When the "State" or the "Nation" is treated as though it has a life of it's own separate to the people who actually comprise it, and that this "Nation-as separate-entity" is somehow infallible and pure, I start to get worried. And not simply because it is a reification fallacy to talk of the "Nation" as a separate entity to the population; but because the "nationalism" attached to it is nothing short of idolatry.
If we claim the title "Christian", it means we place nothing above Christ, and our values are His values, and one of the key values Christ taught us is: "Love thy neighbour". When Christians become nationalists in the worst sense of the word, they suddenly have an "excuse" not to love their neighbour. In the worst scenarios, this "Nation-as-separate-entity" becomes something which needs to be defended against the very people who comprise the nation, and we saw this with Soviet Socialism in the USSR as well as National Socialism in Germany and many other parts of Europe. Entire parts of the nation, millions of people, are expelled, tortured and killed in defence of this ideal of the Nation-as-separate-entity.
If our neighbour is in pain, if someone has been left behind by the system or has fallen through the cracks, or has been hurt by members of the nation, should our response as Christians be "why don't you go somewhere else then?"
I'm an Australian, and I think Australia is a beautiful landscape, and a wonderful people. But I also hold that there are some things wrong in Australia at a National level, and I have been openly critical of them. As a result, I have been called "un-Australian" and have even been spat at in the face during a quiet protest vigil. I just continued to pray as the tears welled up in my eyes and the spittle rolled down my face. I remember the bewilderment and the horrible feeling of isolation, and asking why anyone, but particularly a fellow countryman, would hate me so much. Then one of my fellow protesters, a Roman Catholic Nun wearing a veil, came over to me, took out her handkerchief and wiped the spittle from my face, stood beside me and took out a rosary and began to silently pray also. It was one of the most human moments I've ever experienced.
When the "Nation-as-separate-identity" becomes an idol, then anything becomes acceptable in it's "defence", and spitting in the face of your fellow countrymen is the least of it. As with any idolatry, we forget the Living God, and when we forget God, we forget our own humanity, and people become expendable objects.
Christianity began with people who chose to be tortured and executed rather than submit to the State when their conscience would not allow them to. We dishonour their memory if we say that a Christian should now choose the State over their own conscience.