Identity Crisis : Between Nationalism and Globalization

Welcome to the 21st century, where globalization is at it’s fastest pace. Advance technologies have connected all places around the globe and made this world as if it’s a small neighborhood where everybody just knows each other. Distance is no longer a problem. Boundaries between countries have become indefinable. Thanks to the creation of TV, Internet, and other technologies, we are now able to share information, entertainment, and many more with people all around the world.
Globalization has put the world under one system, the global system. This system, either we realize it or not, is changing our life gradually. The way we act, the way we think, and even the way we dressed is changing in a sense we didn’t realize. We are tending to leave our traditional lifestyle into a more modern one which globalization has projected. The lifestyle of the western, that is.
Western countries, such as United States, play a major role in the global market created by globalization. Today, western culture has become the popular culture in most of the country. Coca-cola, Nike, MTV, these are all western products that we can found mostly everywhere in our planet. These ‘global brands' has replaced the local products step by step. Globalization has become a catalyst to westernize people’s lifestyle. Globalization has created a process of westernization.
Take an example of what is going on in my country, Indonesia. Assimilation of culture has become obvious with the presence of MTV, Hollywood movies, and other western products. Young people tend to leave traditional clothes such as batik to more trendy appearance like what they have seen on television. Electric guitar, synthesizer, and other modern instruments are replacing gamelan, angklung, and other folk instruments. Our national identity is in a crisis. Globalization has confronted our sense of nationalism. Most youngsters today have identified themselves as a part of the global community, not longer the national community where they were belonged.
So what can we do? How do we fight this wave of westernization? How can we grow back the sense of nationalism in the mind of young people while they can still be able to enjoy the advantage of globalization?
One way is to commercialize the idea of nationalism itself. Sell products that inspired young people with nationalism, like T-shirts, stickers, mugs with face of Soekarno, mobile accessories with red-and-white color, anything that both commercial and inspired nationalism.
Globalization has it’s own advantage and disadvantage, positives and negatives, yin and yang. Globalization connects the world into one big global network and unifies them, but on the other hand it advertises new culture that can, and may replace the local culture and thus put nationalism on the verge of extinction. It is a compulsory to all of us, to still have the sense of nationalism while still able to play a part in this era of globalization.