In my opinion it is true that sovereignty does protect difference. By having a separate state, you are communicating that you are a union of people with your own customs and beliefs. Of all the states that make up our world, no two are the same. Each state, with its own flag and culture, has a uniqueness that differentiates it from other nations. By being aware of and appreciating the uniqueness of others, it is easier to accept someone who is different from yourself.
Unfortunately, the reverse is also true. When you are viewed as a group of people who are different, the world can just as easily fear and resonate against you. People who are different may be targeted, and even denied the same rights that another group or nation enjoys. And if you belong to a sovereign nation with no source of defense or military system your country cannot be fully protected in the case of an attack. Hence, by keeping Koi and his family separate from the Earth residing humans they have less of a chance at being targeted as “alien” and more of being accepted, but they are still vulnerable to aggression.
I agree with Nicole that being different can cause fear and anger against you, but the very sense of being a sovereign independent nation provides a large degree of protection. Take the Jews of Europe without a particular country they could call their own they could not resist in a meaningful, collected fashion. Now look at Israel and Palestine. Israeli citizens are far more protected than Palestinians who do not have their own state. This is especially important when it comes to the International Community. Israel has UN membership, and has diplomatic ties with well over a hundred countries. Palestine has none of this. This gives the Israelis an enormous advantage over the Palestinians. Israel has a measure of legitimacy that Palestine lacks. Because of this and other advantages of being a state the Israeli Jews have a measure of safety that is unknown to the Palestinian Muslims.
ReplyDeleteA sovereign state does not always consist of one group of people or even a few peaceful groups of people for that matter. Take the middle east as an example. After the first world war the middle east was split into different territories that were divided into British and French protectorates. Britain and France did not pay much attention to the groups of people who were in these regions that world eventually become their ow sovereign states. so now in the present day middle east we have countries that inhabit groups and tribes of people that have been at war ad in conflict with each other for hundreds of years.
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