I’m not a big history buff, but there are probably more negative historical examples of nationalism than positive ones
However, that’s not to say that the concept is always negative. A sense of nationalism, basically a self-identity, is part of any country’s rebellion against an oppressive regime. For example for the American revolution, nationalism would push for not wanting to be under Britain rule anymore. Other countries have used nationalism to rebel against fascism
Nationalism becomes twisted and negative when a county uses it to define exactly what their citizens should be, such as ethnicity or religion. And I think this is where leftists assume that American nationals want only a white, Christian America. That is more white nationalism IMO, which is always a negative
That’s why I say the concept is too complex to try to summarize in a sentence. It’s a cop out to try to use only a specific part of the idea as a summary. And words meaning change over time. Look at how frequently the term Liberalism is debated nowadays
|