Armistice Day was celebrated once again this year, but it was the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI. Many of us are not aware of how many people died in what was called the war to end all wars; which of course it was not. Wars have been fought continually, not only since then, but before then. Someone somewhere has always been at war throughout the history of the world. Peace has been the exception rather that the rule.

French President Macron lead the celebration of Armistice Day giving a speech in front of the Arc de Triomphe and Tomb of the Unknown WWI Soldier. In his oratory, Macron said nationalism is the cause of all wars. Macron claimed that the vision of France as a generous nation, promoting universal values was the exact opposite of the egotism of a people who look after only their own interests. Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. I’m not sure what he really means by that, but my gut tells me that since he’s wrong about the causes of war, he’s probably wrong about patriotism and nationalism.

Macron opines that if we rid ourselves of nationalism, by ridding ourselves of nations, then wars would cease to exist. His speech was lauded as visionary and erudite by a fawning international press. Never mind that his reasoning for reaching his conclusion is factually incorrect and would thus be doomed to failure.

Nationalism is not the cause of war, rather it defines the combatants in a war and maybe some of the reasons that they go to war. Nations are formed generally because of a common interest or belief system. Rules and laws are implemented by the citizens of the nation that they believe fit with their values. By definition, the laws of another nation would not necessarily be compatible with the values of that particular nation. Would the laws of Saudi Arabia be compatible with principles as outlined in the Constitution? Not in any way shape or form.

Rather, wars are generally started because one group, often a nation, has something that another group or nation wants. Be it territory, natural resources, or a desire to expand one’s own power or sphere of control. Because many nations are created by similar ethnic groups, there can be conflict because of ignorant hatred of another group, but the fact that a nation is attacked or does the attacking is coincidental to the war starting, not the cause of it.

Macron seems to ignore civil wars, which may be the most common type of war throughout history. A group of people within a nation feel oppressed or abused; believing their rights have been violated or that they have been persecuted because of their beliefs. These people rebel against their government in order to seek freedom or safety.

He goes on to say that nations must be abolished for war to be prevented. Without boundaries there would be no reason to go to war. His vision of one world appeals to the slack jawed mouth breathers who decline to learn from history or believe that simple feelings can cure the ills of mankind. Would those feelings of love and dissolution of borders automatically redistribute scarce resources, such as clean drinking water? Would Boko Haram stop fighting for control of the diamond mines and drug trafficking or enslaving those of different tribes? Would ISIS stop persecuting those with whom they disagree religiously? No.

But Macron claims that nationalism is the “egotism of people who look after only their interests.” That is not true, and most nations do not look after their own interests at the exclusion of others. America is the most generous nation in the world. We offer help to others, often at the expense of our own interests. We have given aid to our enemies, even to the point that our aid has been used against us. We have helped to rebuild our enemies after we defeated them in battle, only to have them turn against us once again.

The simple fact is that erasing the ‘artificial lines’ that create nations would not end poverty, bigotry, greed, persecution, terrorism, or other causes of conflict in the world. There would still be all the evils in the world that create aggression. The causes of conflict are complicated, sometimes subtle, and multiple. Thus, there is not a simple solution; a one size fits all cure. The best we can do is continue to help others while protecting our way of life.