Esther 4:16 gave the best illustration of Patriotism. I quote Esther's reply to Mordecai as follows. "Go gather together all the Jews who are in Susa and fast for me…. for three days, night or day…... I will go to the King even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish". She went to the King and saved the lives of all the Jews throughout the country.
Patriotism calls for readiness to sacrifice for love of the people and country. Esther showed an excellent patriotic response to such a call and was thus successful in saving a people. Today we are in dire need of patriots like Esther to heal our land.
"If you want anything for yourself everything goes wrong in whatever you do". Mrs. Doe Peter Howard. People today are so driven towards their own personal prosperity goals that patriotism and civic sense as an ethnic has become a low priority, almost a nuisance. When patriotism and civic sense are absent in a society, it leads to a lot of problems. Disregard for law, values and sanitation are the primary causes for lack of patriotism and civic sense. A person who has patriotism and high civic values does not resort to shortcuts and unethical tactics to get his work done. These shortcuts are in the group with bribery, corruption, hedonism, instant gratification, the get-rich-quick culture, violence, selfishness, lack of courteousness, random disposal of waste etc. The consequences are disconnection, distrust between people to people, God and people. Permit me to compare the loneliness and emptiness of Lady Gaga USA, John Lennon of the Beatles or Marilyn Monroe USA with that of the patriots like William Colgate USA, Rockefeller USA, Bill Gates USA.
What is patriotism and civic sense? Patriotism is derived from the Latin word 'Patriota', which means fellow countryman. The act of a person defending, or being zealous for his country's freedom or rights; or strongly supporting his people, country and is prepared to defend it all cost is patriotism.
Civic sense is a person taking an active interest in the community's needs and affairs of a town or a city of having civic pride that people feel for their town or city by performing their duties and responsibilities to the best of their ability even when they are watched or not seen doing it.
The attitude of both a patriot and a person with civic sense is the same; only that, a patriot has the larger share of responsibility than that of a person with civic sense.
Patriotism and civic sense calls for readiness to sacrifice for a just cause. Patriotism and civic sense is the hallmark of strong character in the same way as a tree is as strong as its roots. It is the most important quality one looks for in today's world. A sense of patriotism in all relationships generates a sense of belonging and care. Patriotism is an attitude as well as an action. It is totally voluntary. It survives inconveniences, temptations and hardships of any kind. The spirit of patriotism should begin first with the individual. E.g. Job said in the Bible "He knows the way that I take when He has tested me I will comeforth as gold." Do we have this courage and spirit? "Wrong is wrong even if everybody is doing it and right is right even if nobody is doing it."
Helping the Chinese economy boom by non resident Chinese who invested all their wealth in their original country for love of their people is a good example. Though highly educated, John Watt of Scandinavia took up the barber's profession because by doing this he would be able to pay more tax to the state adding up to another patriotic characteristic. These qualities formed the backbone of their Nations.
Whom do we owe our patriotism and civic sense to? We owe our patriotism to our people, country and values. Individuals and organizations are perishable, whereas patriotism and civic sense are basic codes of conduct and are everlasting. Example, the "Ten Commandments", such as, do not steal or kill goes on. Do unto others as you would like done to yourself…. A person with patriotism is a one man army. Patriotism produces character and character produces hope and honor. It is the sum total of integrity, honesty, ethics, conscience, loyalty, mental toughness, courage and consistency.
The patriotism of a person is not measured by his status or profession but by his conduct. Practicing patriotism takes courage. It requires moral courage in the pursuit of an ideal and noble purpose. Patriotism combined with wisdom, integrity, enthusiasm and determination makes for honourable living. The life of a patriot speaks "Come, lets walk together to live with honour," but when a person compromises his patriotism and values, he not only loses the respect of others but most importantly he loses respect for himself. The lack of patriotism and civic sense cannot be compensated by any other quality of body or mind.
Example. Many of our high caste Indians treating their own countryman lower than their dogs. The dog is free to move about their living room, kitchen or bedroom while their fellowmen- the Harijans cannot even set foot even on their verandah. Self centeredness and patriotism do not go together. It is like darkness and light, where there is light there cannot be darkness.
