Resolved: If Forced To Choose, people ought to priotorize their national identity over their common

Resolved: If forced to choose, people ought to prioritize their national identity over their common humanity. Pro's BoP is to prove that people ought to prioritize their national identity over their common humanity. The word ought is used to express obligation. Obligation is defined as " something that you must do because of a law, rule, promise, etc.: something that you must do because it is morally right." (http://www.merriam-webster.com...) Thus Pro has to prove that people have an obligation to prioritize their national identity over their common humanity, while Con has to prove that people do not have an obligation to prioritize their national identity over their common humanity. So far, Pro has failed to prove that people have to prioritize their national identitiy over their common humanity due to a law, rule, promise, or morality. The basis of my argument is that people do not have an obligation to prioritize national identity over their common humanity, rather that people excercise their right to self determination, that people choose what they desire to choose. "You create your own reality." -Sartre According to Sartre, bad faith is when a person fulfills a role and only a role, rather than there individual humanity. Pro's underlying argument is that national identity ought to be prioritized over common humanity because nationalism leads to infrastructure and jobs, the American Dream, and Negotiation from strength. The problem with this argument is that national identity does not necessarily equal nationalism. One can identify as American but also not be a nationalistic American, thus the argument does not make sense. . Problems with National Identity Statelessness: According the UNHCR, the definition of a stateless person is " "a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law" (http://www.unhcr.org...) The US Department of State states,, "A stateless person is someone who, under national laws, does not enjoy citizenship " the legal bond between a government and an individual " in any country.At the end of 2011, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (the agency mandated to prevent and reduce statelessness) counted over 3.5 million stateless persons in 64 countries, but estimated that the actual number of stateless persons worldwide may be as high as 12 million. " (http://www.state.gov...) With 3.5 million - 12 million people without citizenship to any nation, it is very hard to have a national identity, and thus these stateless people cannot fulfill the obligation to priotorize their national identity over their common humanity, since they do not have a national identity. In this case, it is by far more beneficial for people who are refugees/stateless to unite as humans rather than to unite based on national identity. Dual Citizenship: I met someone with dual citizenship for the United States of America and Italy, and she identifies as both American and Italian. If the USA and Italy ever go to war, however, she would have to swear allegiance to both nations, and would feel conflicted. In this case she would find anguish between her two national identities, and could find solace in valueing common humanity. According to the Pittsburgh Gazette, "Estimates range from the equivalent of the population of Wyoming (494,000) to that of Tennessee (5.7 million)." for people with dual citizenship in the United States. (http://old.post-gazette.com...) Refugees: According to the UNHCR, there are 65.3 million people who are forcibly displaced by their governments and other powerful entities, 21.3 million refugees who leave their homeland in search for survival, and 10 million stateless people. (http://www.unhcr.org...) For these people, their own nation did 3 of the following: 1) Violated their human rights by forcibly displacing them 2) Failed to protect them from harm and failed as a nation state. 3) Denied them citizenship, either de jure or de facto. For refugees, it makes no sense for them to prioritize their national identity for nations that failed them by either violated their human rights, failed as a nation state, or denied them citizenship. In this case, it makes the most sense to bond with other humans such as family, friends, other refugees, and people who help them. Nations collapse and are temporary, while humanity is permanent.