Essay: The Dangers of Patriotism

Title: The Dangers of Patriotism

Patriotism means love for one’s own country. It is a noble instinct it is born with our birth and grows with our growth. Love for ones country is a natural thing. We live in it; we breathe its air; we drink its water and eat its food and we enjoy its rights. Even beasts love their homes. Traitors like Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq are always looked down upon by their country men. And those like Tipu Sultan, Sirajuddaula, Liaquat Ali, Major Aziz, Syed Ahmad and the Quaid-e-Azam who suffer or die in a patriotic cause are ever respected by their fellow-men. Patriotism makes a man brave. It enables him to face grave dangers. It makes a man sacrifice pleasure and hope of gain. Surely, patriotism is desirable and the absence of it deplorable.

But Patriotism has a dark side too. It has certain dangers. First, it often makes a man narrow-minded and unfair. A patriot finds no fault with his country. He cannot bear the criticism on his country. To a Pakistani, everything Pakistani is good. To the English everything faultless and admirable. This attitude helps us to develop contempt towards all the other countries. The German national song opens with this “Germany over all “what we call “Color-bar” is really a perverted form of patriotism. The Japanese place themselves at the top of the list of nations.

Secondly, Patriotism is there behind all wars of aggression and all forms of imperialist Imperialist Russia, Imperialist U.S.A., Imperialist Britain and Imperialist India are examples to point. Hitler exploited the patriotism of the German Youth and Mussolini of Italian Youth. The young soldier of Japan would be snot from a cannon for the sake of his empire. Patriotism thus leads to war. People cut each others throat without any remorse in the name of patriotism. Patriotism seems to be a justification of every kind of international crime; every kind of offense against humanity.

Thirdly, within the country itself’, patriotism has its dangers too. Dr. Johnson once defined patriotism as “The last refuge of a scoundrel”. Many wicked persons turn into patriots in order to escape the consequences of their evil deeds. The selfish and ambitious Join the patriotic parties for their own ends. They flourish on the sentiment of patriotism. Under the name of patriotism, they think that they are free to do whatever they like.

Lastly, too much of patriotic feeling is apt to make a man a dreamer or an idealist. He does not set a proper value on the practical aspect of politics but it carries off his feet by emotions. Such patriots often become a constant source of danger. They do not realize the importance of a compromise in the affairs of men. Brutus in Roman history is an example of this point.

In conclusion, we may say that patriotism is not enough in the 21st century. One may love one’s country but one should try to develop an international outlook. We can love the Americans or the Russians or the Chinese without ceasing to be patriotic, True patriotism should never go against internationalism. To save himself from these dangers, a man must always remember that he is first a human being and then a citizen of some country.

Allied Subjects given below:

* Patriotism.
* Nationalism and Internationalism.

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