1) Is it the acceptance of the international community?
2) Is it the length of time that the territory in question has been "ruled" by a local body?
2a) How much time is required for the territory to be considered a legitimate Nation State?
2b) What is considered local?
3) If the people who live in that geographical location do not wish to be a part of the internationally accepted nation state, then is it legitimate?
These are all questions that need to be answered before a person starts taking sides in arguments about the legitimacy of Nation States and the actions they take throughout the world.
How long has the United States been a recognized nation? How Long has Israel been a recognized nation? How Long has Ukraine been a recognized nation? The list goes on and on.
The vast majority of Nations have been created by war, displacement, migration, colonization, genocide, and various other means that we can generalize with one word: Brutality. How is that any different from what we see happening in the world today. We in the west are no better than those in the east when it comes to imposing our will upon others. Nations are controlled by those best able to impose their will on others. The American people have subjugated many peoples and seized their lands for our own. So have the British, the French, the Saudi's, the Russians, the Chinese, and EVERY OTHER NATION in the world. This is the nature of the birth and continuance of a nation.
This reality does not make the brutal actions of any nation justified, but it does help explain them.
Should we strive towards peace and harmony a a species? I believe that we should. There are many peoples around the world that are within nations that oppress them. What should we do to fix this problem? To be fair, it must be consistent throughout the world. If a people no longer wants to be a part of the nation that claims geographical sovereignty over their area then what should the world do. Do we support the people who refuse to be ruled, or do we affirm the existing national sovereignty? We see these questions raised in Ukraine and Israel right now? How do we determine which side of the conflict, if any, is in the right and which is in the wrong? What is our responsibility in these cases?
There are more questions than answers. There are more lies than truths. There are more entanglements and barbs than benefits. We, as a nation, have plenty of our own problems to deal with here at home. We don't need to go looking for more somewhere else. Let's get our own affairs in order before we involve ourselves in the problems of another nation.
>"...it is proper you should understand what I deem the essential principles of our Government, and consequently those which ought to shape its Administration. I will compress them within the narrowest compass they will bear, stating the general principle, but not all its limitations. Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none..."
-Thomas Jefferson, President of The United States of America, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801
#Nation #War #Brutality #Indigenous #Israel #Palestine #Hamas #Ukraine #Russia #Donbas #Ethnicity #Culture #History