Baba Amte was the son of a rich Brahmin landlord, a renowned law practitioner, also vice chairman of a municipality. He had a soft heart for lepers and set up a lepers' rehabilitation centre where he teaches them self-reliance. He said "I am more isolated by my own community (Brahmin) than the lepers".
This attitude of our fellow Indians towards their countrymen is only the absence of true love and value of each human soul but also a lack of true patriotism and civic sense. There may be a connected attitude and behavior explanation to how Late Graham Staines and his two sons were burnt to death for their good services towards the lepers. It is the attitude that matters and not the size of the country or its resources. “We are living today in tomorrow’s world with yesterday’s ideas” Milovan Djalas, Former Vice President Yugoslavia. “A life that is not examined is not worth living” Socrates. “Man is a reed but he is a thinking reed” Blaise Pascal. Yes at least we should be a thinking reed always at all cost.
Our high castes Indians have a privilege to litter everywhere without obligation to clean after themselves, they also have no obligation to say "Thank you" to the lower castes under any circumstances. As a result they lose their character and are being despised by others. Because of this self centredness and culture of discrimination, India which is a large and a very old country, having so many natural resources remain as it is today suffering with unequal development. A country's development or lack of it depends more on the patriotic attitude of its citizens than the natural resources or size of land.
Under these circumstances, our Indians suffer comments from foreigners like "India dirty, dirty, cheating, cheating," "Indians never say 'Thank you," made to me and my wife by a Philipino out of concern when he discovered that we were from India. I along with my wife had 14 day Europe tour with another 23 highly accomplished persons from India in 1998. Due to their bad behaviors we the Indians were grouped separately in all the 5 Star Hotels throughout the tour and when the waiters see our Mongolian face amongst the Indians they often tell us, "You (Mongolians) should not be here (with the Indians) your group is in the other room." Pointing out to where the Europeans and other Mongolians like the Japanese were dining. On one occasion, I witnessed our two Indian friends were forced to clean up their toilet papers after used in one of the public toilets by the toilet keeper in UK. We Nagas are not exceptions. Our Nagaland is also labeled as "Just mud and dust" by a Reverend Preacher from South Korea.
These comments are a challenge to our patriotism and civic sense. “A Nation’s thinking is in ruin before their cities, towns and economy are in ruins. You can plan a new society and a new world on paper but you have to built with new people” Frankbuckman. Korea was the poorest Nation on earth in 1953 and has become the third richest Nation today in Asia and 12th in the world with the slogan “We can do if we do”. Do we have the "needed I care" and "readiness to sacrifice" for our country or city? Who cares for our Nagaland and society?
The Bible says your camp must be clean, so that God may not see anything indecent amongst you and turn away from you. Shall we rise to the occasion to prove that Nagaland is not just "mud and dust" and that Nagas are not just "meat and wine?" Crises are always accompanied by opportunities.
A patriotic person is bold but not bully, humble but not apologetic, proud but not arrogant, strong but not rude, firm but not stubborn, in love with life but ready to die, content but not complacent.
Separatism, vandalism, intolerance, racism, road rage etc. are all lack of patriotism and civic sense. People are becoming less and less tolerant of each other, of each other's cultures, backgrounds and other traits. India has really diverse people and the need of the hour is general civic sense and patriotism and not self-centeredness and selfishness as the above treatment of Dalits by Brahmins.
It is not uncommon to hear about communal friction. Even living in the city has become difficult because people have no consideration whatsoever for their fellow city dwellers. When patriotism and civic sense are absent in the society it leads to a lot of problems. Inconsiderateness towards fellow society members will only come right back at you. You have to be social, mature and unbiased when in comes to situations in public.
Look at the spit marks, urine, vulgar graffiti, random garbage and overflowing sewers in every nook and corner of India, while on the other hand as per WHO report, there are as many as 665 (six hundred sixty five) millions of poor Indians who have to defecate in the open everyday. No city in this country, including Dimapur, Kohima or Medziphema has managed to fight the menace. It is easy to pin everything on the government but people must first question themselves. Roads and cities are not dirty because nobody cleaned it but because somebody dirtied it in the first place.
