Politics – Think It Yourself

A very common theme I find in some people’s self declaration is that they are Patriotic, but not Nationalists. A head-scratcher for many, is there really a difference? Aren’t they just synonyms?

In the basic sense, yes they are. Most middle school teachers won’t cut your marks for using one instead of the other in the essay. But where they differ is the degree, or intensity, or even some ontological priorities. In simple terms, they could be seen in the same degree of variance as words Hot and Scalding differ. In fact, if you search for the difference, you’ll find detailed discussions on the topic. An example could be seen in these articles

1) https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/patriotism-vs-nationalism
2) https://www.dictionary.com/e/patriotism-vs-nationalism/

By giving the disclaimer, people simply are trying to signal their understanding of this nuance, and their position on the spectrum. But, are they really thinking through the nuanced lens, or is it just an attempt at wordcelling to obscure one’s agenda.

Let’s look at simple definitions for one, taken from dictionary.com

Patriotism is, “devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country; national loyalty.”
While Nationalism is defined as “the policy or doctrine of asserting the interests of one’s own nation viewed as separate from the interests of other nations or the common interests of all nations.”

While any thinking person may easily decipher, that Patriotism is milder while, Nationalism can be excessive. But, here the question lies, those who emphasize being Patriotic rather than Nationalist, are they really practicing what they preach. How often do you see them weakening the defence in garb of criticism? How often do you see them supportive of one’s own over others? How often do you see them being fully devoted?

A key difference between Patriotism vs Nationalism is, that Nationalism often dives into a regime of one’s superiority over others. But nowhere in the definition of Patriotism, does it mean to compromise one’s own in favour of others. But alas, the degree of loyalty needed to at least be a Patriot is lost on many.

For all post-modern thinking obscuring the definition of Nationalism, it still has another meaning, “a nation’s wish and attempt to be politically independent.”

Being politically independent is not just about having democratic elections, it is about our Nation’s place in the world. It is about not having to worry about outsiders in countering a threat which hampers the nation in any way. It is about having a say in global affairs, and not having to tow someone’s line. We may have gained independence over 75 years ago, but we still have some work to do before we gain Political independence.

I don’t know where I lie on the post-modern Patriot-Nationalist spectrum, but I don’t care. In my own eyes, I am a Nationalist. I don’t need any self justifications for it. I’m not blind to the challenges my nation still has to overcome, but overcoming those and keeping their own interests above anything are all the same.

With the increasingly politicised world and frequent political process, questions of polity has become a day to day affair. A large part of population is affected everyday by this, and thanks to social media, much more actively participating than previous generations. Active participation for previous generation as citizen was limited to voting in elections, and participating in a few rallies, if they intended from time to time. Activism was reserved for a few, mostly those who were actually involved closer with active politics.
But with our generation, activism is reaching every doorstep. Everyone has means to raise their voice and be heard. Every news of politics, be it international or small regional ones reaches us. Regional elections are matter of national discussion, and affect national politics many a times. While this easiness of information exchange has strengthened democracy, it has also put it at risk. Inflammatory articles reach you as quickly and in much larger volume than before. Masses are more polarised, as their convictions are reinforced through fake news, which masquerades as genuine sources of information.
With all this, the task of being an effective citizen has become tougher. Vetting correct information from barrage of false ones is a critical skill to gain itself. And it’s not just about the fake news, even the genuine ones at times are not straight facts, but opinions based on events. Opinions, which may carry biases of the ones sharing them. How they sound to you depends on which set of ideas you carry. When those comes from people of authority, they carry a different weight. You may immediately feel accepting, or critical about it depending on which camp that information originated from. And that’s where the effectiveness of a Meticulous Citizen comes in play.
Being a good citizen means you do your homework before acting on any information. You vote after understanding the policy, not because you’ve always voted for them. You listen to both sides, and then do activism not based on ideology but on logic. And to apply logic, you need to be critical, not just of the camp you disagree with, but the ones you support too. In fact, a good citizen doesn’t need to stay in a camp, fealty is a thing of feudal societies. We live in democracies where every vote counts. We may take it for granted, but having ability to elect our officials is a great privilege. The only loyalty we need to worry about is to our society as a whole. To excercise privileges of citizenship is what it is, an excercise.

What do you think about it?