National identity differs from country to country. This is actually a matter of cultural foundation. Western countries’ national identity may come from the Bible, which leads westerners to share the same belief and icon; eastern countries, however, derive more conventionalities from its long history of developing, especially from the cultivation civilization. In China, the sense of belonging to a nation is indeed the expansion of the sense of belonging to a family. “The family system is the root of Chinese society, from which all Chinese social characteristics derive” (Lin Yutang, My People and My Country 257). Such is human nature that people will unconditionally love their family and are willing to sacrifice themselves for the families’ benefit. Since “nations” are always regarded as “big families” in Chinese traditional culture, Chinese people would for sure go to extremes willingly to save their nation when faced with some threats from outside.

　　Wars, in general, can be one of the most representational things to manifest how national identity works when facing a national disaster. A war is often launched by a strengthful political power in the purpose of plundering other country’s resources or taking other country’s territory. Usually, the invaded country will lose the war for its inferiority in arms. Nevertheless, the backwardness in weapon does not mean the loss in war. The Ethiopian War of Resistance against Italy is a typical proof. Wanting to expand its colony, in 1935, Mussolini, the leader of Italian Fascismo, rashly lauched a war of aggression against Ethiopia, which was a destitute country with rich underground resources and a geographical advantage. Allowing for Italy’s superior weapons, well-trained troops and disguised support from other Capitalist powers, Ethiopian seemed has no chance to win. However, people equipped with the spirit of self-sacrifice and braveness in Ethiopia, had not surrendered until the last minute. Herdsmen saved water in wateskins and crossed the desert on foot to take the water to the military camp; Young students went into streets to demonstrate; Women got together to help taking care of the injured; even some of the feudalistic landlords offered their help more or less in their own ways. With such efforts, the great Ethiopians successfully dashed Italians’ hope to beat the poor country in an extremely short time. This is how national identity works in wars; this is the power of getting together.

　　Not only in wars, but also in our daily lives does national identity exert its influence. However, a trail of recent cases concern Chinese food safety, which is under the suspicion of the public for the continual exposures of the illegal merchants adding harmful chemicals to their论文范文http://www.chuibin.com/  products, has drawn a wide attention. There are still many people lying in the beds of hospitals waiting for treatment just for the simple reason that they have eaten some “painted steamed bread” or “pork beef” produced by their own fellows, the illegal and irresponsible merchants. This phenomenon, in fact, is a reflection of the indifferent that people have towards national identity. National identity is delicate in today’s society. This may give rise to an extremely grave consequence that civilians in one country will have difficulty caring about others, let alone their own nation. They may fail to get together to fight against external enemies or to overcome some serious national crises. In that case, a nation would be too fragile to sustain any kind of strike, no matter how powerless the strike actually is.

　　To strengthen a nation, basically, raising civilians’ awareness of national identity is essential and crucial. On no account would Ethiopia survive Italy’s attack nor would China beat Japan in WWⅡwithout the support of the exclusive national identity flowing in all normal commoners’ arteries. National identity is more than a legacy left by the past generations, but a profound cultural accumulation, a widely accepted national spirit, which has been firmly embedded in the heart of every single member of a nation. The sense of belonging to a country, which comes from the national identity, truly can make a great difference in a vital and historic moment.

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