Such dirt and grime are not acceptable to anybody, it exists only because everybody adds to it for lack of patriotism and a value of civic sense. People continue to indulge in such behaviour in spite of knowing its harmful effects. If you want to live in a prosperous and healthy society and build a great nation for yourselves, some of the simple actions, each one of us can take care are :
• To change, start from self, be a role model to your society, be upright to fight anti-social elements, respect elders, women and handicapped friends, follow the queue even if you don't like it, respect the laws of the land, keep your surroundings neat and clean, be your own moral police. To me, this sense of respect for society is patriotism and civic sense.
• Saying "everybody does it" is an excuse and only an excuse. In India, even prominent personalities indulge in proud displays of a lack of civic sense. Take for example, ministers who delay planes with complete disregard for other passengers or companies that freely pollute rivers and lakes. It is difficult for a country to change its mindset when its public leaders themselves are setting bad examples, round the clock, all the time.
• So how do you go about teaching your child civic sense? Patriotism begins at home. Begin by teaching him to keep his immediate surroundings clean and tidy. If he learns to appreciate cleanliness, he will be able to practice it outside the home as well. Explain to him that just because other people dirty their surroundings does not mean he should do too. Shall we teach them the principle of "I care" over public properties and step out in the light towards building a radical generation?
• When you teach your child about civic sense, you also teach him about civic responsibility or patriotism. Children need to be taught civic sense early because unlike a specific skill, civic sense is a school of thought in itself. It is a belief in hygiene, respect for other members of society, and humane behaviour.
• Encourage him to mix with people from different backgrounds and not harbour prejudice against them. India is a mix of a variety of people; and patience and tolerance in your child will make him more accepted and respected. Your child will then learn that discrimination and irresponsibility can be avoided, and will be inculcated with the characteristics of patriotism and a sense of civic responsibility.
With such small steps, you and I can teach our children about civic sense and the importance of it in his life. And by teaching them, we not only make them better human beings but also do our bit for the future of our land.
(The above article is part of the Economic Development Seminar organized by the Chakhro Baptist Churches Council at Town Baptist Church Medziphema on February 12, 2011)
Patriotism calls for readiness to sacrifice for love of the people and country. Esther showed an excellent patriotic response to such a call and was thus successful in saving a people. Today we are in dire need of patriots like Esther to heal our land.
"If you want anything for yourself everything goes wrong in whatever you do". Mrs. Doe Peter Howard. People today are so driven towards their own personal prosperity goals that patriotism and civic sense as an ethnic has become a low priority, almost a nuisance. When patriotism and civic sense are absent in a society, it leads to a lot of problems. Disregard for law, values and sanitation are the primary causes for lack of patriotism and civic sense. A person who has patriotism and high civic values does not resort to shortcuts and unethical tactics to get his work done. These shortcuts are in the group with bribery, corruption, hedonism, instant gratification, the get-rich-quick culture, violence, selfishness, lack of courteousness, random disposal of waste etc. The consequences are disconnection, distrust between people to people, God and people. Permit me to compare the loneliness and emptiness of Lady Gaga USA, John Lennon of the Beatles or Marilyn Monroe USA with that of the patriots like William Colgate USA, Rockefeller USA, Bill Gates USA.
What is patriotism and civic sense? Patriotism is derived from the Latin word 'Patriota', which means fellow countryman. The act of a person defending, or being zealous for his country's freedom or rights; or strongly supporting his people, country and is prepared to defend it all cost is patriotism.
Civic sense is a person taking an active interest in the community's needs and affairs of a town or a city of having civic pride that people feel for their town or city by performing their duties and responsibilities to the best of their ability even when they are watched or not seen doing it.
The attitude of both a patriot and a person with civic sense is the same; only that, a patriot has the larger share of responsibility than that of a person with civic sense.
