Patriotism at a Cross Road in South Sudan
‘Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first’. –Charles de Gaulle
By Liel Deng Liel, Juba- South Sudan
April 14, 2016 (SSB) —- Patriotism is a set of beliefs supporting the feelings of loyalty to one’s country. Other world views share that patriotic identification represents a positive social force which exercises a deep influence on individual actions. Patriotism is not just love for one’s homeland among dozens of other homelands, as in de Gaulle’s ‘Europe of Nations’. It is a duty to sacrifice one’s life in protection or defence for your entire nation but not for your own village. Albert, one’s sacrifice for his or her village defends on ultimate aim. When this aim is not entirely for collective benefit to humanity then it is unpatriotic aim. Patriotism is all about dying for a truth and a just cause for all. A patriot strives to ensure that political, economic resources and social ideals of his/her own society are maximally achieved, distributed and shared.
At the heart of any national identity is a patriotism which is a symbol of national unity and belongingness. Where are we as South Sudanese? What do we take as our national identity? Currently, we are at war with ourselves simply because our personal interests and ambitions overwhelm our patriotic ambitions. Is this the reason why we went to the bush to liberate our people for? No, I absolutely think that our common goal is hijacked by tribalism on the way.
A common South Sudanese citizen should be a loyal subject who is committed to protect, defense and participate in the nation-building. Besides, a good citizen needs to be a gentleman or woman, driving jubilantly up and down his/her country side with pride and joy in serving the nation. But, are we patriots? Love for one’s own nation includes a love for all the living beings and resources God had endowed a nation with. However, most of our citizens have turned against one another brutally butchering themselves across the country while others have allied themselves with the foreigners in pursuit of looting the national resources for personal gains.
Patriotism ought not to be a ‘hide and seek’ exercise which diminish the morale and make the patriots hopeless in struggle.
Nowadays, patriotism is at crossed roads with monstrous good for nothing tribalism which has majorly influenced a great number of the citizens that is consuming our rich energies daily. Instead, our tribes and tribal identities should be a spice to diversity but not a debacle. Patriotism should be likened to personal ideals of founding and raising a family in a society. It is a collective duty but not for few. I am appealing to all the youth to reflect, mediate and look into what the future hold for them now. I personally urge all to transform our current mindsets of looking at ourselves through tribal glass-lens to better patriotic South Sudanese of tomorrow.
“The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.” –Julian Barnes
God bless South Sudan!
The author is a second year student of Economics and Business Administration at Catholic University of South Sudan, Juba. He can be reached at: lieldengliel@gmail.com
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