Patriotism in the Lives of Today’s Youth

What is the importance of patriotism in the lives of Today's youth? Yahoo answer Patriotism is a love for one's country and a desire to make her better. It is contrasted with simple nationalism (or jingoism) in that nationalism and jingoism represent a blind loyalty to one's country even when it wrong (an example would be the people of Nazi Germany). Patriotism, on the other hand, recognizes when its nation is wrong and fights to correct the wrong even as it supports that nation. Patriotism is important in the lives of youth today for several reasons.

One is because the youth of today will inherit the nation tomorrow. If youth do not become involved in making our nation better, they may not receive a nation worth inheriting. Second, the nation built by today's youth will be the nation they pass along to their own children. If young people today wish their children to have an America of freedom, the young people of today must protect and defend that freedom by supporting our country's greatness and working to make her ever better. Third, the youth of today owe a debt to those of the past who sacrificed, worked hard, and even died to build us a free nation.

To keep faith with those who have gone before and upon whose toil and sacrifice the nation was built, youth need to show patriotism. Are We The Youth Not Patriotic? - Think Again (An Appeal) I do not like to generalize, but most Indians who are 40 plus consider today’s youth as ‘not patriotic’. Patriotism per-se means love for the nation, and we youth have no dearth of it. As youngsters, born in independent India, we haven’t had the opportunity to see how our people toiled for a century to attain freedom. Most of us have not witnessed the four wars that were fought by our Armed forces in 1947, 1962, 1965 and 1971.

Thus, we may not feel our eyes watering we hear Lata Mangeshkar’s ‘Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon’, the song that immortalized the sacrifice of Indian soldiers on icy Himalayan peaks in 1962 and which brought tears to the eyes of Pt. Jawahar lal Nehru. Our interest in reading documents about great freedom fighters and freedom struggle, if any, is also academic, as our generation fails to really connect to that era. That, however, does not mean that we are not mindful of the hard work of our countrymen, because of whom, we’re living a dream life in a vibrant and growing India, which has created a niche for itself in the world.

It’s just that we do not identify with the spirit of freedom the way our elders may, because our relations with that era are not even second hand but third hand. Merely because of this disconnect we should not be classified as less patriotic. It only makes us patriotic in our own special way: the youth’s way. Had the youth lacked devotion for the nation, where would the Navy, Army and Air Force have got their new recruits from? Those who join the forces are ready to give their life and that too without asking for anything more than a remuneration to keep their family alive.

Mind you, this remuneration is exactly same as the country pays to its Babus and Bureaucrats. While the whole country works only eight hours  for that pay and gets paid overtime for every extra hour, it is they who work tirelessly 24 X 7, in adverse conditions and not even talk of overtime, so that their countrymen can have a good night’s sleep, day after day. Without the youth, the defense would have been crippled with only oldies and vacancies plaguing the Armed forces. Since this sorrow situation hasn’t materialized, one can safely conclude that the belief that today’s youth is ‘not patriotic’ is nothing but a perception.

What would have happened of Indian culture, values, tradition and way of life had it not been due to joint effort of our parents and us youngsters. Our parents brought us up in a cultured environment where traditions and modernism go hand in hand. We the youth have retailed and nurtured the Culture and Values of  being Indian, while borrowing  certain things from foreign land which is attributed to our curiosity. Dressing in western attire, talking in English, and having Mcdonalised our diet doesn’t eat away our indiannesss.

Macdonald or not, when it comes to idli-dosa, chicken tanduri or dal-bati we are most enthusiastic. You must understand that Mcdonalisation is part of being hep in the crowd. Even while we may be living in a foreign land, working on foreign shores and earning in foreign currency, our traditions are practiced with same fervor, if not more. In whatever foreign land we maybe in, our earnings are sent back to India, to help our families and also help the Indian economy grow with this added Forex capital. Youth isn’t selfish, though it may be portrayed so.

We may be more ‘me driven’ but we also invert the ‘m’ often enough to become ‘we driven’. On some planes we’re a force that is hard to beat. Had we not been a collective bunch, Jessica Lal, Matoo and such other cases including the quota debate would not have become a mini uprising. On some other, we can outwardly look selfish and overtly driven by success, though it isn’t so in reality. We would prefer to be indianised in competition, treating others as peers, but the globalization of Indian economy forces us to be excessively competitive; if I may say, competitiveness is forced on us.

Rather than critcising us, one should sympathise with us because we are the victims of circumstances. We youth don’t claim to be saints. We do go wayward on certain counts, but the older generation has always been there to steer us away from them. Without the elders we youth would be like a ‘rudderless’ boat, just swaying in turbulent waters. What makes us killers of a sort is the fact that we’re brought up the right way, as balanced individuals. Add to it the fact that no matter how low we may fall; our families would always support us and help us rise, which is typically an Indian phenomenon.

