I assume it is safe to say good evening by now?
The name on my library card reads out Eduard, so it is only logical that it is my name. And please, no twilight jokes. Sparkling vampires is not something I would want to talk about today, what I do want to speak about is my opinion on how patriotic Estonian youngsters are these day. I will start of with a quick definition what patriotism is, followed by how things used to be. Then briefly how things are now, and in the conclusion I will conclude.
I would like to begin with the words of George Bernard Shaw who once said that Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it. People love the country in which they were born as they love their mother, who gave birth to them. A special connection ties children to they're parents and a similar bond ties people to the land in witch they were born. That special bond
is patriotism.
Estonia is a small and not a well know country, but that motivates our people even more. Estonians always have been a patriotic bunch and history is there to prove it. When the Soviet Union sealed us shut with the iron curtain, our nation’s great patriots did not just step aside. They did all they could to keep up the spirits of fellow Estonians and in the end our nationality prevailed. We managed to sing our way to the freedom, also known as the singing revolution. And all that shows a different level of patriotism. A level that seems to be lacking in our youngsters these days.
Fortunately reality is a lot cruler. Pigs do not fly. In fact I have money on that. Things are not always as they seem. The values that seem to be missing are still there. The look on a young Estonian's face when he tells someone where he is from somewhat resembles a fox that just evaded a hunter and managed to eat something in the process. The love for the little country is still there, it is just that now, when we are all one big European family the...