Patriotism
is defined as love of and/or devotion to one's country.
Nationalism
is not considered an inherent part of patriotism.
Among the ancient Greeks, patriotism consisted of notions concerning language, religious traditions, ethics, law and devotion to the common good,
rather than pure identification with a nation-state. The Greek philosopher
Socrates, "patriotism does not require one to agree with everything that his country does and would actually promote analytical questioning in a quest to make the country the best it possibly can be."
During the 18th century
Age of Enlightenment, the notion of patriotism was defined as devotion to humanity and
beneficence. In both ancient and
modern visions of patriotism,
individual responsibility to fellow citizens is an inherent component of patriotism.
Many contemporary notions of patriotism are influenced by 19th century ideas about nationalism. During the 19th century,
"being patriotic" became increasingly conflated with nationalism, and even
jingoism.
[2]
However,
some notions of contemporary patriotism reject nationalism in favor of a more classic version of the idea of patriotism which includes social responsibility.
Nationalism refers to an
ideology, a
sentiment, a form of
culture, or a
social movement that focuses on the
nation.
[1] It is a type of
collectivism emphasizing the collective of a specific nation. While there is
significant debate over the historical origins of nations, nearly all
specialists accept that national
ism, at least as
an ideology and social movement, is a
modern phenomenon. Since that time, nationalism has become one of the most significant political and social forces in history, perhaps most notably as
a major influence or cause of World War I and especially World War II with the rise of
fascism, a radical and authoritarian nationalist ideology.
As an ideology, nationalism holds that 'the people' in the
doctrine of popular sovereignty is the nation, and that as a result only
nation-states founded on the principle of
national self-determination are
legitimate. Since most states are
multinational, or at least home to more than one group claiming national status,
[7] in many cases nationalist pursuit of self-determination has caused conflict between people and states including
war[8] (both external and
domestic),
secession; and in extreme cases,
genocide.
Nationalism is a strong social phenomenon in the world as
national flags,
national anthems and national divisions are examples of '
banal' nationalism that is often mentally unconscious.
Are you a Patriotic or Nationalist at heart....
Which is good for Sri Lanka...
which is not...
You decide.
