Pride: Not For Me
By Romi Mahajan
18 May, 2015
Countercurrents.org
To me, pride is a strange concept. It’s strange not in some fundamental way but more so in the ways people apply it. Statements like “I’m proud to be American” or “I’m proud to be Indian” have always confounded me – for a few reasons of which one is my incredulity that anyone could be proud of something on which they had no control. To be honest, “I’m proud to have a pancreas” seems just as reasonable a statement and while the first statements provoke little by way of objection, this last one would cause people to give one wide berth.
Perhaps some of us overthink the concept however. It seems to work for many. Being proud helps drive people to do big things though big things aren’t necessarily good things. I’ve seen pride work in the corporate world, getting people to work hard and carry corporate water at levels I can scarcely understand (but make money doing so.) I’ve seen pride work in the world of sports, getting people to dedicate enormous energy, money, and time to supporting “teams” of people they don’t know and likely share different values (but enjoy doing so). I’ve seen pride work in the world of nationalism, getting people to cheer, fight, and die for countries controlled by people who continue to exploit those very people who cheer, fight, and die (but find meaning doing so) Sure, pride “works” but it continues to befuddle me.
Perhaps, however, feeling pride is the hallmark of “winners.” I don’t say this with irony or sadness but more as a statement of fact. What motivates people to spend their energies and resources on any endeavor is by definition a force to be reckoned with. That I find myself unable to understand it is likely a statement of my own “loser-ness.”
But I remain befuddled not only because I am on the losing side of this battle but because I don’t understand the logic of the winners.
Were I a winner in this regard, I might show pride in markedly different ways.
If I for instance felt proud to be American, I would strive to be proud of American achievements in science and literature. I might think of Eugene Debs or Martin Luther King Jr. or the Abraham Lincoln Brigade as sources of pride. I wouldn’t be proud of our unique ability to pummel and pound both people and nature.
If I for instance felt proud to be Indian, I would strive to be proud of the dialectics of early Indian thought or of the amazing sacrifices of millions during Independence. I wouldn’t be proud of our history of violently hierarchical social structures.
I would think pride inhered in rejecting one’s oppressors. But one can find memorials to Victoria, Curzon, Dalhousie, Willingdon and every other colonialist of British origin all over India. Is that pride? I would think pride meant rejoining in one’s clothing and festivals. But in urban India, Indian clothes are referred to as “ethnic wear” and you can actually celebrate Thanksgiving (!!!) in many eateries and hotels. Is that the pride of winners?
I remain befuddled and frankly rejoice in being on the side of the losers.
Romi Mahajan can be reached at [email protected]
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