Patriotism and civic sense calls for readiness to sacrifice for a just cause. Patriotism and civic sense is the hallmark of strong character in the same way as a tree is as strong as its roots. It is the most important quality one looks for in today's world. A sense of patriotism in all relationships generates a sense of belonging and care. Patriotism is an attitude as well as an action. It is totally voluntary. It survives inconveniences, temptations and hardships of any kind. The spirit of patriotism should begin first with the individual. E.g. Job said in the Bible "He knows the way that I take when He has tested me I will comeforth as gold." Do we have this courage and spirit? "Wrong is wrong even if everybody is doing it and right is right even if nobody is doing it."
Helping the Chinese economy boom by non resident Chinese who invested all their wealth in their original country for love of their people is a good example. Though highly educated, John Watt of Scandinavia took up the barber's profession because by doing this he would be able to pay more tax to the state adding up to another patriotic characteristic. These qualities formed the backbone of their Nations.
Whom do we owe our patriotism and civic sense to? We owe our patriotism to our people, country and values. Individuals and organizations are perishable, whereas patriotism and civic sense are basic codes of conduct and are everlasting. Example, the "Ten Commandments", such as, do not steal or kill goes on. Do unto others as you would like done to yourself…. A person with patriotism is a one man army. Patriotism produces character and character produces hope and honor. It is the sum total of integrity, honesty, ethics, conscience, loyalty, mental toughness, courage and consistency.
The patriotism of a person is not measured by his status or profession but by his conduct. Practicing patriotism takes courage. It requires moral courage in the pursuit of an ideal and noble purpose. Patriotism combined with wisdom, integrity, enthusiasm and determination makes for honourable living. The life of a patriot speaks "Come, lets walk together to live with honour," but when a person compromises his patriotism and values, he not only loses the respect of others but most importantly he loses respect for himself. The lack of patriotism and civic sense cannot be compensated by any other quality of body or mind.
Example. Many of our high caste Indians treating their own countryman lower than their dogs. The dog is free to move about their living room, kitchen or bedroom while their fellowmen- the Harijans cannot even set foot even on their verandah. Self centeredness and patriotism do not go together. It is like darkness and light, where there is light there cannot be darkness.
Baba Amte was the son of a rich Brahmin landlord, a renowned law practitioner, also vice chairman of a municipality. He had a soft heart for lepers and set up a lepers' rehabilitation centre where he teaches them self-reliance. He said "I am more isolated by my own community (Brahmin) than the lepers".
This attitude of our fellow Indians towards their countrymen is only the absence of true love and value of each human soul but also a lack of true patriotism and civic sense. There may be a connected attitude and behavior explanation to how Late Graham Staines and his two sons were burnt to death for their good services towards the lepers. It is the attitude that matters and not the size of the country or its resources. “We are living today in tomorrow’s world with yesterday’s ideas” Milovan Djalas, Former Vice President Yugoslavia. “A life that is not examined is not worth living” Socrates. “Man is a reed but he is a thinking reed” Blaise Pascal. Yes at least we should be a thinking reed always at all cost.
Our high castes Indians have a privilege to litter everywhere without obligation to clean after themselves, they also have no obligation to say "Thank you" to the lower castes under any circumstances. As a result they lose their character and are being despised by others. Because of this self centredness and culture of discrimination, India which is a large and a very old country, having so many natural resources remain as it is today suffering with unequal development. A country's development or lack of it depends more on the patriotic attitude of its citizens than the natural resources or size of land.
Under these circumstances, our Indians suffer comments from foreigners like "India dirty, dirty, cheating, cheating," "Indians never say 'Thank you," made to me and my wife by a Philipino out of concern when he discovered that we were from India. I along with my wife had 14 day Europe tour with another 23 highly accomplished persons from India in 1998. Due to their bad behaviors we the Indians were grouped separately in all the 5 Star Hotels throughout the tour and when the waiters see our Mongolian face amongst the Indians they often tell us, "You (Mongolians) should not be here (with the Indians) your group is in the other room." Pointing out to where the Europeans and other Mongolians like the Japanese were dining. On one occasion, I witnessed our two Indian friends were forced to clean up their toilet papers after used in one of the public toilets by the toilet keeper in UK. We Nagas are not exceptions. Our Nagaland is also labeled as "Just mud and dust" by a Reverend Preacher from South Korea.
