Assimilation Is About Winning Identity Competition

“Millions of men want to merge into a body that provides them with the identity they do not have.” Patrick Buisson

A community is a social body in which everyone aspires to merge. The social and cultural divide that is growing in a country is the result of the defeat of the national narrative over communitarian narratives. A baby, when it is, is ready to melt into the mold that one will want to show it. The problem is that the strength of a discourse lies in its veracity or at least its credibility.

We all need an identity that we want to cherish because it is part of our self-esteem, itself a component of happiness. However, we cannot adhere to a narrative from which we feel excluded.
Nature abhors a vacuum, and if we cannot offer a strong, rewarding, in short, attractive identity to a population, it will look elsewhere for a better provider of a narrative.

Cultural separatism or secessionism is a reflection of the failure to provide a strong, coherent and inclusive national narrative. The strength of the narrative lies in the concrete actions taken to defend and embody it. The coherence comes from the harmony, chronology and logic of the discourse, which are important psychological drivers for adherence. Finally, the inclusive character of the narrative is necessary if one wishes to convince an entire segment of the population.

In order to make people adhere to the national narrative, it is necessary to communicate a certain pride, i.e. a love of this identity. Without this, it is useless to try to spread it. One cannot make people love what one does not already love oneself. Finally, self-love should not lead to hatred of others, there is a slight difference.