A Nation.

The idea is going around that for an agglomeration of people to be a "nation," that population must share a certain ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious purity – that a nation, in other words, is defined in terms of the people who inhabit it.

There is of course, another perspective from which to characterize a nation, and that is to understand a nation as a project, a set of goals, methods, institutions, and principles according to which it is organized.

Canada defines itself as a mosaic, the U.S. as a melting pot, the Russian Federation as an ethnically, culturally, linguistically, and religiously diverse society with a deep appreciation for the sacrifices previous generations endured so that Russia would live on.

Imagine yourself choosing a nation to which you would like to belong.

Certain individuals seem oddly concerned that everyone who lives in the nation chosen will have the same ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious background as themselves. But as everyone knows, profound enmity and powerful disagreements are not unknown among ethnically, culturally, linguistically, and religiously pure populations.

Better luck in being happy with your choice of nations to join is likely to result if you choose on the basis of respect for dissenting opinions, willingness to know what is true, prioritizing mutual benefit, and discouraging exploitation of others.

Scapegoating "others" for the failure of a nation to organize itself as a vehicle for shared prosperity and social justice is an exercise in denial and an effort to escape from reality.