What is a Nation?

In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his essay “Circles,” “ . . . life is an apprenticeship to the truth that around every circle another can be drawn; that there is no end in nature, but every end is a beginning; that there is always another dawn risen on mid-noon, and under every deep a lower deep opens.” In shorter terms, Emerson is saying that every aspect of life, as well as everything that is a result of life, is constantly changing. There is always another circle that can be drawn around the previous. Cells are constantly changing, and it is these cells that create life. Conception starts with one cell, which multiplies to create twenty cells, which multiplies to create one-hundred cells, and so on, until the multiplicity of cells resembles that of a child. This process of continual change occurs on into old age, and even after death. Change is necessary for the evolution of life to occur, as well as those things that are a product of life.

However, as all entities of life, and those things that are a result of life, change, there is an element that remains constant: interconnection. In order for constant change to occur, there must be an interconnection between all elements on this earthly plane, otherwise the circle that life evolves around will shatter into a chaotic array of separate, insupportable entities. Never, in perceivable history, has any living being (or non-living being) been able to sustain itself entirely on its’ own. A living creature needs vital elements in order to survive. Even a rock, a non-living entity, needs the wind to caress the earth in a particular manner to create its’ shape and texture. Each entity is dependent upon several other entities to ensure its’ existence.

Humans, in particular, have taken interconnection farther than any other entity by establishing large societies to not only improve their chances of survival, but to create a better standard of living. Societies originally formed to allow separate individuals to focus on one specific area, such as gathering wood, or hunting. This provided the society with the basic needs for survival, allowing more time for ideas and inventions. Eventually societies began interacting and communicating with other societies, allowing for the exchange of ideas and inventions that would further improve their standard of living. It is the extent to which humans have taken interconnectedness that has come to create nations.

Although nations change individually, and one nation may appear to be very different from another, they are structured similarly due to a nations innate dependency on interconnectedness. With every president elected, or leader appointed, each nation will obtain its’ own perspective on foreign and domestic policy, resulting in a distinctly different nation. Despite such differences, nations have historically developed in relatively the same manner due to interconnection. Traditionally, nations have been restricted to certain territories. This is due to the fact that a nation depends on its’ ability to communicate with its’ members. If a nation cannot communicate with its’ members, then it cannot express the ideas that bond the group together, and a nation would not exist. Nations have also traditionally maintained a common culture, due to large groups of people living and communicating in the same area for centuries at a time. Eventually the influence of these people spread through nearly the whole nation, creating culture. Both territory and culture have been created through interconnection, which is the foundation of a nation, resulting in a commonality between nations.

The concept of a nation is currently changing in the same manner it has always changed, through its’ ability to communicate. With every new communication technology invented a nation strengthens and gains the ability to seek territories else-where, or widen boarders in its’ own territory. This makes sense as the very foundation of a nation is its’ ability to communicate. Creating an easier way to communicate will create larger and stronger nations. The European Union is a good example of how instant communication has shifted the definition of a nation away from a relatively small community and towards a larger, global community.

Every nation today is forced to reconsider the definition of a nation, as instant communication is bringing people closer together. Instant communication brings both good and bad to a nation. Good because culture and ideas are shared and bad for the same reasons; perhaps a larger global community with actually transform culture as well as territory.

Works Cited
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Emerson’s Essays.” The Over-Soul. New York: Harper and Row, 1926.