Being an observer of the political upheavals in my nation, it became apparent that people are vociferously accusing others endlessly and a bitter tirade of vicious words and violence is spewing in intensity that would not end for generations, if Earth is there that long!
Well..there were those who considered themselves the die-hard patriots who would kill to weigh their words heavily. And there were those who did and were doing, without realizing they were true patriots.
So who were the real patriots?!
Let’s figure this out.
The ones who paved a way to make a nation, and are still making a nation are the patriots. There is acceptance, tolerance, and grace for diversity…these are the real nation builders.
The ones who cause riots, bloodshed and spew venom and divide are not the patriots! I like this quote below:
People make a nation. People are precious. Without people, we cannot have a nation, without people, the word patriotism fades into nonexistence. Barren lands are lands uninhabited by people, vast, wailing, empty and lonely lands. What would we do without humanity, without people!
Patriots are the people that rise up in a nation, to build. Passionate, noble souls who do not hurt, kill or destroy. They could be anyone, from a farmer, doctor, nurse, police man or woman, constructor, carpenter, political leader, a spiritual man and woman, a teacher, a writer, a solider, etc. etc. We cannot decide who is a patriot as we cannot judge a book by its cover. Some patriots may need to fight wars for their nations and that is the only time they may need to kill to defend the people of the country, in times of war, but killing is not the way out in a way of life. War never stops unless someone stops.
If we think bloodshed is the stamp of a patriot, we are mistaken because blood begets blood and the cycle of revenge never ends.
True patriots are the people that build, heal, guide, repair, restore, mend and build foundations, add value and worth to everything around them. They are not petty, cribbing, hounding nor do they rise up as militants in mass hysterical bullying of the citizens of the country.
Today, we have angry patriotism rearing its ugly face, probably living on rewards from their high hierarchies for their angry service. They have a misnomer that anger is a mark of true patriotism. What’s going to happen with the angry patriot? Nothing. Just more cycles of rage, anger, maybe death, blame and blame. Nothing comes out of it. The angry patriot only divides a nation further. Good ground for the enemy to attack!
Angry patriotism is leading to militant nationalism bordering on to rising fascism. We have people who follow a pathway of mob hysteria and emotionalism branded in their terms as patriotism attacking anyone who does not fall in line in the way they want as anti-national or traitors.
The people living by the sword of pseudo patriotism have a lot of energy to rant and rave about people who may not meet their expectations of patriotism and the result is a great divide in a nation.
This is exactly what the enemy wants! They work on that big great divide insidiously chalking out cast, religious, ethnic, cultural, racial differences and drag a nation to the arena of a battlefield.
Battling citizens of a country because one is offended by something they do is a militant type of nationalism, which over time can lead to ideological fascism in eventuality. The pseudo patriots bring division, destruction, and polarity in a country, which never help a country to develop.
In the name of pseudo patriotism, people have become violent and intolerant and judgmental. This is not true patriotism and will never lead to any road of victory. The end of that road is darkness, blame, hatred, evil and death.
We have a tendency today to attack our fellow citizens calling them traitors or anti-national and anti-patriotic at the slightest provocation without any proof or substance.
The truth is we are on Earth for a season and a reason. Life is short and precious. There are many wonderful things to build, make, explore and discover. We have eternity, a place that we will go someday forever. This Earth is not our home. We make boundaries and fight for causes, but in the end of it, nothing lasts for ever. This is the truth that we hate to believe in.
Wake up my country people! Believe me, when at the end of life, we will be thinking of where we are going to go and preparing ourselves to meet God, not anything else!!!
Rita F. Kurian
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