Everything is a nation now?
Red Sox nation. Cardinals nation. Cubs nation. White Sox nation. Patriots nation. Bears nation. Dolphins nation. The Wiggles nation. Republican nation. Democratic nation. Red nation. Blue nation... aaaargh...
What in the blue hell is going on with calling everything a nation all of a sudden?
Has the nation - as in this country - become so divided that people have to look to their loyalties in other areas, whether it be in sports, politics, music (I'm serious about The Wiggles nation part...) or interest, to be a part of a nation?
There's the Outdoors nation, those who love the outdoors. The Camping nation. The Biking nation. Even the Walking nation. Everything is a nation.
Yes, it was 86 years in the making, but just because you have been a fan all of your life, it doesn't mean you are a nation.
Fans have call themselves a lot of things, but a nation shouldn't be one of them. A better name should be -- society, a broad collection of people "distinguished from other groups by mutual interests, participation in characteristic relationships, shared institutions, and a common culture." (http://www.bartleby.com)
A nation, according to bartleby, is "A people who share common customs, origins, history, and frequently language; a nationality." Baseball fans are a nation; Red Sox fans are a society. Music fans are a nation; The Wiggles fans are a society. See the difference.
Damn.
At a time when this country, excuse me, nation, is divided and in turmoil over who will be President after Tuesday night, it is time to take a look at what makes all of us the same -- Our love of independence, free thinking, sports, family, life and exploration.
This country is a nation. What makes this nation great is the societies that are inside of it, whether it be Red Sox society, Cardinals society, Cubs society, The Wiggles society, Republican society, Democratic society or Scrapbooking society.
(c) R. Burns
What in the blue hell is going on with calling everything a nation all of a sudden?
Has the nation - as in this country - become so divided that people have to look to their loyalties in other areas, whether it be in sports, politics, music (I'm serious about The Wiggles nation part...) or interest, to be a part of a nation?
There's the Outdoors nation, those who love the outdoors. The Camping nation. The Biking nation. Even the Walking nation. Everything is a nation.
Yes, it was 86 years in the making, but just because you have been a fan all of your life, it doesn't mean you are a nation.Fans have call themselves a lot of things, but a nation shouldn't be one of them. A better name should be -- society, a broad collection of people "distinguished from other groups by mutual interests, participation in characteristic relationships, shared institutions, and a common culture." (http://www.bartleby.com)
A nation, according to bartleby, is "A people who share common customs, origins, history, and frequently language; a nationality." Baseball fans are a nation; Red Sox fans are a society. Music fans are a nation; The Wiggles fans are a society. See the difference.
Damn.
At a time when this country, excuse me, nation, is divided and in turmoil over who will be President after Tuesday night, it is time to take a look at what makes all of us the same -- Our love of independence, free thinking, sports, family, life and exploration.
This country is a nation. What makes this nation great is the societies that are inside of it, whether it be Red Sox society, Cardinals society, Cubs society, The Wiggles society, Republican society, Democratic society or Scrapbooking society.
(c) R. Burns
posted by R. Burns at 10/29/2004 11:31:00 AM
1 Comments:
Ah, but you see, they ripped it off from that most upstanding paragon of a sect within society: The Raider Nation.
I don't know that a society within a nation is the right terminology. I prefer the word sect instead - which is "a group of people forming a distinct unit within a larger group by virtue of certain refinements or distinctions of belief or practice" (as according to dictionary.com).
Baseball fans are a society as opposed to football fans; Red Sox fans are a sect within that society.
But it's all semantics and the BoSox won (yay!), so who cares?
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