What do the USA, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Scotland, Hungary, Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, India, and many other countries have in common today?
They are all witnessing the rise of a troubling form of nationalism—one that the world hadn’t seen so widely since the times of World War II. But, (a) what is the evidence that this nationalism is truly rising? And (b) what makes it troubling?
Is it really rising?
Because a person like Trump was elected to a greatest power, can we say Nationalism is rising? Or is it because of the whole MAGA thing, and similialr movements happening elsewhere in the world—we can say a troubling form of nationalism is rising?
I don’t think so. Trump just happened to show up at the right time and place. And MAGA didn’t come out of nowhere. Remember the Ku Klux Klan? The Confederates? Remember all those chapters in American history where people fought for an “exclusive America”? MAGA isn’t some weird new twist—it’s just the latest version of something that’s always been there, baked into America from the beginning.
Is it social media then? Is it just that the world was always like this, and now we’re noticing it more because everything moves faster and louder?
Maybe. But even before the internet, humans were killing each other in the name of something bigger—king, country, god, religion, tribe—you name it. Ever since swords were invented some 5,000 years ago, they’ve been used in the name of some “larger identity.”
Look at the Assyrian Empire around 900 BCE—kings wiped out whole cities just to make a name for themselves. Or the Mongol invasions in the 1200s—tribal pride and a hunger for empire left millions dead. Then you’ve got the 30 Years’ War in Europe in the 1600s—Catholics and Protestants tearing each other apart over religion. Jump to the 20th century, and you get the Partition of India in 1947—Hindu and Muslim nationalisms exploding into bloodshed, killing up to a million people.
Perhaps the world was always like this, humanity was always like this. Perhaps I was young and distracted in my teens, twenties, and thirties, when social media hadn’t yet arrived. But the phenomenon of “troubling nationalism” was already present—like in the ’70s with the FLQ in Quebec, responsible for over 160 violent incidents, including bombings, robberies, and kidnappings, and eight deaths of Canadians, including the killing of Pierre Laporte, Quebec’s Minister of Labour and Immigration. Or in the ’80s with the Kanishka bombing, killing all 329 people on board, of which 268 were Canadian citizens—many born and raised in Canada—yet so many Canadians still don’t know about the bombing or its sad significance. The ’80s and ’90s saw more of this: in the former Yugoslavia, Serbian and Bosnian nationalisms tore the region apart. The Bosnian War (1992–1995) saw ethnic cleansing driven by Serbian nationalist dreams of a “Greater Serbia,” killing over 100,000 people, including the Srebrenica massacre where more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were slaughtered. Croatia’s push for independence fueled similar violence, with thousands dying as ethnic identities clashed. These weren’t just wars—they were “large-scale killings” rooted in “great identities,” much like the Assyrian conquests or the Partition of India, showing how nationalism, like a sword forged 5,000 years ago, keeps cutting through humanity’s history.
What makes us say it’s troubling?
For some the rise of nationalism is liberating—the supporters of Modi, aka “bhakts” or devotees in the hindi language, or MAGA, the Make America Great Again supporters, who are mostly blue-collar workers ignored politically for decades, and thier livelihoods destroyed by changes in several domains, like technology, transportation, trade, and geopolitics—for these people, the bhakts and the MAGAs—nationalism gives them hope and energy for thier daily lives to carry on with zest and vigour.
But for some of us that hear or witness acts of despise and malice done in the name of race or nationality—like the killing of an entire family except the toddler in london, by a pick up truck driver, or things happening like that everywhere but only in various degrees of intensity and subtlness—like a beingn looking holler “go back to your f*** country”. For some of us that hear, witness, or experience this first hand, it is very very troubling, hence there is this need to first express it, seconly to validate our feelings, thirdly to act against it.
So, the word troubling might be subjective or experienced only by certian portion of the population, but for thr rest of the population, it might be a non-issue, or even worse, a justified issue, like—”there wouldn’t be be any racism if you folks remained in the country from where you came from”—but wise and learned people know that it is not true. Prejudice and hate always exists and thrives in certain circumstances irrespective of what the political, social, or economical situation is.
It’s always immigration, you stupid
We a have cat named “Mario”—he is the only remaining of the four cats we brought home; Eggy, Mario, Bitchy and Witchy—all Tuxedo cats.