The security of Indian ‘family’ system gives us the courage to move ahead and realize our individual dreams and our dreams for Indiabecause we fully well understand that we have a fall back option - our family. The youth also has modern ways of celebrating Indian achievements. We take pride in cheering for India in every sports event with tricolour painted on our faces. We feel exhilaration in watching Aamir Khan in Rang De, and we feel the shivers while watching Ajay Devgan in Bhagat Singh. We feel overwhelmed when any Indian does genius feats.

Our pulse races when we hear the National Anthem. We’re filled with energy when the song ‘suno gaur se duniya walon-buri nazar na hum pe dalo-chahe jitna zor lagalo-sabse aagey hongey Hindustani…’is played. We keenly track our industry and stock markets. We do this and so much more. We are patriotic, just that our ways of expressing it are different (read modern, perhaps even whacky). We try to do things differently, we try to innovate, and we try to show our love in our own ways. We wish to ask, what more we can do to prove our patriotism?

Do we scream our lungs out, or do we go out chanting patriotic songs in ‘Prabhat Pheries’ (morning marches), tell us what we can do to get out of our stereotype portrayal of being ‘not patriotic’? We’ve conquered the air, water and land, but we’re yet to conquer every elderly Indian’s heart. We don’t want to be known as a bunch of selfish people, who’re money-minded and just looking for some fun, but as individuals who’re dedicated to the nation with the same affection that the generations before us were.

Our methods and ways to make India the shining star (that it was in the past) may be different, but we share the same cherished goal and the vision for modern India with our elders. We know we’re making progress, but sincere efforts always pay off and the speed of progress shall become a typhoon in times to come. In the end ‘Hum Honge Kamyab’ (we shall succeed) in this race to balanced progress, and young Indians are here to make India a winner as much our elders did in their times.

And India shall be a winner, if you, our elders, put faith in us, support us in this endeavor and appreciate the efforts that are being done with due understanding that we converge for India. The situation isn’t as bleak; there is plenty of light seen at end of this tunnel to progress. On behalf of young India, I’d like to end this appeal with a quote- A man's feet must be planted in his country, but his eyes should survey the world. George Santayana Please support us and guide us as we survey the world, while our hearts beat for India, our blood is Indian and every drop of our sweat is shed to do something for India. 91 words essay on Patriotism in India for school and college students by Kunal Free sample essay on Patriotism in India for school and college students . Patriotism lends a great dimension to a man’s personality and it exalts him to rare heights of nobility. A patriot is not a person confined within the narrow limits of his family and his intimate circle of friends. Patriotism enlightens us about our paramount duties to our nation, our motherland, as dear and sacred as our own mother. India has a proud heritage of the noblest patriots, who sacrificed all their belongings and even gave up their lives, for the cause of their motherland.

The freedom struggle of India which was a golden chapter in the history of the country saw the whole nation revolting against the insolent British, who brutally suppressed the patriotic spirit of the Indians, who were chased like dogs and lath charged when they raised their voices of protest. Our political struggle headed by the unique leader of leaders, Mahatma Gandhi, an embodiment of compassion and tolerance, was a saga of victory for the Indians, who shed blood for a great cause, and the trail of their blood left indelible marks on the sands of time of their sacrificial spirit, which cannot be adequately described in words.

This is an age when patriotism is at its lowest, when people’s narrow-mindedness, sectarianism and religious intolerance have raised their ugly heads. Man has fallen prey to the vicious influences so pervasive in society which is witness to the worst acts of desperados? It is said that Gandhi and his circle of friends were exemplary patriots. Nelson Mandela, the great South African leader, who tirelessly fought for his African brethren, opposing the racist whites, is next only to Gandhi. In fact, Gandhi was the inspiration to Nelson Mandela, who suffered imprisonment for many years.

When he was frail and even when his moral strength was eroded by the oppressive tactics of the whites he protested. His patience ultimately rewarded him with victory. The South African Government consisting of the most autocratic whites, who were highly prejudiced against the colored Africans, at last realized that it was no longer possible to keep the poor, meek Africans under their thumbs. Nelson Mandela was acknowledged as a doughty champion of the lowliest and the last. He was made President of South Africa. Mr. Abdul Kalian, the President of India, is one of the greatest patriots.

He is called the ‘Missiles Man’ as he was instrumental in launching many missiles into space. As a scientist and patriot, he stands supreme, and when he makes speeches he speaks of developing India as a great nation. A film on Abdul Kalama titled “From Rameswaram to the Rashtrapati Haven” has been produced. Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Abraham Lincoln, who abolished slavery in the US, Nelson Mandela and others of their ilk should rule our minds and influence us so that we too will follow in their footsteps and serve the nation.

It may be said that the patriots’ lives are a reminder to us of the everlasting truth that the whole nation is our land and that we should leave no stone unturned to protect it from acts of gross injustice of the self-centered, the crooked, the violent and the engineers of terrorism. Patriotism is a spiritual quality which ennobles man. In a patriot’s vision the image of his motherland assumes divinity and we can imagine how strong his spirit of patriotism was. Our relationship starts with our mother, father, sister, brother, aunt and uncle and goes on widening.

