Patriotism
by Jorge Vargas
Peruvian Prime Minister Jorge del Castillo recently labeled the decision of some Peruvian congressmen to fly to Washington, D.C. in order to oppose the passing of the Peru-US Free Trade Agreement in the House of Representatives as unpatriotic and anti-Peruvian.
Leaving aside the rightness or wrongness of the free trade agreement between Peru and the hegemon, one must analyze this comment by the Peruvian Prime Minister. It is true that there are some countries, Mr. Prime Minister, in which patriotism is in large part about never questioning the government. The United States, for instance, is in many cases one of these countries - after all, the glorified 1960s are, thus far, the only period of significant dissent from government.
The United States is a country in which patriotism is predominantly about waving around the flag, about saying the pledge, and about making sacrifices for the good of the nation - we Peruvians sacrifice as well, but the difference is that we define the sacrifices, not the government, whereas here, the sacrifices are defined by bureaucrats. The argument that patriotism is about questioning government is, here, in the US, treated as a novelty. That is why American patriotism frightens the whole world. The vast majority will blindly follow Mr. Bush and his fanatical political allies across the world and invade legitimate foreign regimes in order to protect themselves and their flag. Just like a mob.
If that is the sort of Peru that we want, then continue labeling dissenters as anti-Peruvian and unpatriotic, Mr. Prime Minister. But that is not the Peru that we want, correct? We are better than that, to be frank.
Dissenting from government is a part of our national character. After all, have some of our greatest heroes been, by your definition, unpatriotic? Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin both opposed government, but to call them unpatriotic would be a lie, would it not? President Fernando Belaunde Terry opposed the tyranny of the 1970s until its very end, and he ushered our democracy back in. Was he unpatriotic? Or President Alejandro Toledo, who fought against the Fujimori dictatorship and helped turn public opinion against it in the year 2000? These men all questioned the government, and they were patriots, Mr. Prime Minister.
There is something very wrong with our country. Peru is a land of natural beauty, of kind people, of glorious history, of a magnificent culture, and of unbelievable variety. There is no question that, like the other nations of our lonely continent, we are destined for greatness. With a people such as the Peruvians, how could we not be destined for greatness?
But there is something very wrong with our country. Half of our population lives in poverty. We have allowed foreign companies to pollute our waterways and our skies. We are selling off plots of land to the hegemons and the Europeans. We are divided and, because of that division, we are a weak country.
To not question the policies of a State that has allowed our country to devolve to such a level would be unpatriotic. Yes, you can blame the United States for our current state of affairs. You can blame the Spaniards. The British. The French. The Chileans. Or the Chinese, as some fools are now starting to do. But those countries are not the protagonists in the story of our downfall. Sure, some played a larger role than other - credit must be given where it is due, so let us point out the United States and Spain - but they only leeched off of the mistakes of others. Peru's current state of affairs is Peru's fault.
What is unpatriotic and anti-Peruvian, then? Surely, Mr. Prime Minister, you must be curious.
Corruption. Violations of human rights. The selling off of Peruvian trade rights and Peruvian territory to foreigners. Economic practices that lead to hyperinflation. Censorship. Illegal phone tapping. Wiping out the middle class. Those things are unpatriotic and anti-Peruvian. I give that list not to accuse yet if while reading that list, certain political party followers felt as if accusations were being made, then I leave it to the party members to figure out why they have a guilty conscience. I wonder, however, if you are guilty, Mr. Prime Minister. Will our dear President repeat mistakes past? Even I remember his last government, and I was only a child when it ended.
As for the nationalist party whose members are trying to stop the US House of Representatives from passing the Peruvian free trade agreement, one must make some references to them as well. The decisions of the American Congress are for the American Congress to decide. You already had your vote in the Peruvian legislature and you lost. Accept that and leave these things to the hands of others. You are not being anti-Peruvian and unpatriotic, but you are demonstrating, once more, that the nationalist party is immature, haphazard, populist, confrontational, and unwilling to accept democratic decisions. To the nationalist party - and this is written without respect, diplomacy, or propriety: Grow up.
Mr. Prime Minister, I ask not that you silence yourself, and I do not seek to insult you, but rather to point out that you, representing the President and the Party that you represent, are not in a position to deride others of being anti-Peruvian and unpatriotic. Leave that to the patriots, or at the very least, the individuals who have never acted against Peru's interests, wittingly or not. Instead, Mr. Prime Minister, prove me wrong and work with this President so that mistakes past may be corrected, so that he may redeem himself, and, above all, so that the goal that I know we both share can finally be met: That Peru become a wealthier, more developed, and more socially just nation.
Peru has the desire to prosper, and we have never lacked the minds - I have yet to meet a stupid Peruvian - and though the world's greatest scientific discoveries may not be Peruvian, that is because we have lacked the means to try. Are our writers not widely popular in Europe and Latin America? Are we not slowly growing to become a cultural hub in the world? Have our doctors not done miracles, even with their limited means? With so many things working against the Republic, the fact that we're doing so much better than would otherwise be expected is a testament to our destiny.
After all, we are sons and daughters of two mighty empires - one European, the other American - and as heirs to such majesty, one can only expect a nation as great as ours.
So lead us, Mr. Prime Minister, but warn your President that we will question him at every turn, because any possible mistake that he makes might harm our beautiful land, and her people, and we all want to avoid that. After all, one can criticize President Alan Garcia Perez's first regime for many things, but to his credit, he never did take away our freedoms and liberties, which is precisely what the nationalist parties of today are going to do if we let ignorance win out.
And it is because of this, Mr. Prime Minister, that I voted for President Alan Garcia Perez in the last election.
