National Identity in Iceland A country’s national identity is a tricky thing to describe. No matter how wide a net you cast there will always be people who don’t fit a certain definition. Even the vaguest, all inclusive descriptor for a country’s population could only describe a portion of the people who live there. This is because of two reasons: First, even the smallest of nations have thousands people in its population. The sheer size of people living in one area makes it difficult to find one thing in common that unites them all. Second, human beings are complex. One person can change their ideology or personality throughout their life. Simple descriptors like “courageous” might define someone on a surface level, but it cannot define what they are like on the inside or explain why people can act self contradictory. This is an obstacle to leaders and demagogues of the world, who wish to build power be convincing those they rule they are a homogeneous bloc of ...