LOVE OF COUNTRY

Country defined
In geography, a country is a geographical region. It is often applied to a political division
or the territory of a sovereign state, or to a smaller, or former, political division of a geographical
region. Usually, but not always a country coincides with a sovereign territory and is associated
with a state, nation or government.
Government Defined
Government is the organization, machinery, or agency, through which a political unit
exercises its authority, controls and administers public policy, and directs and controls the
actions of its members or subjects.
Government is also defined as political system by which a body of people is
administered and regulated. Different levels of government typically have different
responsibilities. The level closest to those governed is local government. Regional governments
comprise a grouping of individual communities. National governments nominally control all the
territory within internationally recognized borders and have responsibilities not shared by their
sub national counterparts. Most governments exercise executive, legislative, and judicial powers
and split or combine them in various ways. Some also control the religious affairs of their
people; others avoid any involvement with religion.
Moral Duty of the Government
The concept of a "moral purpose of government" implies the existence of a unique
morality that is universal to humanity; otherwise, the justification for government would arbitrarily
depend on the local culture. The foundation of this universal ethics is the complete moral
equality of all persons, regardless of race, creed, sex or age. Moral equality has two logical
conclusions: the self-ownership of each person and an equal right to what is not created by self-
ownership.
Equal self-ownership implies that there are no superior-inferior relationships. It is morally
evil for one person to be the master of another. That applies to government officials.
Government is not some holy god that wisely and benevolently guides human affairs.
Government is people, and the people of government are not magically endowed with any
greater moral status just because they wear a crown or are flanked by flags and stars.
There is no moral authority for government other than to enforce the universal ethics. It
is mora y evil for one person to coercively impose his will another person such as by murder,
theft, trespass, fraud, or threats of force. When government agents implement morality by
enacting and enforcing laws prohibiting coercive harm to others, these agents are doing nothing
more than what individual persons have a moral right to do and therefore such action is morally
legitimate.
Note that the moral legitimacy of government does not come from democracy or from a
long ago written constitution. Moral purpose and legitimacy can only come from morality itself.
Government has two moral purposes. The first is to prohibit and penalize coercive harm to
others. The second moral purpose of government is to act as the agent of the people to secure
the equal right to the benefits of natural resources, those not created by human action.
State
State is a territorial unit with clearly defined and internationally accepted boundaries,
having an independent existence and being responsible for its own legal system. The state may
be seen as provider of public services such as education, health, security for example, as a
regulator of the economy (fixing interest rates, and so on), as a social engineer (education is,
after all, a form of social engineering), and acting as a referee between conflicting groups in
society. The theory of the state looks at the state as a set of institutions: armed forces,
government, judicial system, and so on, and asks why societies find it necessary to form the
separate instrument we call the state.
Types of Government

 Communism - a system of government in which the state plans and

controls the economy and a single - often authoritarian - party holds power, state
controls are imposed with the elimination of Private ownership of property or capital
while claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are
equally shared by the people (i.e., a classless society).
 Constitutional Monarchy - a system of government in which a monarch is
guided by a constitution whereby her rights, duties, and responsibilities are spelled out in
written law or by custom.
 Democracy - a form of government in which the supreme power is
retained by the people, but which is usually exercised indirectly through a system of
representation and delegated authority periodically renewed.
 Dictatorship - a form of government in which a ruler or small clique wield
absolute power (not restricted by a constitution or laws). Also, a system in which the
citizens do not possess the right to choose their own leaders.
 Federal (Federative) - a form of government in which sovereign power is
formally divided - usually by means of a constitution - between a central authority and a
number of constituent regions (states, colonies, or provinces) so that each region retains
some management of its internal affairs; differs from a confederacy in that the central
government exerts influence directly upon both individuals as well as upon the regional
units.
 Federal Republic - a state in which the powers of the central government
are restricted and in which the component parts (states, colonies, or provinces) retain a
degree of self-government; ultimate sovereign power rests with the voters who chose
their representatives in the government.
 Parliamentary Government (Cabinet-Parliamentary government)
- a government in which members of an executive branch (the cabinet and its
leader - a prime minister, premier, or chancellor) are nominated to their positions by a
legislature or parliament, and are directly responsible to it; this type of government can
be dissolved at will by the parliament (legislature) by means of a no confidence vote or
the leader of the cabinet may dissolve the parliament if it can no longer function.
 Parliamentary Monarchy - a state headed by a monarch who is not
actively involved in policy formation or implementation (i.e., the exercise of sovereign
powers by a monarch in a ceremonial capacity); true governmental leadership is carried
out by a cabinet and its head - a prime minister, premier, or chancellor - who are drawn
from a legislature (parliament).
  Republic - a representative democracy in which the people elected
deputies (representatives), not the people themselves, vole on legislation.
 Totalitarian - a government that seeks to subordinate the individual to the
state by controlling not only all political and economic matters, but also the attitudes,
values, and beliefs of its population.
Democracy and Communism
Democracy is a form of government in which supreme power is vested in the people
and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually
involving periodic free elections. In a direct democracy, the public participates in government
directly (as in some ancient Greek city-states, some New England town meetings, and some
cantons in modem Switzerland), Most democracies today are representative. The concept of
representative democracy arose largely from ideas and institutions that developed during
the European Middle Ages and the Enlightenment and in the American and French
Revolutions. Democracy has come to imply universal suffrage, competition for office,
freedom of speech and the press, and the rule of law.
In its broadest meaning communism describes a society in which all its members
jointly (communally) own its resources and in which the society's wealth and products are
distributed equally to everyone.