This morning I was woken by an annoying sretch of cat-call, and I woke up and opened the door to find Mario calmly sitting on our porch while a “ginger” cat was trying to—provoke or do something to Mario, But Mario eiher resisted the temptation to go for it, or simply did not “have it in its nature” to go for fights. We know the second is probably true because Mario always comes home with wounds in the back of its neck—and once, I saw a big black cat on top of a “submissive” Mario trying to as if teach Mario a lesson”
My wife always says that we will not lose Mario liek we lost the other three cats because “Mario stays within limits—and does not venture”. The other three cats, by venturing deep outside, either got lost its way, or was attacked by other cats, or simply eaten by a Coyote—I know the city might not have picked it up, as they donly usually “work our part of town”. Or , it might be a neighbour or a random stranger who once asked “Can I take one of your cats?” Whatever it is we know Mario is here to stay—because Mario is out of territorial conflicts, and is satisfied to stay with us with whatever we are providing.
Territorial Conflicts
If we look at life as a collective—whether it’s humans, cats, deer, lions, tigers, or whatever—the first conflict that happens is usually territorial—and this where we humans depart from animals, because in animals this is the ultimate and last conflict as collectives, but in humans, we extend the collective conflicts to other constructs of us—ideology, culture including language, and economy.
Though that is a separate story and a discussion for another day—it is still relevant to the question, topic, or issue that we are discussing: Is Nationalism Rising? Is it a concern?—because, humans the complex creature we are, will find something to go to war with each other, if not immigration—it could be over a fucking piece of banana, an entire nation can go to war with another one. Like the The War of the Stray Dog (1925) In October 1925, a brief but real conflict erupted between Greece and Bulgaria over a dog; A Greek soldier chased his stray dog across the border into Bulgaria, and Bulgarian border guards shot him. This sparked a diplomatic crisis, fueled by nationalist tensions from earlier Balkan Wars and territorial disputes. Greece, claiming national honor, invaded Bulgaria’s Petrich region, leading to skirmishes that killed about 50 people (mostly Bulgarian civilians). The League of Nations stepped in to stop the fighting, and Greece withdrew after paying reparations.
That’s how unsettled people cope
Societies under stress use scapegoats Girard, R. (1986) So, immigration or no immigration, people—collectives that are anxious or “unsettled”—will find a way to cope or heal collectively by forming a symbol where every individual of the collective can focus their cognizance (or consciousness) and vent their anger or frustrations (collectively) at this symbol.
The most important part in this understanding is that it has to be “collective.” And for something to be collective, there should be “shared experiences” or “shared perceptions”—not necessarily shared beliefs.“Immigrants are taking our jobs,” “Immigrants are grooming our kids,” “Immigrants are filthy,” “Immigrants are criminals”—“immigrants are hence unwanted, but the government is forcing us to take them because of x, y, z (theories).” The x, y, z could be “globalism,” “elitism,” or simply “evil pedophiles”—but the theories do not explain what globalism is, why elitism prevails, or who these evil pedophiles are and why they are there in the first place.
Are you a wise person?
Wisdom comes from the realization of truth and the application of this as knowledge to real experiences (not thought experiments done in the brain). If we are for wisdom, the pursuit of truth becomes our automatic path—we may or may not find the truth—but surely, because we seek wisdom, our actions will be in accordance with our knowledge (or the truth that we know or don’t know).
And in the pursuit of truth—which has many, many steps and processes—one of them is to subject ourselves to the subjectivity of the other person. So, let’s put ourselves in the shoes of an angry nationalist and see what they are seeing, so that we will be on track in our pursuit of truth.
In the Shoes of an Angry Nationalist (by Grok)
I’m an angry nationalist, and this is how I see the world. My country, my home, is under siege. Everything I grew up with—our language, our traditions, our way of life—is fading. Immigrants are pouring in, taking jobs, clogging up schools, and changing the face of my neighborhood. I walk down the street, and I hear languages I don’t understand, see signs that don’t look like they belong here. It’s not just about jobs or crime—it’s about losing who we are. My truth comes from what I see every day: factories closing, wages stuck, kids struggling, while the government pushes “diversity” or “open borders” like it’s some grand plan.
