Quote by George Orwell
All nationalists have the power of not seeing resemblances between similar sets of facts. A British Tory will defend self-determination in Europe and oppose it in India with no feeling of inconsistency. Actions are held to be good or bad, not on their own merits, but according to who does them, and there is almost no kind of outrage torture, the use of hostages, forced labour, mass deportations, imprisonment without trial, forgery, assassination, the bombing of civilians which does not change its moral colour when it is committed by 'our' side . . . The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them
Summary
This quote by George Orwell highlights the tendency of nationalists to exhibit a biased perspective when it comes to evaluating similar events occurring in different contexts. Regardless of the moral implications, nationalists tend to support actions based on who is involved rather than the inherent merit of the actions themselves. The quote argues that nationalists are often blind to atrocities committed by their own side and may even possess a remarkable ability to overlook or dismiss these acts entirely. Orwell's observation points to the dangerous nature of nationalist ideologies and their potential to undermine fair judgement and objective assessment of events.
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