Duties of Citizens
A citizen is a member of a community, whether that community is a town or a great
country: and as the member of a community, he has both privileges and duties. We may
think of a community as existing for the sake of its individual members, or, the individual
members as existing for the sake of the community. The first view, held by individualists,
emphasizes the privileges of a citizenship. One says, the state exists for the good of the
citizen, which is true; other say, the citizens exist for the good of the state - which is also
true. Both views must be combined and a citizen must recognize that the state where he
belongs to has a duty to him Chis privileges) and that he has an obligation to it (his duties).
However, most citizens are in no danger of forgetting their privileges, it is wise to
emphasize on their duties.
The first obvious duty of a citizen is loyalty to the country. A Citizen" must be
prepared to support and defend his country even, if necessary, sacrifice his life.
Secondly, it is the duty of a citizen to obey country's laws. Citizens Thus have no
sympathy with crime, which is a breach of law. in some Gases may consider some laws
imperfect, unwise and even unjust, and they may, and should, use all constitutional means
in their powers, such as rallies, writing to the press, organization, and the use of initiative or
referendum, to get such laws reformed or abolished. But so long as a law is a law, il must be
obeyed.
Thirdly, citizens must do more than keep the law himself, they must, as occasion
arises, actively assist the guardians of the law in the performance of their duty in putting
down crimes and arresting criminals. Criminals must be made to feel that they have, not
only the police, but also all respectable citizens against them.
Fourthly, they ought to take an intelligent interest in politics; for being a citizens must
vote, and be held responsible for using that vote for the good of his country as a whole.
They must form definite opinions as to what is best for his country, and what men are the
best to rule it, and what new laws and reforms it needs, and then actively use such influence
as they has to forward such measures. Good citizens have no right to leave the
management of local or national institutions to professional politicians.
Lastly, citizens must be ready, if they have the ability and is called upon to do so, to
render active service to their city or country: It can be personal services like cleaning roads,
construction of bridges or maintaining peace and order. Military service in times of war
where they can be required to protect and defend the state, civil service in terms of
managing and running government offices.
Kanya-Kanya Syndrome
Filipinos have a selfish, self-serving attitude that generates a feeling of envy and
competitiveness towards others, particularly one's peers, who seem to have gained some
status or prestige. Towards them, the Filipino demonstrated the so-called "crab mentality",
using the leveling instruments of gossip and unconstructive criticism to bring others down
(tsismis in Filipino language). There seems to be a basic assumption that another s gain is
one's loss.
"Kanya-kanya" syndrome is also evident in personal ambition and drive for power
and status that is completely insensitive to the common good. Personal and in-group
interests reign supreme. This characteristic is also evident in the lack of a sense of service
among people in the government bureaucracy. The public is made to feel that service from
these offices and from these civil servants is an extra perk that has to be paid for.
This syndrome results in the dampening of cooperative and community spirit and in
the denial of the rights of others.
Rebellion
Under the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, the crime of rebellion or
insurrection is committed by rising publicly and taking arms against the government for the
purpose of removing from the allegiance to said Government or its laws, the territory of the
Philippines Islands or any part thereof, of any body of land, naval or other armed forces,
depriving the Chief Executive or the Legislature, wholly or partially, of any of their powers or
prerogatives.
Subversion
Subversion refers to attempts to overthrow structures of authority, including the state.
In this respect, it has taken over from sedition' as the name for illicit rebellion, though the
connotations of the two words are rather different, sedition suggesting overt attacks on
institutions, subversion something much more surreptitious, such as eroding the basis of
belief in the status quo or setting people against each other.
Coup d'etat
Under the same Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, the crime of coup d'état is a
swift attack accompanied by violence, intimidation, threat, strategy or stealth, directed
against duly constituted authorities of the Republic of the Philippines, or any military camp or
installation, communications network, public utilities or other facilities needed for the
