Nation
A nation is a large group or collective of people with common characteristics attributed to them — including language, traditions, customs, habits, and ethnicity. By comparison, a nation is more impersonal, abstract, and overtly political than an ethnic group. It is a cultural-political community that has become conscious of its autonomy, unity, and particular interests.
Country
A country is a region that is identified as a distinct national entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with sets of previously independent or differently associated people with distinct political characteristics.
Patriotism
Patriotism is an attachment to a homeland. This attachment can be viewed in terms of different features relating to one’s own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or historical aspects. It encompasses a set of concepts closely related to those of nationalism. An excess of patriotism in the defense of a nation is called chauvinism; another related term is jingoism.
From these definitions, you realize that many people mistake patriotism for something else in this country. We have more Chauvinists and Jingoists than patriots. Most people feel an extreme affinity towards one of the four elements (ethnic, cultural, political, historical )
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[li][FONT=Courier New]ethnic [/FONT][/li][li][FONT=Courier New]cultural[/FONT][/li][li][FONT=Courier New]political[/FONT][/li][li][FONT=Courier New]historical [/FONT][/li][/ul]
Mistaken patriotism
Love for the government of the day can be classified as political patriotism. It’s not bad. But the moment any positive criticism of the government is made, and you feel a tinge of resentment and hate towards the “Anti-Government Loudmouth”, it ceases from being patriotism.
Positive criticism of the government can also be classified as political patriotism. But when you find yourself welling with orgasmic pleasure over the failure of a fellow Kenyan to win or achieve by virtue of being from a different ethnicity or of different political ideology, you cease to become a good patriot and end up being a jingoist.
If you don’t feel any bit of disappointment and ire towards Uganda for mistreating fellow Kenyans by virtue of those Kenyans being from a different Ethnicity and of opposing political ideology, you are a Jingoist.
If you secretly felt some sweetness deep inside after a Kenyan from a certain ethnic group was fired as the Head of United Nations mission in south Sudan, you are a jingoist.
If you are okay with theft of national resources as long as it’s a person from your backyard, you are not a patriot. You wouldn’t mind the collapse of our country.
[FONT=Courier New][SIZE=3]*stima ikipotea and you are the kind of people whose thoughts jump to “Ni uhuru amewasha fridge”, you are a jingoist.
- If safaricom network goes down and you are the kind that says Ni Raila ameharibu, you is a jingoist.[/SIZE][/FONT]
Before niendelee, I can admit to having felt degrees of hate towards people because of their ethnicity (By virtue of actions performed by other members of the same ethnicity but to whom my targets of hatred were totally unrelated). I have also felt deep disdain for people who didn’t seem to understand my political or religious argument.
We glee at watching the two main political groups in this country go at each other’s necks over the nomination certificates. Sad part is, our glee is driven by the perceived ethnicity of those in the opposing group as opposed to political ideology. By the way there is no ideological difference between JAP and NASA. Alternatively they share a common denominator : Power and Money.
There is no ethical difference between Islam and Christianity. Common denominator has always been, Have more people on my side for a piece of that Zakat / Tithe. And Male chauvinism.
Shida yetu ni ignoring the basics. It’s also not easy to acclimatize yourself to a more inclusive and average all across patriotism. Starting with the basics however helps
Basics
People laughed at the attempt to design a National Dress for our country. I have to admit that whoever participated turned it into an expensive venture for nothing. You expect your average Kenyan to go to the boutique to buy your classy design of expensive material garb and aa fez to boot ?
Since we accepted to use Kiswahili, the language of a small community at the coast as a National Language, it wouldn’t hurt if we did the same with the dress. Go Maasai.
I wish we just found a way to embed the Traditional neckwear onto any female piece of cloth for females with a variance in size
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And a Draping Kikoy of varying sizes and shapes but same pattern for the men, to be used on many types of dress codes
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These things may seem as trivial or small time non-consequentials but they help, If there is an intention to build a Nation with enough genuine patriots to steer it into the right direction. They are part of the basic building blocks.
Some degree of conformity to common ethics can also go a long way to de-jingoize you and make you a patriot instead.
Poleni kwa kusumbua scroll bar zenyu. Badae