{"id":3283,"date":"2011-11-05T23:47:22","date_gmt":"2011-11-05T18:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/?p=3283"},"modified":"2011-11-06T11:38:15","modified_gmt":"2011-11-06T06:08:15","slug":"would-you-die-for-your-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2011\/philosophy\/would-you-die-for-your-country.html\/","title":{"rendered":"Would you Die for your Country?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m not a particularly unpatriotic person. I love India – not just because I’m born into it, but because it has so much potential. There are plenty of flaws, but I believe that things will get better. I love its democracy<\/a>and I more or less like the direction its taking.<\/p>\n

\"Can
Can you Blindly Obey?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But would I give up my life for it? After some thought, I’ve decided the answer is…No.<\/p>\n

A “nation” is too vague an idea for me sacrifice something so precious. I can imagine giving my life to protect someone close to me – someone, or some people I love. Such as a family for instance if the threat is serious enough. But I can’t imagine dying to protect man made borders to which I have no real close connection.<\/p>\n

In short, I would make a poor soldier.<\/p>\n

It’s because I’m unable to blindly follow anything. I can never fully submerge myself in a larger entity, a larger cause, and will myself to shut my eyes to everything else. My core individualism simply doesn’t allow that to happen. I’m glad<\/em> there are some people who can do that – put their lives at risk in unquestioning obedience to their superior officers. But there shouldn’t be too many. After all, that’s what fanatics are made of.<\/p>\n

\"Just
Just Following Orders?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I view my life as too precious a gift to squander away without a tangible benefit. I get one shot at living and will dissolve into nothingness when I die. It’s so brief a spark after all. We’re all born alone, essentially die alone – and that’s the end.<\/p>\n

Sometimes tactical sacrifices are needed in war. Maybe a contingent to delay the enemy for a while. They’re expected to fail. And often, only the superior officers know the expected outcome. Only they know the overall strategy. The rest of the soldiers are pawns. Pawns who don’t question why they’re asked to do whatever they’re asked to do. I could never be that pawn. To relinquish my grip on life just to serve a higher cause under someone else for purposes I don’t fully understand…not for me.<\/p>\n

What does this mean as an Indian? I know it’s patriotic to say that you’ll give your life for your country. I know there’s no law saying that you must<\/em> want to give up your life. And that’s one of the reasons why I love India. But how much is it expected informally? Are Indians expected to lay down their lives to protect their borders?<\/p>\n

How many people are like me? Would you<\/em> give up your life for your country in the manner outlined above?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m incapable of dying for an abstract boundary and I can’t blindly obey anyone if my life is at risk. I would make a horrible soldier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3285,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,19,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal","category-philosophy","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nWould you Die for your Country?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I'm incapable of dying for an abstract boundary and I can't blindly obey anyone if my life is at risk. 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