We love one another in our small circle of family. We should love everyone in the vast family of our nation. If we begin to feel that our nation, our motherland, is one large family, we the people of the nation, will grow as one well-knit family. In this situation we feel we are related to one another as brothers and sisters. Unity is our strength. United we stand, divided we fall. From our childhood we should develop the spirit of loving one and all. There are none high or low. All living creatures, whether insect, bird, animal or human being, has a right to live.

This is the greatest message; this is the most precious lesson. Patriot is one who loves and serves his own country as a loyal citizen. He is called a true patriot who loves his country and is ready to sacrifice his all for her cause, and wholeheartedly works for the welfare of his motherland. The land, on which one is born and brought up and lives, is naturally dear to him than any other land. This love for his birthplace grows into patriotism. If his motherland is attacked by the enemies, he does not hesitate to fight for the protection of freedom of his native land.

He can do any thing to glorify his country. He feels proud of his country. This patriotic feeling can be found in many great heroes in history. In India, we know many patriots who suffered inhuman distress at the hands of the foreign rulers, because they loved their country, and wanted to make her free from the shackles of the foreign rule. They were imprisoned, publicly flogged and had undergone inhuman torture for their undying patriotism. Still they did not step down, even at the cost of their life. They carried on their struggle for freedom for many years.

This is true patriotism. A true patriot will go to the war with a smiling face to sacrifice his life, if needed. He will serve the poor and the distressed people of his country out of compassion that arises from patriotism. He will devote himself to the work of development of his own people. He does not bother about his personal interests or gains, when he goes forward with his spirit of patriotism. A true patriot is worshipped by his countrymen. They shed tears when he dies, as if, he was one of their nearest relations.

Patriotism in India

By patriotism we mean genuine love for one's own country. Patriotism must not be misinterpreted as one's hatred for other countries. If one loves his own country and hates other countries, then it is nationalism rather than patriotism. Mother and the motherland are superior to the heaven. We do never lose our honour for our mother even if she does not love us. Similarly we respect our country in all situations. We are indebted to our motherland where we are born and brought up.

It is our moral duty to keep her head high. Patriotism is a virtue which can be expressed in different ways. A true patriot tries to do something for the development of his country. When Abraham Lincoln was a child he noticed the misery of the slaves in America. He liked America but did not like the slavery system. So when he became the President of America he abolished the ugly system and established democracy. Thus, he did some noble thing to keep up the prestige of his country.

So he is a true patriot. India is also proud of being the motherland of great patriots like Rana Pratap, Shivaji, M. K. Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose. History is full of praise for these figures. They dedicated themselves to the cause of their dear motherland. M. K. Gandhi gave up his personal interest and struggled for the interest of our country. Nelson Mandela of South Africa is also a true patriot. A patriot is different from a politician.

A politician shows no genuine love for any idea or for his country. Of course, patriots often indulge in politics. But they do not play dirty politics. Today, many touts and politicians claim that they are patriots. But in their activities they are antinational. They give secret shelter to terrorists. Their main aim is to reap some selfish gain for themselves. A true patriot never advertises. Patriotism is much different from narrowness.

What Does Patriotism Mean to Me

The very definition of patriotism cannot simply be defined by a dictionary. In fact, no two people you meet will have the same explanation of what it means to them. From America’s Founding Fathers to courageous everyday heroes serving in our military at home and overseas, patriotism fills their hearts with the will to protect our country’s freedom. Patriotism is an immeasurable personal characteristic shown by unselfish acts in which a person serves their country and its people.

I believe love for all people is why Neil Armstrong stated the infamous phrase, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” However, planting the US flag gave every engineer, fellow astronauts and millions of citizens on earth, an overflowing sense of pride to be an American. This act of not only symbolizes we were the first nation to visit the moon, but unified a patriotic spirit held deep inside us all. In my opinion, Mr. Armstrong recognizing the efforts of everyone at NASA and the support of all Americans in one sentence was genius, and very patriotic.

During World War II, there was a vast shortage of workers needed to produce munitions supplies to help the Allies win the war. Out of love for their men put in harm’s way, millions of women stepped up answering the call for their country. This grueling hard skilled labor included building ships, aircraft, vehicles and weaponry. What would you call the desire which filled their hearts, giving them strength and bravery to do so called man’s work?

I would declare these women were just as patriotic as the 400,000 women served in the armed forces and 460 who lost their lives. Patriotism is in all our hearts, which is where I think “Red-Blooded Americans” cliché, must derive. From early colonists fighting the tyranny of England rule to fallen well known-veterans like Pat Tillman, they were driven by a common bond. You and I may not realize it within ourselves, but the most unselfish act for one’s country or fellow people, can awaken the patriotism in all of us.

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Patriotism in the Lives of Today’s Youth. (2017, Mar 06). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/patriotism-in-the-lives-of-todays-youth/

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