One of my favorite quotes: Love which is not freely given is bondage.
Usually, as a history teacher, people expect us to impart the values of nationalism and patriotism. As if, the failure of the students to manifest these attributes lie with us teachers.
In school, we teach history and topics on nationalism and we could only assess the academic component of what students learned. We do not give them grades once they performed acts of nationalism outside the school. The teacher and school can only do so much.
Most teachers are made to believe that ‘nationalism’ per se can be taught. However, nationalism is about ‘love’. One can’t compel someone to love. To do so is to dictate and by doing so ‘love’ is lost. What teachers do is to guide them to reflect about nationalism by learning history – by studying exemplars of nationalism. History can only present the past but not dictate the future. History serves both as reminder (of what has been done – good or bad) and an inspiration (to aspire to do better for those whom you love).
Nationalism is about love for one’s country. The expression of that love is action. We do not teach nationalism, we live it.
The Influwenser 