I didn’t understand what’s wrong with exclusive nationalism until I became an immigrant

Mexican education has a very strong nationalist component, and we are taught to view with a certain suspicion foreign influences, which is quite ironic when you consider that everybody came from somewhere else. Phrases like "México lindo y querido" (beautiful & beloved Mexico) or "Como México no hay dos" (there is no other country like Mexico) are commonly heard, and Mexican naturalisation and investment laws are extremely restrictive, which everybody seems to find normal.

When I moved to Finland, after going throught the whole language and acculturisation process, I realised that many of those views held while and where I was born were rather chauvinistic, when I found similar situations in the country where my home is.  Phrases such as "On lottovoitto syntyä Suomeen" (being born in Finland is like winning the lottery) and the sad state of the immigration debate in Finland currently have shown me how wrong the attitudes I encountered when growing up are, since they assume that one group or the other hold a monopoly on truth and are categorically better than the rest.

I'd rather learn the best from everybody I encounter.