Stop

The issue of patriotism seems to crop up every once in a while when the government looks like it is on its last legs or during the course of campaigning. On the surface, defining patriotism appears to be simple. It is love and devotion to one's country. The questions are why people love it and how they express their devotion. That's where the arguments begin.

Conservatives generally want to conserve and that requires a reverence for the past. They are allergic to change. If it was entirely left to them, being born into a nation would be similar to being born into a religion or family. It's like your family : it doesn't matter whether it's objectively better than someone else's. You love it because it's yours.You may be called to reaffirm the commitment as you reach adulthood - but it is impressed upon you early on, by those who have come before.

On inspection, both liberal and conservative brands of patriotism have their defects. Yet both sides need each other because love of country requires both affirmation and criticism.

Democracy seems to be the worst form of government at times when there is a conflict of opinion. The opposition doesn't seem to think twice before staging protests, imposing 'bandhs' and promising that they will undo all wrong carried out by the ruling party if they are elected to power. I'm not quite sure what point people are trying to prove by staging such riots and enforcing such bandhs. The people who they are protesting against (the government and various political leaders) get away scot-free. Their security personnel ensure that nothing untoward happens to them. And it's only the general public that suffers. Those are the people that these groups are supposed to be trying to 'help' in the first place. Ironic, isn't it?