Liah Greenfield, a professor at Boston University, gives her view of how nationalism came about and how it equates with democracy.  Her thoughts are worth considering because they shed a light on the events of today. According to Greenfield, nationalism was the result of the English War of the Roses (1445 to 1485).  Without going into the details of this civil war between the Houses of Lancaster and York, Greenfield's contention is that due to the savagery and duration of the war, "both branches lost their males, and the English aristocracy was physically destroyed."  This prompted the victor, the Tudor king Henry VII, to recruit a new elite from the commoners.  This was a significant break in how feudal society was previously constructed.  Before that, there were basically two distinct and separate classes of people: the aristocracy and the common people.  But the upper ("blue-blooded") order of...(Read Full Post)