These comments are a challenge to our patriotism and civic sense. “A Nation’s thinking is in ruin before their cities, towns and economy are in ruins. You can plan a new society and a new world on paper but you have to built with new people” Frankbuckman. Korea was the poorest Nation on earth in 1953 and has become the third richest Nation today in Asia and 12th in the world with the slogan “We can do if we do”. Do we have the "needed I care" and "readiness to sacrifice" for our country or city? Who cares for our Nagaland and society?
The Bible says your camp must be clean, so that God may not see anything indecent amongst you and turn away from you. Shall we rise to the occasion to prove that Nagaland is not just "mud and dust" and that Nagas are not just "meat and wine?" Crises are always accompanied by opportunities.
A patriotic person is bold but not bully, humble but not apologetic, proud but not arrogant, strong but not rude, firm but not stubborn, in love with life but ready to die, content but not complacent.
Separatism, vandalism, intolerance, racism, road rage etc. are all lack of patriotism and civic sense. People are becoming less and less tolerant of each other, of each other's cultures, backgrounds and other traits. India has really diverse people and the need of the hour is general civic sense and patriotism and not self-centeredness and selfishness as the above treatment of Dalits by Brahmins.
It is not uncommon to hear about communal friction. Even living in the city has become difficult because people have no consideration whatsoever for their fellow city dwellers. When patriotism and civic sense are absent in the society it leads to a lot of problems. Inconsiderateness towards fellow society members will only come right back at you. You have to be social, mature and unbiased when in comes to situations in public.
Look at the spit marks, urine, vulgar graffiti, random garbage and overflowing sewers in every nook and corner of India, while on the other hand as per WHO report, there are as many as 665 (six hundred sixty five) millions of poor Indians who have to defecate in the open everyday. No city in this country, including Dimapur, Kohima or Medziphema has managed to fight the menace. It is easy to pin everything on the government but people must first question themselves. Roads and cities are not dirty because nobody cleaned it but because somebody dirtied it in the first place.
Such dirt and grime are not acceptable to anybody, it exists only because everybody adds to it for lack of patriotism and a value of civic sense. People continue to indulge in such behaviour in spite of knowing its harmful effects. If you want to live in a prosperous and healthy society and build a great nation for yourselves, some of the simple actions, each one of us can take care are :
• To change, start from self, be a role model to your society, be upright to fight anti-social elements, respect elders, women and handicapped friends, follow the queue even if you don't like it, respect the laws of the land, keep your surroundings neat and clean, be your own moral police. To me, this sense of respect for society is patriotism and civic sense.
• Saying "everybody does it" is an excuse and only an excuse. In India, even prominent personalities indulge in proud displays of a lack of civic sense. Take for example, ministers who delay planes with complete disregard for other passengers or companies that freely pollute rivers and lakes. It is difficult for a country to change its mindset when its public leaders themselves are setting bad examples, round the clock, all the time.
• So how do you go about teaching your child civic sense? Patriotism begins at home. Begin by teaching him to keep his immediate surroundings clean and tidy. If he learns to appreciate cleanliness, he will be able to practice it outside the home as well. Explain to him that just because other people dirty their surroundings does not mean he should do too. Shall we teach them the principle of "I care" over public properties and step out in the light towards building a radical generation?
• When you teach your child about civic sense, you also teach him about civic responsibility or patriotism. Children need to be taught civic sense early because unlike a specific skill, civic sense is a school of thought in itself. It is a belief in hygiene, respect for other members of society, and humane behaviour.
• Encourage him to mix with people from different backgrounds and not harbour prejudice against them. India is a mix of a variety of people; and patience and tolerance in your child will make him more accepted and respected. Your child will then learn that discrimination and irresponsibility can be avoided, and will be inculcated with the characteristics of patriotism and a sense of civic responsibility.
With such small steps, you and I can teach our children about civic sense and the importance of it in his life. And by teaching them, we not only make them better human beings but also do our bit for the future of our land.
(The above article is part of the Economic Development Seminar organized by the Chakhro Baptist Churches Council at Town Baptist Church Medziphema on February 12, 2011)
