That seems a bit taken out of context. The Old Man wasn't talking about ethnic identity, but about political / revolutionary / national traditions in the context of the revival of Napeolonic imagery (and autocracy) in France.
Like many things with him, the quote can also be turned on its head when read in full context. Just like when people quote "Religion is the opiate of the masses" they rarely read the rest of the sentence "the heart of a heartless world". Negative judgement was not being cast on religion just a description of the reality of the situation: the world sucks for the mass of people and people reach for God to save them from it.
Likewise the traditions of the dead generations can also be beautiful dreams. The powerful can and do use the past or religion or whatever to build a mythos for the purpose of domination, but the weak can reach for it as a tool of liberation, too.
Like many things with him, the quote can also be turned on its head when read in full context. Just like when people quote "Religion is the opiate of the masses" they rarely read the rest of the sentence "the heart of a heartless world". Negative judgement was not being cast on religion just a description of the reality of the situation: the world sucks for the mass of people and people reach for God to save them from it.
Likewise the traditions of the dead generations can also be beautiful dreams. The powerful can and do use the past or religion or whatever to build a mythos for the purpose of domination, but the weak can reach for it as a tool of liberation, too.
Good book: https://www.amazon.com/Fatherland-Mother-Earth-National-Ques...
(early journal-article version here: file:///home/ryan/Downloads/titusland,+SR_1989_Lowy.pdf)