A reply to:
"You have enjoyed the benefits your country has provided you, like subsidised education and all that Now it's your duty to pay back your due"
Everyone can look at positive and negative things our country has done for us. Indians even more so, because we have the luxury of being a democracy .
I am really thankful for the freedom of expression we enjoy. Else I might not have been alive today. :P
What if fate had it that i was born in another country? One that is cruel and oppressive from my present frame of reference. Am I then justified saying, I had the right NOT to be patriotic because I didn't like my country too much?
Have I then the right NOT to fulfill the duties they demand as a nation? In spite of the fact that the nation gave me space to live in, food to eat, education and clothing. But ZERO freedom of thought and expression, that I value so much? If i were thankful about that, I'd be duty-bound to serve my country even if it conflicts my interests or our collective interests in many cases.
And about my country. Or any other. Just like I now like certain things about it, it is only natural that there will be things I don't like about it. That is because not all decisions here were made with me in mind. So do I do what is good for my nation even if it conflicts with my personal interests?
Isn't that a choice I make? Me or my nation.
The very reason why someone says that I should feel obliged to my nation is because it gave ME what I wanted (say education). At the end of it all, I am looking for personal satisfaction here. The logic being, I give my nation because I feel thankful that it gave me/my family something. So why even pretend that a nation comes before you??
It is ultimately a choice. In my case it is ME before my nation. ONLY because I don't comprehend the idea of a nation. It's boundaries. It's laws.
I can't relate to it. Because no one asked me where I wanted to be born. No one took my permission to rule my country. To conquer it. To make a constitution. To draw boundaries! A lot of it happened before I was born. I can't relate to the feeling of nationalism. I perhaps would have related to it if I (we) felt oppressed and I was a part of the collective effort to build a better world(I won't use the word nation).
India, I am thankful is quite pleasant and gives me quite a bit of freedom. I'd love to be of some use to the people here. Specifically the education system. In a way I think I can be useful. But I would refuse to accept that doing so would make me more moral or immoral than someone who chooses not to. I also refuse to be forced to feel duty-bound to my nation. It has to be a CHOICE!
About Me
Showing posts with label patriotism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patriotism. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Thursday, August 16, 2007
patriotism
Am I a non-believer just for the heck of it? I don't seem to understand so many of our man-made notions. Of religion. money. marriage. and patriotism.
Patriotic: adjective; having or expressing devotion to and vigorous support for one's country
Source- Oxford American Dictionary
If that is what patriotism is, do I want to be a patriot?
Do I love my country. I guess so. Do I vigorously support it? Not really. Do I complain about it? At times. Do I want to move way from the country? Perhaps. And why? Definitely for reasons that have nothing to do with my disappointment with my country. Is it because I am looking for greener pastures? Possibly. By greener pastures, I just mean places I need to be, to do what I want to do at that given moment. It doesn't matter which country it is. Afghanistan, Somalia would be as much of a greener pasture as the US or UK depending only on what I 'feel' like doing at the moment.
Would I die for my country? I'd rather commit suicide than die for some purpose as useless as dying for one's country! I thank the forces for taking all the pains they do and the sacrifices they make to keep our country safe. I respect the profession they chose but I do not understand why they made the choice. And I'd rather they were home with their families just like me, even if that put all our lives at the mercy of some barbaric conqueror.
How is patriotism different from religious fundamentalism, racism, casteism and regionalism? All are man-made factions. When I think of it, the notion of race, caste and religion, which could all be said to have common underlying cultural and social beliefs, make more sense than the notion of a country, which has far less to do with cultures and has more to do with boundaries and laws defined by men of power. Why is India the way it is? What binds us Indians together? We are a diverse country. Why are we supposed to stand united as Indians? Do we have similar beliefs? Religions? Cultural identities? Couldn't Pakistan, China, Srilanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Burma, Japan, Russia have as well been a part of India? If it were, wouldn't we be expected to be united as a single country? So isn't all this shit about countries, nothing but a line we drew because of some war fought or some differences we had at some time in history? Isn't it all a result of our foolishness?
