I have to admit I do not disagree with [@mdk]'s belief that the rallying cry, at least in the United States, has far more positives than negatives. Some of us still do remember the 11th of September and the period thereafter where people were for a rare time, one generally unified force. It has been [i]many[/i] years since I have seen so many flags flown or such number of those who call themselves proud to be an American or a patriot, remarkably in a time where we are not "at war" or post tragedy. More issue was bred when people gave up that identity to pursue other things, whatever they were. Now, however? A larger and or more vocal number believe the United States is being made great again and that the identity it does have within that should be exalted and pursued; there's no complaint or disagreement here with that, I might add.

I believe people need to stop pretending that competition between countries is a bad thing. Nationalism has the [i]potential[/i] to do terrible things, but not every vein of it, as in the case with patriotism, is an issue. There's a difference between the United States' evolution of it and say, any other country. The same could be said for them all really; it comes down to execution. I might be concerned with North Korean nationalism as it is part of their rampant indoctrination and inherently provocative militaristic nature, but I would not be so concerned with say, French nationalism. Two very different identities and brands.

In any case, the efforts to defeat collective identities and the pride in them is a futile effort. They have existed since humans, perhaps even before. Instead they should be cultivated and utilized to achieve positive ends.