But back then, powered flight by humans was in its infancy. Transatlantic flights were a rare and difficult adventure. The only way to travel from the Old World to the New was by steam-powered ships, which often took a week or more, unless you were really rich and could afford tickets on, say one Cunard's luxury liners like the RMS Lusitania.
[Yes, I know the Lusitania was sunk in 1915, but it held the transatlantic speed record until the 1930's.]
My real point is that this time around nationalism is playing out in a weird way. Politicians are pushing nationalism worldwide at a time when our economies are so complex and intertwined far more than they were a century ago
It used to be that imported goods were expensive items that one could not make or produce in one's own country. For example, it's hard to raise silkworms in the Scandinavian countries, so silk had to be imported from places were the worms could be raised.
But today?
Near-instantaneous communication and faster shipping with international flights means we don't have to wait forever to get something like cinnamon.
I've hired cover artists living in the U.S., Canada, and Bulgaria. I've sold books in every continent except Antarctica. This afternoon, I ordered doll hair from Australia. I bought a pair of beautifully crafted silver and citrine earrings from India for a cousin's birthday. And I love that cinnamon has become so common I can eat it in bagels every morning if I wanted.
If anything, the COVID-19 pandemic showed us just how entwined our economies have become, even if our cultures aren't.
Will this nationalistic fervor continue through the rest of the decade? I really doubt it. Not even the politicians want to give up their Chinese tech and their Italian race cars, so it'll be a little harder for them to make me give up cinnamon.
