Recent Discussions

Patriotism

11th June 1999      Ramaswamy, Arun @IAC.Honeywell.com

> My Dear fellow Indians,
> 
> I would like to share some thoughts with you regarding my country. This is
> not meant to be an argumentative monologue or "blaming" anybody or anyone.
> These are just some of my ideas and thoughts about my country. At the
> outset , I must mention that I love my country unconditionally, good or
> bad, rich or poor, I LOVE IT!
> 
> I would just like to talk on patriotism. 
> 
> To me, patriotism means having a sense of ownership of everything in my
> country. when I say everything I mean EVERYTHING. That is my definition of
> patriotism. From this root stems out the tree of good actions. Ownership
> is the key word. The people, the land and everything in the land.  There
> arises a deep respect and desire to preserve for a thing/s which I OWN. A
> protective maternal feeling. A deep love for the collective being, we call
> the country. The country's boundaries, then become my individual
> boundaries. The Self itself has 'expanded' to embrace the whole. This is
> the root of the concept of patriotism.
> 
> This being said, it follows that such a depth of feeling cannot, by any
> means be induced in a person. It has to grow from within. Only then it can
> stay with the person for his entire life. Yes, a mob or an entire country
> can be "roused" into a mass patriotic passion in order to achieve an
> immideate common objective at hand, as the history books will so often
> show you. But this Flame dies as quickly as it was lit. Patriotism should
> be a soft lit candle deep in the hearts of people for it to have a lasting
> effect. Not a Flame for a Fortnight. Lasting emotions cannot be
> 'cultivate' or ' preached'. Individuals should grow into it.
> 
> Then it becomes the duty of the patriotic people to set an example for
> their brethren to follow. It is something akin to an Intelligent man
> helping out his less intelligent fellowman to understand. A patriotic
> person can only show by actions. His actions are his only language,
> through which he can make a "non-patriotic" person so-to-speak understand
> what it really means. It is necessary, of course, to clarify this concept
> via the medium of words too. That is why I am writing all this. We must
> make patriotism a contagious habit amongst ourselves in daily life,
> wherever, in society that we may belong.
> 
> If we are working in for a firm, do it for the benefit of all the people
> in the company, as; everybody in the company is benefitting from it.
> Companies should do it for the state and states for the country. In all
> this, we should never forget, that finally, everything I do, is for the
> country and in its own small way, reaches out to the millions that are
> living here. When one feels this everyday, he can be sure that he is
> patriotic. There is no other scale for Judging the "level" of patriotism
> in a person.
> 
> That is all I can say about the soncept of patriotism.
> All comments are welcome.
> Truly,
> Arun
>