exercise and continued possession of power, singly or simultaneously carried out anywhere
in the Philippines by any person or persons, belonging to the military or police or holding any
public office of employment with or without civilian support or participation for the purpose of
seizing or diminishing state power.
Crimes against the Government and Morality
Divine right theory provides that the state and government are God's creation. God
choose rulers through prophets and that laws are imposed by God. Failure to obey the laws
means disloyalty not only to the rulers but to God. Every individual is expected to obey the
laws including the officials. Rebellion, subversion and coup d'état fall under crime against
the government, which may be considered as immoral. Such as may be justified only when
rulers began exploiting the people and abuse then authorities. But as long as government
continues to promote the welfare of the people; rebellion, subversion and coup d'état can
never be justified.
Nationalism and Patriotism
Discussions of both patriotism and nationalism are often marred o lack of clarity due
to the failure to distinguish the two made the administration in ways that are not very helpful.
In the 19th century, Lord Acton contrasted nationality as “our connection with the race” that
is “merely natural or physical,” while patriotism is the awareness of our moral duties to the
political community.
Patriotism involves:
1. Special affection for one’s own country.
2. A sense of personal identification with the country.
3. Special concern for the well-being of the country.
4. Willingness to sacrifice to promote the country’s good.
Nationalism is a sense of shared identity and loyalty, based upon common history,
language, culture, and traditions. Though it has much in common with religious and local
loyalties, it may distinguished since it almost invariably aims to be the basis of government.
Nationalism involves a strong identification of one’s social identity with that of nation
or state. The subject can include the belief that one’s nation is of primary importance. It is
also used to describe a movement to establish or protect homeland for an ethnic group. In
some cases the identification of a homogeneous national culture is combined with a
negative view of other races or cultures. Nationalism is sometimes reactionary, calling for a
return to a national past, and sometimes for the expulsion of foreigners. Other forms of
nationalism are revolutionary, calling for the establishment of an independent state as a
homeland for an ethnic underclass.
 Nationalism emphasizes collective identify – a ‘people’ must be autonomous, united,
and express a single national. culture. However, some nationalists stress individualism as
an important part of their own national identify.
National flags, national anthems, and other symbols of national identify are often
considered sacred, as if they were religious rather than political symbols. Deep emotions are
aroused.
Patriotism among Filipinos
Several factors to measure patriotic values among Filipinos are the following:
A. Obedience to laws
B. Care for environment
C. Patronization of local goods/products
D. Respect to authorities
E. Preservation of culture and tradition
Internationalism Defined
Internationalism is a policy or practice of cooperation among nations, especially in
polities and economic matters.

 Internationalism as defined by Cambridge Dictionary is a belief that countries can

achieve more advantages by working together and trying to understand each other than
by arguing and fighting wars with each other.
Internationalism and Ethics
As far as the ethical aspects of the problem of internationalism are concerned, there
is hope that must be brought about in the way of improvement. We face the problem of
securing moral conduct on the part of nations. To do away with the disasters of national
strife, nations must be brought into a moral atmosphere; they must act only in such ways as
to make for the common welfare and happiness; they must establish definite rights for all,
and provide adequate defense for those rights. It is entirely safe to assert that only when
there can be found between nations relations of social understanding, beside mere
commercial tug and pull, can there be a harmonious and moral world order. If there is to be
a recognized morality among nations, there must be an organization of interests, a
conscious interrelation of benefits and obligations. Only in this way can be avoided the
present obnoxious diplomacies, the intrigues, and the brutal, and almost always miscarrying
wars of aggression. Only by a mutual understanding between nations, can there be an
efficient and satisfactory organization of the sources of the world's material welfare, their
transmutation, and distribution. The scheme is in a way known to us in the realm of cultural
values, in which the products of art and learning are most liberally dealt with in an organized
way.