Sheldon Hackney Quotes
As globalization proceeds, tribalism increases.
Sheldon Hackney, Historian, Chairman, National Foundation for the Humanities, C-SPAN, After Words, August 28, 2005
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This has been a classic dilemma for all large multi ethnic states—trying to develop a sense of unity of citizenship in the face of populations who think of themselves foremost differently. Attempts like this of banning the names of the peoples from official use, banning languages, changing people’s names, requiring common dress and other such methods have failed in most cases (Ataturk’s Turkey being the notable exception). America, Great Britain and the Soviet Union showed the world that it was possible to have a strong sense of national unity and at the same time allow peoples, cultures, and ethnicities to maintain their own ethnic identities. However, many modern governments see their situation as so unique that ethnic repression of one kind or another is required. Modern China, in particular, while not as extreme as Sun Yat-Sen still makes it very difficult for certain cultures to thrive such as the Tibetans. Note that even in the United States we have many who argue that non English language usage should be discouraged and disapprove of the concept of hyphenated Americans. For example, see Theodore Roosevelt {631377}.
He was using “triblism” in the general sense of tribes, religions, political parties, nations or any group loyalty that domnates.
Tibet and some other ethnic enclaves of China have been almost impervious to the general improvement in the standard of living that China accomplished at the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st. China is not the only nation to have this difficulty. Some would argue that America still has it with some of its Native American nations. The great challenge is trying to develop and modernize a culture that does not want to be modernized at the moment but still wants many of the benefits of modernization.
Nationalism produced negative effects on the society ranging from aggression, ethnic cleansing, war and hatred.
See {641733} for some background on the problem.
Islamic modernists like him are many among the educated Muslims but their views are often drowned out by the violence and extremist statements of the fundamentalists.
After the WWI Turkish massacre of Armenians and the casualties of WWII, large numbers of Armenians were outside of Armenia which was a part of the Soviet Union and many ethnic Russians were moved into Armenia thus dominating the country. The ethnic Armenians found themselves a minority in their own homeland,
This parochial and sectional point of view was held much more strongly by the South and to a great extent, still is. We are all conflicted by wanting and American culture (that can be adopted by the world in globalization) and also wanting local customs, cultures, norms, policies and thought patterns to exist. However, there is inevitable conflict between the two, so it is a constant American source of debate, ebb and flow.
He was agreeing with the Right Wing racist Dutch politician Geert Wilders that one of the dangers of immigration of different races and ethnicities is that their children would not be capable or able to contribute to America or in his view make America Great Again as it has been diminished by all these immiogrant babies of the last few generations. There are very few areas of civilization where America is not greater today than ever before.
Francis Sheldon Hackney was a prominent U.S. educator. He was the Boies Professor of United States History at the University of Pennsylvania.
