defining oneself

background: "before 1948, jews had no country to refer to, and thus can't define themselves."

if one was to define oneself, he/she does not need the concept of nation to do so because it's the personal values that distinct one from others. one might ask, does nation shape individual's values at all? i argue it's the family and surrounding people/experiences that shape the values of individuals. Mrs. Thatcher once said "there is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families." nation is a made-up concept that people imagine in their heads. thus, nation, the imaginary concept, has little/no impact on individuals.

although families, friends, and experiences are more accurate means to define a being than the notion of nation, it wouldn't be convenient to use such measures as it'd take hours to talk about families & experiences. therefore, we need a noun, in this case, a country name that is known to people.

thus, when it comes to defining oneself, it is the convenience of communication that people need a country (or a country name), not the accuracy of truely defining oneself.