Patriotism – what does it mean? 2-6-2014 Editorial By N.Tirant “Patriotism is the freedom to express your beliefs and to act on those beliefs.” This is how a 13-year-old American, Alexis Canen defines patriotism in his award winning essay entitled “What Patriotism Means to Me”. It is one that may be well-shared with the Seychellois youth as they explore and embrace the value of patriotism over the coming weeks. A reflection on the value of patriotism during the month of June is opportune. Three national holidays this month will take us through commemorations of several periods of our history. Each day carries its message on patriotism. From Independence Day on 29 June 1976, through the controversial 5 June 1977 and its coup d’état when a small group took overthrew the legitimate government by force to impose a 16-year dictatorship, to National Day which commemorates the adoption on 18 June 1993 of the first universally-accepted constitution giving birth to our Third Republic and its charter of fundamental human rights. But patriotism has different meanings to different people. While some see it as a cultural attachment to ones homeland or a devotion to one’s country, others credit it with political ideology. Marxism took various stances on it. Karl Marx acknowledged that working men have no country. The supremacy of the proletariat would cause national differences to vanish as the socialist world commonwealth tore down all frontiers in its creation. On the other hand, social patriotism, of the kind offered by the Stalinists and Maoists, was based on home-grown socialism – much like what the Second Republic had in mind for Seychelles. That was in the past. Today, a fundamental that emerges from a reflection on patriotism is that the citizen remains at its centre. I am a patriot when I fully understand and appreciate that I embrace my role and position as one of “We the People” that comprise the country in which I live. Patriotism therefore must be, first and foremost, an awareness and sense of belonging to that community of people in our case we call Seychellois. It must create a sense of national responsibility carried through the steady dedication of a lifetime. It cannot be based on short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, however fervent. Waving flags and singing national anthems is not everything. Being a patriot takes us back to the basics – expressing concern for and doing something about the weaknesses that are attacking the very fabric of our society and cohesion as citizens. It is about understanding that in our diversity and with all our differences as individual citizens, we all share a common goal – the success and viability of our Nation. By showing concern for and speaking up about the degradation of our society and not knowing the citizen’s role in it we show our patriotism. “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure,” said the great Thomas Jefferson in his letters on patriotism and the duty to tell leaders they are wrong. “And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?” We are already witnessing what happens when patriotism fails. Citizens do not understand or appreciate the full importance of their role in society. Those who no longer belong or who are marginalised end up feeling irrelevant or unwanted. This leads to greater levels of delinquency and crime as people willingly break those very laws that our society sets itself to manage and oversee the relationships between us. As society’s norms break down, and the authorities are unable to cope, new harsher laws are introduced in the hope that these may achieve what was impossible under more lenient laws. The solutions themselves become crimes and when they fail to work, everyone resorts to more violence and society breaks down completely leaving all the citizens living in fear for life and safety.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 05:21:23 +0000
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