TODAY, Guyana observes 53 years as a sovereign nation- free of rule from our British colonial matters and this is a good time, as any, to reflect on our patriotism.

Patriotism is that feeling of pride in your country, because of what the country has and represents. It’s that feeling that causes your pores to raise when you see the Golden Arrowhead being hoisted at the D’Urban Park, or when you hear the National Anthem being played by the Guyana Police Force Band. And no matter where in the world you go, this feeling is constant.

I think that 53 years as a free nation is a remarkable feat. We may not be in the place that we want to be as a country; there are still very many wrongs that we must right. But in all of this, what remains is that we are commonly focused on the good elements of our country and on ensuring that better is to come.

I reflect on the Mayor of the city of Las Vegas, Carolyn Goodman proclaiming that May 26 this year will be observed as Guyana Day in that city. I reached out to the Mayor’s office just to find out what was the reason that prompted this proclamation.

The reply I received read: “The Mayor received a request from a member of the public asking to recognise the independence of Guyana and people of Guyanese descent who now make Las Vegas their home and contribute to the richness of our community. The Mayor was happy to accommodate the request.”

I’d like to imagine that the person who sent in the request (bless their soul) did so on the basis of feelings of patriotism. And that makes me very happy.

I think there’s a qualitative difference between patriotism and a fervent sense of nationalism, however.

I love my country. I love that my country is free from colonial rule. I love that we can make decisions for ourselves. But what I don’t like and what I don’t want to succumb to, is that trap of fervent nationalism.

Nationalism, as opposed to patriotism, is based on the premise that an individual’s loyalty and devotion to the country surpasses other individual or group interests.

Many experts have attributed the rise of all the ugly anti-immigration policies and agendas popping up all over the world to nationalism. Need an example? President Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again (#MAGA), ‘America First’ agenda.

I would hate to see these anti-immigrant policies spread to Guyana, a country which has traditionally been one of emigration… you know, moving into other people’s countries and ‘making life’. And I’m sure that most Guyanese have been on the receiving end of barrels, boxes, parcels or envelopes, so we could relate positively to immigration.

Now that we find ourselves at the receiving end, more and more I hear the talks of Venezuelans, Chinese and Cubans ‘coming to take away our jobs’. I attend fora and presentations and without fail, someone will voice that Guyanese should safeguard against these foreigners, as though they are some sort of evil. But they’re here allowing for the creation of niche markets and services and it’s up to us to capitalise on that.

With the emerging oil and gas industry, too, we know that there is a dearth of skills locally for the more technical aspects of this sector, yet we find ourselves crying over ‘foreigners’ taking up these jobs. What this situation offers, in my opinion, is an avenue for us to learn from these persons and develop our own crop of skills and talents to one day take over form them.

Loving our country and putting our country first is natural. But I don’t think we should let it go to a state where it becomes toxic for other people to exist in our spaces. There are benefits to be had from people being in our spaces, and we shouldn’t be so myopic to forget that we were once (and in fact continue to be) in similar shoes.

I would hope that as we celebrate another year of Independence, we take the time to recognise where we have come as a people and as a country and not our feelings of patriotism morph into this nationalism that hurts immigrants.

Happy 53rd Guyana!