The Cheapest Sort of Pride Is National Pride

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 16 August 2024 “The cheapest sort of pride is national pride; for if a man is proud of his own nation, it argues that he has no qualities of his own of which he can be proud; otherwise he would not have recourse to those which he shares with so many millions of his fellowmen. The man who is endowed with important personal qualities will be only too ready to see clearly in what respects his own nation falls short, since their failings will be constantly before his eyes. But every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud adopts, as a last resource, pride in the nation to which he belongs; he is ready and glad to defend all its faults and follies tooth and nail, thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.” ― Arthur Schopenhauer Though it may sound outright blasphemous to those who wallow in the toxicity of nationalism and swim in the muddy waters of patriotism, there's no denying the fact that the cheapest sort of pride is national pride. Love for one's own country is okay. It's natural. But it often limits us and puts barriers on the spirit of universalism or internationalism. In my brief piece, 'Is Freedom a Numen? [H1] ' in The Economic Times (August 15), I've argued that freedom is much more than a mere word or an idea. It's an individual spirit (numen) that snowballs into a universal spirit (numina). A free and evolved mind rises above all petty isms and doctrines. It doesn't belong to a specific place, province or country. It belongs to the whole universe. Even the world is not enough for an all-encompassing and loving mind. "Ye Duniya Kitni Chhoti Hai Iss Kaainaat Ke Aage/ Phir Bhi Ye Zid Ke Ye Mera Mulk, Mera Sooba Hai " (The world is so small when pitted against the universe/ Yet, we insist that it's my country and my province). Why should one be so proud of one's country? Have you chosen it? Have you earned it? It's an accident of birth like your caste and creed. You condition yourself to love a country you were born in. You would have been a Pakistani if you were born in Pakistan, a country routinely condemned by the 'patriots' and nationalists in India. The same can be said about an average Pakistani who curses India with every morsel and every breath. A free individual, unfettered by all these shackles and manacles, will love all people of all hues and from all countries. Such an emacipated person will never confine himself / herself to a particular nation and notion. "Main Tamaam Rishton Ko Ghar Pe Chhod Aaya Tha/ Phir Us Ke Baad Mujhe Koi Ajnabi Na Mila" (I left all my connections back home/ After that I never found anyone as a stranger). Hatred and Otherness are often the by-products of nationalism. "Zindagi Saari Jis Ki Guzri Ho Qaid Mein/ Unsiyat Ho Jaati Hai Use Qaid Khane Se (Who spent his entire life in a prison/ Eventually falls in love with it- jail). Come out of this stifling prison, called nationalism, and embrace the whole world and all people. ------ A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/cheapest-pride-national-pride/d/132949 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism