|
What is patriotism?
Webster defines it as: Love and devotion to one’s own country.
El Diccionario de la Academia Real de la Lengua Española define a el patritismo como: 1- Amor a la patria. 2- Sentimiento y conducta propios del patriota.
Now, what is LOVE for country? I could love the geography of Puerto Rico, to the point where I would kill everybody in the Island in order to protect the Geography (this is what an Eco-Terrorist would do). Or I could love my People to the point where it doesn’t matter what they do, everything they do is right. This last kind of love reminds me of a lady who loved her serial killer son to the point that nothing he did was wrong.
No, Love is not only affection and attachment to something, but it is the earnest desire to see the best of the beloved person or thing. That is why I discipline my son when he deliberately disobeys, or when he throws a temper tantrum: I want him to become the best man possible. I love my wife: I admire her, respect her, sustain her and protect her [but in no way I would excuse adultery].
The same type of Love applies to my country.
I Love the Geography. I will do the utmost to protect the Island’s beauty. I will not dump on the roadsides, I will voice my opinion that the beaches should be free from development; I will gladly pay money to keep El Yunque as a pristine rain forest accessible to all law abiding tourists. But I will in no way hinder the construction of roads and schools, and places where people work, like stores, and factories, and home building.
I Love my People, and their good customs. I love my mother tongue (español) and will resist any attempt to remove it from our culture. I cherish our custom of hospitality and compassion. But I cannot support our national passion for alcohol and immorality. Look at the thousands of children born out of wedlock in our Island. Look at the statistics on Child Molestation. Look at the Statistics on Wife Abuse (domestic violence).
I happen to think that our Puerto Rican politicians are not ready for Independence. I happen to think that our Culture is not self reliant enough for the responsibility of Independence. I see that in our culture we either mistreat our children or pamper them to point of spoilage; discipline shines by its mere absence. I happen to think that Law Abiding is not a strong cultural trait of our People. And without internal Law Abiding the only alternative is to have a Police State, or Chaos.
Now, think about this, you who consider yourself a Patriot. If Puerto Rico were to become Independent we cannot seriously think that we will be immensely better off than Cuba or the Dominican Republic. Chile, the shining example of success as far as Latin-American Republics, has been independent for almost 200 years, and had to recently endure a Far-Right dictatorship that ended 15 years ago (or less). And Chileans, my friend, are not Puerto Rican as far as culture is concerned. You have to look to Venezuela and Colombia as far as cultural similarity is concerned. If you allow logic and reason to rule your thoughts you will get the picture.
That is why my Love for Country makes me want to have Puerto Rico become a State of the United States. I want the best for my People. I want the best for my Land (and as far as Ecology is concerned, no Latin-American country has a stricter institution protecting the environment than the EPA). The United States is not a perfect nation, but I am convinced it is the best nation for us to be a part of than any in our hemisphere [Spain doesn’t want us back, unless we found millions of tons of gold-ore in our hills].
Now, tell me what You think about Patriotism.
------------------
desde_el_Jurutungo_de_Bairoa
|