Comments on DarshanChande.com: Why Do You Love Your Country?

आदित्य प्रताप वन्देमातरम.. "Wake up! Stop liv...

2011-03-31T21:34:45.992+05:30

आदित्य प्रताप वन्देमातरम..
"Wake up! Stop living in a fool's paradise. Please come up with something new. The concept of One World was propounded thousands of years ago in the saying "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam". Your write up is a rehash of this beautiful phrase."

in reply to this stupid comment:
If only you would have read the ancient texts, you would know how many times the concept of truth has been repeated.
Then was Mahatma Gandhi wrong in bringing it up again?

Hi Darshan, I just read this and had to comment e...

2010-08-06T21:32:52.787+05:30

Hi Darshan,

I just read this and had to comment even though I am a few months late. It is an excellent article. Here in the US all the nationalism makes me want to gag. It's not that I dislike my country, but I hate how people are so arrogant and yet so ignorant. What they profess to love they know so little about--and care even less to find out. I think patriotism has become something politicians use to manipulate sentiment and arouse fear. After 9/11, I wonder how many people got rich selling "Never Forget" and "Proud to be an American" bumper stickers and T-shirts, and how many politicians' approval ratings went up, and how many people cried for war and retaliation against the "monsters" who did it--we are still fighting that war today, and no one, neither liberal or conservative, nor any media pundit, has once brought up the issue that perhaps the US's invasive and self-concerned foreign policies should be reconsidered. Nobody questions our right to get oil by whatever means necessary, and the patriotism invoked has the added benefit of allowing Americans to demonize Middle Easterners and see them as less than human, which makes the war seem somehow moral if you don't examine it too closely. It makes me very sad to think about it all.

My loyalty is to the principles upon which this country was founded, which are individual freedom and the sanctity of the individual. I believe this is a more sophisticated world view than "my country right or wrong" or any other form of nationalism, and that its superiority can be objectively proven by rational argument. Because it is more sophisticated, fewer people have it (there being fewer critical thinkers than non-critical thinkers in the world). Also for that reason, I believe those principles should extend to the entire planet. As we evolve as a race, we should slowly yet continually move toward this; individual freedom was a non-existent concept before the Enightenment, so there is historical evidence that we are doing just that. But it is a slow process, and nationalism is a huge obstacle to it.

Anyway, thanks for a great article! Keep up the good work!

Kitty

you'r living in a dream. you'r pulp, weak ...

2010-07-31T14:21:46.989+05:30

you'r living in a dream. you'r pulp, weak and driven by your insecurities and complexes. your domain is this lame blog where you rule and just refuse to look beyond it. wake up dreamer. stop being imaginative.

For the most part, we tend to be ethno-centric and...

2010-04-22T11:29:04.329+05:30

For the most part, we tend to be ethno-centric and xenophobes, I'm afraid.

People like to segregate themselves and form hiera...

2010-03-31T09:50:58.386+05:30

People like to segregate themselves and form hierarchies; we're primates and that's what primates do.

Variety is important in nature. You can't just lump everyone together simply because we're on the same rock floating through space.

People are different, not just because of what they've learned, but because of what they are. Not everything is psychological.

What आदित्य प्रताप वन्देमातरम says is true, of cou...

2010-03-07T07:33:17.141+05:30

What आदित्य प्रताप वन्देमातरम says is true, of course. What you are saying has been said many times before, in many different ways. But it is something that cannot be said often enough. It is something that should be repeated over and over until people start to listen and think and understand why it is such a "beautiful phrase".

i we like to no more about ths site so can someone...

2010-01-31T09:37:49.994+05:30

i we like to no more about ths site so can someone tell me i am from african

Please tell me why a child learns to love his/her ...

2010-01-28T14:16:14.679+05:30

Please tell me why a child learns to love his/her Mother first and then the others?

How do you teach a new born to love others if the child does not learn love from his mother?

How do you teach a child to trust others if this trust is not first learned from his parents?

I hope this answers your question on countries and world...

If one has learned to be a good citizen in one's own country then naturally he becomes a good global citizen too. I do not think we can have one without the other. This world is such...

