image of the city. But if you live in New York, you're still a New Yorker even if you're boring.
It's easy to forget that. So many times minority groups are treated as a superfluous addition to 'the real thing'. As if France is for Christians, and Muslim immigrants are factually there, but don't really belong. They could have been anywhere else just the same. As if Israel is for Jews, and the Arabs accidentally live in the same territory, they deserve rights and all, but do not count as part of the people we talk about when we refer to 'Israelies'.
Lately, the Cohen brothers' magnificent movie 'A Serious Man' was distributed in Israel under the name 'A Good Jew'. Even if disregarding for a moment the artistic vandalism - did the translators feel that Israeli Arabs would not be a potential crowd for this movie? I mean, they might not be good Jews, but I'm sure they can be serious people.
Nations, in all those cases, hold certain values more important than others, and define themselves through them. "To be American means to be honest and hard working". "To be Russian means to be of moral character". "To be West-European is to be Christian, or at least to keep your religion a private matter." I can understand such sentences if they describe a reality. But then they should have started "some Americans are..." or "Most West Europeans are...". Otherwise, it is clear that they are not true statements. After all, not all Americans are honest, not all Russians are of good moral character, and so on.
I can also understand them as aspirations: "Americans/Russians/West Europeans should be...". But that's where things become dangerous. To what extent should countries educate their citizens to be one thing or the other? On one hand, I feel a liberal impulse to say that countries should be empty of any values - they should provide their citizens with fundamental services and that's it.
On the other hand, the Netherlands (or so I've heard) make immigrants sign a statement that they acknowledge the fact that in the Netherlands they are likely to see gay men show affection to each other and that they are ok with that. That sounds to me a lot like like the sentences we started with, something like "Dutch people are tolerant". This is more than just a descriptive statement - it is a demand of those who want to become Dutch. But the fact that it is a demand doesn't make it unacceptable. On the contrary, if one society has managed to create a safe haven for minorities, it makes sense for that state to protect itself from outsiders who would not be tolerant towards them. I see it as if the state weighs the well being and aspirations of gay citizens against those of intolerant immigrants (after all, the tolerant immigrants are naturalized) and rightly prefers those of its own citizens.
So it is clear that a state can educate to some values. I also think that education to good moral nature or honesty is just as valid an as targets as toleration. I even think that it's ok for a state to have a public religion. So where's the line? Why do the statements cited at the beginning of this post hurt the ear so much?
It seems to me that the answer is not in the permissive roles of the state, but in the state-nation relations. A state may attempt to educate its citizens. But pulling the population in one direction does not mean that whoever isn't pulled is not part of the nation. States may have values. Nations should not. So the United States may promote the values of honesty and hard work. But it must be recognized that you are part of the American nation even if you are lazy and deceitful, if only you are a citizen. (It's a little hard to use the Russian example since it's outrageous to think that HIV/AIDS says something of a person's morality, but let's assume for a minute that that was true -) Russia may encourage moral behaviour. But failure to follow doesn't make you not Russian. It only makes you an immoral Russian. If you hold citizenship, you deserve treatment. It's like saying that New York is a fun place, and that the municipality encourages the exciting and eventful image of the city. But if you live in New York, you're still a New Yorker even if you're boring.
It's easy to forget that. So many times minority groups are treated as a superfluous addition to 'the real thing'. As if France is for Christians, and Muslim immigrants are factually there, but don't really belong. They could have been anywhere else just the same. As if Israel is for Jews, and the Arabs accidentally live in the same territory, they deserve rights and all, but do not count as part of the people we talk about when we refer to 'Israelies'.
Lately, the Cohen brothers' magnificent movie 'A Serious Man' was distributed in Israel under the name 'A Good Jew'. Even if disregarding for a moment the artistic vandalism - did the translators feel that Israeli Arabs would not be a potential crowd for this movie? I mean, they might not be good Jews, but I'm sure they can be serious people.
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