Am I Doing Justice to my Country?

Yesterday, I stumbled upon two very disturbing facts, things that made me ponder over a couple of questions. I came across a close friend of mine who would not stop lashing out against Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal. He kept saying proven and unproven things about his personality with only one thing in common; defaming the nation’s beloved leader. The second one was even more disgusting with an acquaintance trying to justify the American influence on our country. Things I not only found absurd but  also disquieting.

There on, my mind dragged me to the point of national duties and patriotic ideologies; I surfed around the inbound questions asking where we draw a line for patriotism. To what extent should one go to support his or her national heritage and pride? Moving on to the more practical questions about what duties do we owe towards my country and where are we lagging behind in them. I even asked myself whether I owe a duty in the first place.

So I tried to answer myself. I started with the idea of existence and the idea of recognition. I am a person, living in Pakistan; I am “me” because of this piece of land. External factors play an inexcusable role in determining what a person is, they also are the cardinal elements that bring you to your boom or bust. For instance, shamefully for us, a young man living in Gaza does not really have a very bright future. Then the place you belong to is the Sole identity you carry around the world –like it or not, my country’s green passport is what people use to distinguish me from the rest. Even when they look at my color, they recognize me for being an oriental male. So, we are what we are because of our country. Yes, that is not all what matters, a person’s own will power, hard work, intelligence and half a dozen other issues matter too! But there are always a few pivotal things in every case, once you lose them, you lose it all. Being the most intelligent person wouldn’t take you anywhere if you live in the Indian occupied Kashmir; a place oppressed since decades.

For me, this thought process settled the debate. We breathe freedom because of our country, so we cannot and should not draw a line to limit our duties towards our country –contrary to the belief of some apparently broad minded people. Our duties start from respecting the place, nourishing it with all we have, safeguarding its wealth, standing up against unjust criticism everywhere we can and then goes on to having our country’s best interests at heart when we go out in the practical world. This means to obey the law, to maintain order and for most of our politicians; not to steal the country’s wealth!

Thinking over it, an ordinary person does most of the later. Average people do not go to great extents that could damage us on a national level, it is those charged with governance who do that. The ordinary people have just one part to play in what our leaders and governments do; choosing them! And this is something of a principal value! So are we doing justice to our country? We would know the answer after we see the leaders we have chosen!

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