YPS

A Nation of Patriots and Nationalists NOTE: This piece was inspired by the realization that while most people want to be nationalistic or patriotic, many of then don't know exactly what it means and therefore cannot act on this noble compunction With all the bombings, explosions, and their current alleged cover-ups and misdirection, we can only assume that the perpetrators of both the act and the deceit are equally confident that they are acting in the best interests of the country. To assume otherwise would point an accusing finger back at us for our inaction. But for every positively inspired act of terrorism or mass deception, there must at least be a positive reaction. To claim a vision that no one else can see ( in repayment for these acts) is either delusional or self serving.The road to perdition is paved with either good intentions or selfish reasons. If we must choose one side, then it is important to know why.

-JPG

When I refer to the reason to my participation in any socio-civic organization I notice that the words patriot (ism, ic) and nationalism ( istic) always come up. A few months ago I met up with 7 highly educated and articulate Filipino citizens that were hard pressed to come up with what activities in their lives could be construed as nationalistic or patriotic DESPITE instinctively or anecdotally knowing that there was a distinct lack of it in today's society. I wonder...maybe its because as much as the words are bandied about, many of us really don't know what the word means. Maybe we understand the emotion that the words evoke, but have no intellectual baseline on the true imperial meaning of the words. To that end I have taken a few minutes to browse the Miriam Webster site. I'm offering this as a baseline so when we talk and think about these concepts we can all be on the same page. Nationalism

1 : loyalty and devotion to a nation; especially : a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups2 : a nationalist movement or government Patriotism: love for or devotion to one's country

Patriot: one who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests Interestingly to me, I am apparently patriotic but not quite so nationalistic.And so the plot thickens! Lets see, by definition.... 1 a (1) : NATIONALITY 5a (2) : a politically organized nationality (3) : a non-Jewish nationality <why do the nations conspire - Psalms 2:1 (Revised Standard Version)> b : a community of people composed of one or more nationalities and possessing a more or less defined territory and government c : a territorial division containing a body of people of one or more nationalities and usually characterized by relatively large size and independent status

2 archaic : GROUP, AGGREGATION 3 : a tribe or federation of tribes (as of American Indians) The breakdown seems irrelevant. On a local level we can consider each ethno-linguistic-socio-cultural division within the

Philippines as a separate nation ( see number 3). However for each sub group available in the Philippines to be considered a nation, they themselves must first exhibit a sense of local nationalism as defined by above C. In this sense, a Cebuano can be part of an Cebuano Nation if he exhibits the above mentioned qualifications. This is also the exact basis for congressional representation "primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups" We can therefore have many nationalities within a greater nation.

Inevitably though, we are bound by a single super geographic situation which is our country. By our congressional representation we imply that though we may be locally nationalistic, we still subscribe to the notion that we belong to a super set, comprising multiple local nationalities but bound by a single political state and representative.As, again by definition, a patriot is "one who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests". So having a local nationalistic bent does not imply lack of patriotism. Lack of patriotism is defined by the opposite of the above definition. Patriotism is not defined by local or national nationalism but by the support and allegiance to the COUNTRY (a political state).

By becoming part of the democratic process we acknowledge the existence of a government that structurally represents a country. By supporting the state and its authority of this country we become patriotic. So you can be nationalistic as defined by 2 levels; either locally or nationally BUT you can ONLY BE PATRIOTIC if you support your country as represented by its political state and state representative.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE: Im of the opinion that despite subverting the representative of that state authority ex THE PRESIDENT, because of injustices done to our collective or individual nationalities, then we can still be considered patriotic. However, if we subvert the STATE by denying the rules of proper succession then we lose our claim to patriotism. This is why to call themselves patriots, most revolutionaries will change the political state to accommodate their claim to patriotism.