Hi! I read this as well as the linked article. An...

2009-12-28T02:22:35.169+05:30

Hi!

I read this as well as the linked article. And I must say, I agree with you totally, especially in what all you point out in this particular post.

There are other reasons, too according to me, which are responsible for this kind of 'communalism'. I'd done a post by the same name (click).

Also, I had tried to come up with somewhat different solution to the problem. You might find the comments there, too interesting, that is, if you find time. :)

Congratulations for writing such an excellent article!

TC.

I think it is natural to be more attached to and i...

2009-12-02T11:51:15.670+05:30

I think it is natural to be more attached to and identify with smaller entities (of people). As someone else commented, it is about Bandwidth.

Also, practically speaking, we're not perfect, and it is obvious to love in degrees. A life is a life, yet the death of a random person does not hurt as much as a death in one's own family.

A catastrophe in another country does not evoke as much emotion as it does when it occurs at home.

My theory is that there is also an element of fear involved. If a bomb explodes halfway across the world, its just a tragic event. If it explodes in a neighboring city, perhaps my home could be next?

Wake up! Stop living in a fool's paradise. Ple...

2009-11-28T09:42:46.596+05:30

Wake up! Stop living in a fool's paradise. Please come up with something new. The concept of One World was propounded thousands of years ago in the saying "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam". Your write up is a rehash of this beautiful phrase. Besides hurting the feelings of thousands who take the "pledge" every day, what purpose your article has served? If you can't believe in the "phony entity called country" then so be it. That's your headache. Please don't try to impose it on others.
Whew! some philosopher!

Why do i love my country, i guess there is no real...

2009-11-22T21:38:45.938+05:30

Why do i love my country, i guess there is no real explanation for it except that it is your countries official that will negotiate your release from other countries, it is your country that will pay you social security, it is your country that will provide police, healthcare, and all other services.

Asking why people love their countries is like asking why people love their fathers and mothers. My country provides for me and I provide for it. It is a beautiful symbiosis where we both depend on each other.

Umm. Maybe in the cacophony of support, I disagree...

2009-11-22T04:54:14.962+05:30

Umm. Maybe in the cacophony of support, I disagree.

The answer to your question lies in the first paragraph of your article - maturity. It isn't so much as political maturity but a more social and psychological maturity. The human mind can comprehend only so much when it comes to large numbers. The world and its 6 billion people - not many people can get their heads around that. You think you do, but you don't. To your point you don't know their culture, your don't know their desires, their ambitions, their problems. So what does one do, to get a smaller number to deal with - a country. Now that's easier - it comes with a neat little package politically. Country having economic problems, blame the minister in charge. Country having security issues, call something called an army. Our affiliation for a country is as much driven by everything else as a need to just simplify our understanding of the world. A nation state allows us to simplify the world into distinct entities and assign individual responsibility that allows us to move on. Even with that, no one even knows how many countries there are - is it cause you don't care? Maybe, but more importantly we don't have the bandwidth to absorb such detail. We are not psychologically mature enough.

And what is wrong with loving India? about a billion people - 1/6th of all humanity. If we could care enough for that much of mankind, oh we would be peachy - but we really cannot. Your example of state travel proves that. So what do you really care for, your own state - reducing the entire country to a distinct set of entities that you can wrap your brain around. Unless you have family living in a different state, that is no more than a word to you.

Do you really know your state? No you don't - cause, there you go again, too many people. You can repeat this as long as you like. At the end, what is boils down to is the maturity of the human brain and psyche to comprehend vastness. You cannot wake up in the morning and drive your self to do something trivial - draft a memo, write a piece of code, ship a box, whatever - if all you cared about was the well being and comfort of the 6 billion inhabitants on the plant. It is just too big - it'll blow your mind.

A nation state is a inevitable as the human psyche. Keeping aside all the other economic, political, security and cultural considerations alone. No one can comprehend the world in any meaningful way. As long as you put labels to large chunks of it - you might as well call it a nation. And while your at it, you might as well love the one you are in.

You made a good point here. Patriotism is outdated...

