Insight 75: Patriotism, are you kidding me?

What do you mean I have to be patriotic?

To what? To whom? First of all you dictate my life with dos and don'ts on every step I take. Then you slap me with other laws and on top of that you expect me to pay the taxes, tolls and every single thing I touch. When I ask why, you threaten me with imprisonment and tell me some things cannot be questioned.

You treat us, your subjects, your citizens, with suspicion and as though we owe you big. Like we should be so lucky to be in this country because we are united, peaceful and prosperous. You tell us we are diverse in culture, impartial in tradition and charitable in humanity. But when I ask why you segregate us according to the color of our skin you intimidate us with your subtle persecution and your invisible brutality. You wait like vultures to seize your unsuspecting prey so that you can continue doing things underhandedly and surreptitiously.

Your hand is always opened like a claw to gag the media but you tell us we have the freedom of speech. But in the smaller print, you whisper to us not to say anything slanderous about you because there you say there isn't anything slanderous to say in the first place. Lies! You say. Lies, all lies! But you are so afraid that the lies might be transmogrified into havoc and chaos among the people because they are lies? You think everyone cannot distinguish the truth and a bald-faced lie if we see one.

You keep telling us it's for our own good but you don't tell us everything. You decide which movie or song or book we can see and read but you tell us you know better than us. Those deliberately created products are nothing but trash and you can prove to us it's no good because you have scrutinized through every one of them and you have no doubt about their damaging influence.

We apply for grants, permits or anything legal but you make it so hard for us to get what we need. You make us go on a wild goose chase and let us wait for hours and days and weeks. Sometimes just to find out that we got nothing back. And then we have to try again to reapply and hope to get you at the right time on a good day on your good side.

You claim to be the best in everything you do and achieve. But we all know that most things are either borrowed, stolen or plagiarized. When someone managed to dig up the truth, you hurriedly bury them again and tell us not to ever bring up that subject again, or else...

We want to help the country grow in every aspect but you don't want to listen to us. We asked for change but you want to be puritanical about everything. You send some of us to imprisonment because we said the wrong thing or wrote the wrong thing, not in accordance to your objectives and vision. But when we ask you what your objectives and visions are you let us know a glimpse of what you might be doing and leave us in the dark thereafter.

You keep reminding us about how good it is to call this country home but you deny people who are considered out of the norm in sex and sexuality. Yo easily label us as deviants and aberrant without taking your time to help us and understand us. You would rather ostracize us than give us the freedom of choice.

You mess up the whole country and call it progress. You spend millions upon millions to build a technological facade when there are still people who are uneducated, living in poverty and are needy. You shrug your shoulders and say it's the NGO's job. You take down pristine trees and jungles for the sake of the country but you forget the sake of unfortunate wildlife which is as much a part of us as anything else. There is not one piece of land that is spared for too long. Whoever sits at the position can sign off even the livelihood of the indigenous people without conscience. Not enough resources are spent on the social issues, humanitarian projects and education for the underprivileged.

When Independence Day arrives you expect us to hoist the flag so high up for the world to see but that kind of flag does not bear the soul of your people. We have come a long way but you have forgotten about us. We implored you to accept your citizens for who they are and what they are but you ignored us. You even bring God in to testify to your decision-making. When you look around you can see that a lot of things in this country are adopted and you make them your country's code of conduct.

The entire world already knows how you try to conceal the truth and it is none other than us who will suffer when you fall apart. Excuse me, so why do you force patriotism down my throat when you know what is happening to the country? If we were under siege by some invaders do you think we will fight for to protect a place which doesn't even accpet us? So here we are trying to beseech you to listen to us one more time then maybe it won't be too late to salvage the country while we can. Will you lay down your arms and open your doors and invite us in?

Happy Independence Day.