The Meaning of Patriotism

 By  Akhmad Zamroni

Source: pendoasion.files.wordpress.com

Like living things, patriotism can be said to be the sibling of nationalism. Both were born from the same womb, namely awareness of the importance of defending the nation and state. In the context of national and state awareness, patriotism and nationalism cannot or are very difficult to separate because they are complementary (complementary; complementary).

The closeness between nationalism and patriotism can be seen more clearly from the meanings they contain. If nationalism is briefly defined as "national spirit", patriotism means "love of the motherland". Regarding a more specific understanding of patriotism, the following will be explained in more detail.

Patriotism comes from the word ‘patria’  or ‘patris’, which means 'homeland'. Patria or patris then experienced an adaptation to become a patriot, which means "lover (defender) of the country". In the context of nationality and statehood, the word patriot is sharpened so that it becomes patriotism.

Patriotism raises a strong mental attitude in viewing the nation and homeland. Patriotism then has various meanings or sentence descriptions (by experts and reference sources), but the outcome remains one, namely love and willingness to sacrifice for the country. According to the Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia  (2002), patriotism  is the attitude of someone who is willing to sacrifice everything for the glory and prosperity of his homeland. Meanwhile, several other sources define patriotism as the understanding / teaching of love for the country or the spirit of loving the country.

On various occasions, patriotism is often equated with nationalism. They are in essence different, but, as mentioned earlier, they are very similar and very close. Nationalism arises from the awareness to form a nation and form a state, while patriotism emerges from the awareness to defend and defend the nation and state that has been formed. The birth of patriotism is based on nationalism.