Bad Dog, Jingo!!!!!!!


The virtue of patriotism - if it is at all a virtue - is, one that I do not possess. I think it is something that no thinking man can possess. Hell, i cant support the Indian cricket team. I dont like most of them. As a team, its not the best. Its not by choice that i was born in this country. You cant force it on me.

Choice is of the utmost important. When something is of our choosing, it basically indicates the presence of free will. And that as we know surpasses everything as far as priorities go. I can be loyal to something that i choose. Brands, F1 teams, friends, colas .... just about anything. But you think I'm being frivolous. I don't mention places at the risk of sounding scandalous or maybe being labeled a traitor or some such foolish thing. But yes, i admit i

could be loyal to a place if i chose it. Freedom of choice is very important to me. And the emphasis here is on freedom. I don't actually hate or abhor the things thrust on me. Allow me to elucidate. I support South Africa and New Zealand in cricket. Because i chose them as teams that i like. And thats why you will find me rooting for them. But i could support India against other countries it played barring the aforementioned two. But just the fact that people automatically assume that i should support it, and the fact that people chide me and give me a hard time for not making it my numero uno favorite, I find immense joy and pleasure in supporting any which nation that it plays against.

So then, jingoism, thats the term for what passes for patriotism these days. Its an era of globalization. The playing field of the world is being flattened (ok, so now im shamelessly quoting Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat) and as such we must recognize who has the best of what instead of shamelessly and falsely claiming that we are the best. We get to pick the best ingredients and make a heady cocktail (figuratively speaking, of course). So then, back to the matter of choice. Here we go around shouting and clamoring for freedom and yet when we do have the freedom we chose to ignore it. Why, in many cases its the fear of being labeled a traitor. Peer pressure guys...theres no escaping it. What is required is a paradoxical mix of recognizing the individual and the whole. I'll elaborate though i doubt ill get any more lucid as i progress. Chose any individual thing that you like and not the whole that it is a part of. You can like a player but that doesn't mean you support the whole damn team. You may like After Eight Thin Mint Chocolates from Nestle, (I for one, certainly do) but that doesn't mean that you have to like the entire Nestle range. Thats what i mean by choosing the individual. As for whole,
think of the whole world as one big family. Don't think too much of borders and divides and think of different countries as being made for administrative convenience rather than taking the borders as battle lines drawn.

Also, this is not a propaganda for selfishness whereby i ask you to choose whats convenient for you and ignore the difficult things in life. All I'm saying is don't just follow the crowd and don't submit to the pressure of having to do what every other fool around you is doing. This is the customization age. You can pick and choose what you like. You don't need to take the whole package. Select what you like. Mix and match. Rock and roll. Shout and jump. Like, yo man. Be cool Dude. Or whatever. I'm losing it.