Received the below from email and would like to dedicate it to
those boys and girls who think questioning the govt policies is
whining, opposing/anti govt and or unpatriotic:
Patriotism
by Dr Dzulkifli, Malaysiakini
Using the Google search engine one day, I stumbled onto a website -
Thinkexist.com - which revisits the concept of patriotism.
For starters, here's this: 'Dissent is the highest form of
patriotism' - a quote by Howard Zinn, an American historian, author
and political activist, who is currently Professor Emeritus in the
Political Science Department of Boston University (born
1922).
I thought this was exciting for a start. While patriotism is
traditionally understood as one's undivided and blind faith in and
love for one's nation, this enlightened mind prescribes dissent as
the pinnacle of it.
As dissent is the essence and cardinal principle of democracy - i.e
the right to differ - it surely provides the dynamism and the
check-and-balance that prevents the systemic rot that eventually
demolishes any nation. But is it celebrated and revered in our
democracy?
Just remember that the next time you dissent, for whatever reason,
it should be deemed as expressing your democratic right for you are
actualising the highest form of patriotism!
Moving on, Mark Twain (1835-1910), an American humorist, writer and
lecturer, offers this quotable quote: "Patriotism is supporting
your country all the time, and your government when it deserves
it."
That is in fact very sensible, subdued and restrained. This is
rather obvious and about the fairest thing to say. The government
deserves our support albeit conditionally. It will be given credit
when due - even profusely, if it deserves this.
But if they remain oblivious, unrepentant and worse still, so bent
on crooked and devious ways - like amassing wealth for themselves
and their cronies - they do not deserve our support. Hence, our
inability to profess support and allegiance.
Let us judge a quotation by Edward Abbey, another American, an
uncompromising environmentalist philosopher (1927-1989), who put it
cogently: "A patriot must always be ready to defend his country
against his government."
Wow! That's really cool and says it all.
(Malaysian examples snipped for relevance)
Patriotism, in the final analysis, is about defending the nation
against aggression, especially from the misdeeds of the government
of the day!