Why should I be patriotic? What purpose does it serve?
Perhaps patriotism promotes unity. It is something that binds us together. But in this very unity aren't we being disunited with the rest of the world?
Does patriotism protect us in someway? Does it protect us against ill-wills of other nations? Does it protect us against conquests? Does it in turn protect our cultural heritage and identity?
Why are we so insecure about our identities? Why do we think it will be stolen or snatched away from us? Perhaps because it has so often happened in the past that dictators have conquered lands and imposed their laws and religions on the conquered land. But glorifying patriotism provides a solution by emotionally blackmailing people to 'want' to serve their country during war-time. If people really wanted to fight an oppressing power, they would do it the way they wanted to. Doesn't the Russian Revolution or our 'very own' ;) 1857 uprising prove that?
Patriotism is really a sorry excuse for waging wars. If patriotism is a good enough excuse, then so is religious fundamentalism and racism. After all, it is all about fighting for some common cause against other people who might be trying to dominate, convert or opress us.
Patriotic: adjective; having or expressing devotion to and vigorous support for one's country
Source- Oxford American Dictionary
If that is what patriotism is, do I want to be a patriot?
Do I love my country. I guess so. Do I vigorously support it? Not really. Do I complain about it? At times. Do I want to move way from the country? Perhaps. And why? Definitely for reasons that have nothing to do with my disappointment with my country. Is it because I am looking for greener pastures? Possibly. By greener pastures, I just mean places I need to be, to do what I want to do at that given moment. It doesn't matter which country it is. Afghanistan, Somalia would be as much of a greener pasture as the US or UK depending only on what I 'feel' like doing at the moment.
Would I die for my country? I'd rather commit suicide than die for some purpose as useless as dying for one's country! I thank the forces for taking all the pains they do and the sacrifices they make to keep our country safe. I respect the profession they chose but I do not understand why they made the choice. And I'd rather they were home with their families just like me, even if that put all our lives at the mercy of some barbaric conqueror.
How is patriotism different from religious fundamentalism, racism, casteism and regionalism? All are man-made factions. When I think of it, the notion of race, caste and religion, which could all be said to have common underlying cultural and social beliefs, make more sense than the notion of a country, which has far less to do with cultures and has more to do with boundaries and laws defined by men of power. Why is India the way it is? What binds us Indians together? We are a diverse country. Why are we supposed to stand united as Indians? Do we have similar beliefs? Religions? Cultural identities? Couldn't Pakistan, China, Srilanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Burma, Japan, Russia have as well been a part of India? If it were, wouldn't we be expected to be united as a single country? So isn't all this shit about countries, nothing but a line we drew because of some war fought or some differences we had at some time in history? Isn't it all a result of our foolishness?
Why should I be patriotic? What purpose does it serve?
Perhaps patriotism promotes unity. It is something that binds us together. But in this very unity aren't we being disunited with the rest of the world?
Does patriotism protect us in someway? Does it protect us against ill-wills of other nations? Does it protect us against conquests? Does it in turn protect our cultural heritage and identity?
Why are we so insecure about our identities? Why do we think it will be stolen or snatched away from us? Perhaps because it has so often happened in the past that dictators have conquered lands and imposed their laws and religions on the conquered land. But glorifying patriotism provides a solution by emotionally blackmailing people to 'want' to serve their country during war-time. If people really wanted to fight an oppressing power, they would do it the way they wanted to. Doesn't the Russian Revolution or our 'very own' ;) 1857 uprising prove that?
Patriotism is really a sorry excuse for waging wars. If patriotism is a good enough excuse, then so is religious fundamentalism and racism. After all, it is all about fighting for some common cause against other people who might be trying to dominate, convert or opress us.
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