In this, nationalism resembles religious worldviews. Cenotaphs seem to suggest that those who give up their lives for something larger than themselves live forever. They represent the ultimate sacrifice – dying for one’s country. Because they commemorate “Unknown Soldiers” who lack an individual identity, they become symbols of something greater. These are monuments dedicated to nameless soldiers, and it’s this anonymity that gives these ghostly tombs their meaning. Let’s consider cenotaphs, one of the most interesting emblems of nationalism. Nationalists, however, do.Īnd that’s the key message here: Nationalism isn’t a religion, but it’s closer to religious belief systems than to modern political ideologies. Modern styles of thought, by contrast, remain silent on questions that can’t be settled by science, which is why neither liberals nor Marxists have much to say about immortality.
Attempts to make sense of them are at the heart of most traditional belief systems. These two facts – the contingency of existence and the inescapability of mortality – have always weighed heavily on humans. Our genetic heritage, parents, and physical abilities are all determined by chance. We enter this world on terms beyond our choosing.
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