Globalism, elites, whoever—they’re selling us out, letting outsiders overrun what’s ours. I don’t need fancy theories to know this is wrong. I feel it in my bones—my parents worked hard to build this nation, and now it’s slipping away. When I hear “immigrants are criminals” or “they’re ruining our culture,” it rings true because I’ve seen the changes, felt the squeeze. Wisdom, to me, is standing up for my people, protecting our land and identity. That’s the truth I know, and I act on it—voting for leaders who’ll close the borders, joining protests, speaking out. You say to see the other person’s side, like the immigrants’? Why should I? They’re here, taking what’s mine, and their struggles don’t change that. Maybe they’re chasing a better life, but at what cost to me? Still, if I squint, I can see they’re caught in the same mess—pawns in some bigger game. But my truth is louder: my nation comes first, and I’ll fight for it, because that’s what keeps us whole.
Now, the Truth
Do you know that fact and
Before we dive into facts, let’s explore what truth might look like. I hope you know the difference between a fact and a truth. A fact is a specific piece of reality backed by clear, undeniable evidence—like a date or a statistic. A truth is a broader reality, pieced together through reason, logic, and facts, aiming for clarity despite our biases. This truth becomes knowledge, but facts alone are just data; wisdom comes from applying that knowledge to real life, not just collecting numbers.
- Economy, or the production and consumption of goods and services is today filled more with anxieties than the pleasures of participating in it.
- Fact: Housing affordability has generationally reduced seen by the rising Home Price-to-Income ratios: In Canada, in 2000, the average home price was about 4 times the median after-tax household income ($377,000 vs. ~$94,000, adjusted for inflation). By 2024, this ratio reached 7.7 times in major cities like Toronto, where the average home price hit $1,111,944 against a median household income of $95,982 (rates.ca, 2024). Nationally, the house price-to-income ratio index rose to 136.8 by Q3 2024, meaning home prices outpaced income growth by 37% since 2015 (Statista, 2025)
- Fact: Stability of employment is reduced: The share of temporary and gig work in Canada grew significantly, with non-permanent employment (e.g., contract, seasonal, gig) rising from 12.5% of total employment in 2005 to 15.6% by 2020 (Statistics Canada). By 2015, online platforms like Upwork saw rapid growth, with 4.8 million active gig workers globally, including Canadians, facing income volatility due to short-term contracts (World Bank, 2015). This shift to precarious work, with fewer benefits or long-term security, increased instability for workers.
- Fact: Household debt on the rise: Total consumer debt in Canada climbed from $1.3 trillion in 2005 to $2.56 trillion by Q4 2024, a 97% increase, with a 4.6% year-over-year rise from 2023 to 2024. The debt-to-income ratio reached 184% by 2025, the highest in the G7, up from 150% in 2005 (Statistics Canada;). This reflects growing reliance on credit for living costs, with mortgage debt (up 4.5% YoY) and non-mortgage debt (up 5.8% YoY, e.g., credit cards at $124 billion) driving the increase.
- Fact: Delinquenices on the rise: While 2024 rates are lower than 2000 nationally, the upward trend (52.3% increase from 2022 to 2023) and regional surges indicate growing instability, especially for younger homeowners. In 2000, non-mortgage delinquency rates (90+ days overdue for credit cards, auto loans, etc.) were around 1.0% nationally, reflecting moderate consumer debt growth (Statistics Canada, Consumer Credit Reports, 2001). By Q4 2024, this rate jumped to 1.43%, a 19.14% YoY increase from 1.3% in 2023, with Ontario hitting 2.06% (23.9% YoY rise). Credit card and auto loan delinquencies rose sharply, with auto loans at 2.42% in Q2 2024, up from 2.11% (Equifax Canada, 2024).
- Fact: Chidren are living now more in single parent homes: In 1996, about 1.8 million children (under 17) lived in lone-parent families, representing 17% of children in private households. By 2016, this number increased to approximately 2.1 million children aged 0–14 in lone-parent families, or 19.2% of children in this age group (Statistics Canada, 2016 Census). By 2021, 22.7% of children aged 0–14 in census families lived with a lone parent, up from 16.3% of all census families in 2011 (Statistics Canada, 2021 Census). The absolute number of children in lone-parent families grew to approximately 2.3 million by 2021, a 9% increase from 2011’s 1.53 million, driven by rising common-law unions (16.7% of families in 2011) and divorces (37% of 1996 marriages expected to end).
using WordPress and
One response
Hi, this is a comment.
To get started with moderating, editing, and deleting comments, please visit the Comments screen in the dashboard.
Commenter avatars come from Gravatar.