Your country is (in)famous

Throughout my life, I have never really had overtly patriotic feelings towards my home country nor the countries I resided in (I hardly ever lived in my home country). I didn't really pay attention to the lack of feelings I had for them...it never struck my mind as being odd. This is not to say that I was never proud of my country, but the feeling never lasted more than a few hours typically (for the duration of a game, for example). And I certainly never proclaimed something like "my country is greater than your country" to anyone.

But imagine if you were from a country that was infamous. For example, imagine being an American during the recent Iraq invasion, or a Chinese national during the Tibet protests leading up to the Olympics, or being a citizen of any Middle Eastern country while living in Denmark. I am curious how I would react to such a situation. It is easy to go against your country's stance, but when you are in a foreign country, simply disowning your country is not the end of the battle. There will be constant judgments cast on you by strangers, or so you might think anyway (which is just as bad). Constant mental persecution can lead to defiance, meaning you start to agree with your country's stance even though you initially (and in your heart) might not. I could see this happen quite easily. Patriotic feelings that didn't occur before might creep into you. I am not against being patriotic, but I am cautious about it seeping into people under pressured circumstances...it often leads to agitation.

So next time you judge someone due to their country's policies, think about what that person might be feeling and ask yourself why that person is not residing in their "home" country after all.

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C.

African Music in Vancouver

Today I heard some music that I got from a Ugandan friend of mine while I was living in Denmark. It is a compilation of, primarily, South African artists. I am listening to it in Vancouver, my home. I had given this CD to a French friend of mine here.

I just thought that it was interesting how music can spread around the world so easily now. The more we have in common, the better we can live together.

The song below is by a Senegalese artist. It starts off with a few lines in French, and then switches into a language I cannot recognize. Very good mood music!



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C.