2009-11-20T23:14:10.217+05:30

You made a good point here. Patriotism is outdated, and separates people. But that is exactly what our governments want, to keep us separated. If everybody considers all the people in the world as their brothers and sisters, there wouldn't be any borders or wars.

Very well said. It is important to consider yourse...

2009-11-20T04:19:38.441+05:30

Very well said. It is important to consider yourself part of the global environment or experience. I do have love for my country, but I have love for Earth as a whole. Everyone suffers if we continue to operate as if nothing is connected, as if our actions only affect ourselves. We are not islands amongst ourselves, and it is up to us to decide if the impact we have on other people and the land is negative or positive.

I love the World, it's atmospheres and oceans,...

2009-11-19T21:49:11.874+05:30

I love the World, it's atmospheres and oceans, and I and wonder if there will ever be a World flag that represents ALL of us.
This article speaks as if I am saying these words myself, and I commend Darshan for writing it and believing it!
May peace prevail on Earth, and may each one of us (humans) be calm, at peace and (feel) safe.

Interesting thoughts. I have lived in many differe...

2009-11-19T19:43:52.711+05:30

Interesting thoughts. I have lived in many different countries in my life so I don't belong anywhere but I belong in me and all of you.

"Terrorist attacks in Kashmir agitate you eve...

2009-11-17T20:13:33.121+05:30

"Terrorist attacks in Kashmir agitate you even though Kashmir is far........"
i liked that paragraph a lot. it is a heart touching one.
GOOD WORK, KEEP SPREADING YOUR THOUGHTS :)

Wonderful article Darshan! I am in total agreemen...

2009-11-17T19:44:01.578+05:30

Wonderful article Darshan! I am in total agreement that we need to consider all of humanity as our "country". I have sent this link on to all of my non-SU friends.

You have really hit it here. 'How about bomb b...

2009-11-17T13:08:26.099+05:30

You have really hit it here. 'How about bomb blasts in Pakistan? Do you feel anything about it?'--Yes i do.

I'm not Indian, but I don't think your art...

2009-11-17T06:20:13.643+05:30

I'm not Indian, but I don't think your article is specific to your country. And it's very interesting.

I don't think religion is part of the answer, though. Sadly, it's all to often part of the problem.

Well, you are looking at it from a non-religious a...

2009-11-16T19:58:58.811+05:30

Well, you are looking at it from a non-religious and unrealistic view. You say that mother earth has created this world, however, most do not believe that. I do believe that people are different. There are people who want to kill me and everyone in my country because we do not believe in their religion or way of life. This is the way it is, even in nature, except their reasoning is for survival, ours is for righteousnous). Since we have walked this earth, we have done this. If we once lived harmonious, and then began to not get along, then I could understand where you were coming from. It isn't right for us to lose our individualism and connect ourselves to the earth. I don't like that others hate what I believe, but it doesn't upset me that there are people who disagree. I find it to be justifying. I find it to be balanced. Once you find your purpose, then the rest doesn't matter so much, and you won't worry about everyone getting along. Because, we are to be good to each other, but we do not need to be accountable for each other...and that's the bottom line. That isn't to say that we are not meant to help. What I mean is that we are all created to be completely different. The unity comes within the spirit of God, we will be unified once we have arrived to His kingdom because we have all arrived for the same reason. But, if you do not believe in Him, then you will
find yourself searching for something to fill the void...and you will be confused...and ultimately lost.

In your views, then, i can say that i do not love ...

2009-11-16T19:41:53.407+05:30

In your views, then, i can say that i do not love my country. i do not favour the political powers that be nor do i care. it is the same thing anywhere, everywhere. but i have that feeling of the need to defend my home. so in accordance to your write up, which is very much enlightening as it is entertaining, my statement would be that i love my home, n i'd defend it with all my might. J'ai Hind to you. :)

It cannot be said better! Here in America it is t...

2009-11-16T12:43:17.787+05:30

It cannot be said better! Here in America it is the very same.

You are very enlightened. Keep spreading the word...

2009-11-16T10:16:19.050+05:30

You are very enlightened. Keep spreading the word.