Day 21: Patriotism Day!

Day 21: Patriotism Day!

It is the duty of every citizen to be patriotic. A country is one’s soil, one’s blood, one’s tears, one’s roots. Here is a list of countries along with their strong points, so you can choose which one to feel patriotic about today.

FRANCE:

LANGUAGE: French

ANTHEM: La Marseillaise

MILITARY RECORD: Prone to invasion

PATRIOTIC POTENTIAL: Gung-ho anthem, easy to get worked up about.

UNITED KINGDOM:

LANGUAGE: English

ANTHEM: God Save The Queen

MILITARY RECORD: Good, though the English Channel has undoubtedly helped.

PATRIOTIC POTENTIAL: Wide choice of tones, from Churchill to football hooliganism.

NIGERIA:

LANGUAGE: English/Yoruba/Hausa

ANTHEM: Arise O Compatriots!

MILITARY RECORD: Very good at fighting each other

PATRIOTIC POTENTIAL: Limited, except during soccer World Cups.

RUSSIA:

LANGUAGE: Russian

ANTHEM: The Patriotic Song (no words)

MILITARY RECORD: Defeated Hitler, but lost Cold War

PATRIOTIC POTENTIAL: Never a dull moment

MOLDOVA:

LANGUAGE: Moldovan

ANTHEM: Awaken Thee Romania!

MILITARY RECORD: Nothing yet, but evidence of anti-Russian rowdiness

PATRIOTIC POTENTIAL: Still all to play for!

CHINA:

LANGUAGE: Mandarin

ANTHEM: March of the Volunteers

MILITARY RECORD: Strengh in numbers

PATRIOTIC POTENTIAL: If you like your patriotism tinged with ideology, this could be for you.

I’m not sure why they left out some of the other great and large places in the world, and I’m also not sure why I’d choose between those limited VERY random few! So I chose my own… ITALY of course! Today I wore my Italian charm and am wearing my Italia hoodie now. With their list I made one for Italy below; and here is why I think everyone should be patriotic about it today:

ITALY:

LANGUAGE: Italian

ANTHEM: The Song of the Italians (Il Canto degli Italiani or Inno di Mameli (Mameli’s Hymn)).

MILITARY RECORD: Participated here and there but are lovers not fighters.

PATRIOTIC POTENTIAL: While you should know to never argue with an Italian because we’re feisty and always right; we’re also too fashionable and busy creating, cooking, or discovering all the best things to bother fighting with you.