Race and Nationality
Sir: The persecution of a racial minority to the degree instanced by the Ugandan Government is a reminder that the dictatorship of any single faction can only be exercised through tyranny. Except for the smallest of tribes, no nation, or even race, is completely homogeneous: there is always a difference between those who inhabit the highlands, the lowlands, and the coastlands, 'even in language and customs, yet all share a common concern for security and prosperity. It is this that causes them to congregate, and that forms the bond of nationality, irrespective of racial origin.
Nationality therefore transcends race: and establishes a state to conserve freedom, justice, and as far as possible, peace, throughout the realm — from its highlands to its shores. A nation is, in fact, a confederation of communities; and represents the interests of all, while conserving the individual characteristics of each.. The fact is that nations are becoming increasingly hybrid, owing to the ease and to the acceleration of travel, and to the consequent intermingling of populations, irrespective of racial origins. Nationality can nowadays be a matter of choice, whereas race remains an eradicable fact of circumstance; and the hybrid racial composition of the British Isles and of the United States indicates how completely many races can merge to create a single state, without totally submerging individual racial idiosyncrasies.
The ancient Athenian was not necessarily a Greek, nor the Roman citizen an Italian; since many races can share the same religion, so can they share the same nationality. A process that, all through the ages, has engendered a congregation of the like-minded, for mutual security and prosperity; and which has created that common loyalty symbolised by the spirit of patriotism. F. E. Isaac 124 Lexham Gardens, London W8
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