Kathrine Frich
He suggested that civic duty must be absorbed naturally.
Politicians love to talk about loyalty. When times get tough, leaders spend countless hours trying to define exactly what it means to truly love your country.
Now, one top official has just offered a very unusual list of everyday examples.
A state of mind
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently tackled this topic. He told a public forum that true devotion to the nation goes far beyond simple political catchphrases.
The Kremlin official was speaking at an educational event called the Territory of Meanings according to O2. A participant asked him how the government shapes national pride.
Peskov had a ready answer. According to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, he explained that these values cannot be taught just by talking.
“Patriotism is not a slogan or a definition, but a state of mind that should accompany a person from an early age,” Peskov said.
Beyond the battlefield
He suggested that civic duty must be absorbed naturally. This powerful feeling has to start at the very beginning of human life.
“It’s a state of mind. It’s essential that every resident of our country receives it with their mother’s milk; they must grow up with it, with patriotism. You can’t say it, you can feel it,” he told the crowd, according to RIA Novosti.
The spokesman went on to broaden the definition. He moved away from formal political ideas and listed everyday chores as acts of national service.
The examples he chose ranged from getting good grades to helping elderly relatives. He even included cleaning up your own property.
Sweeping the yard
Peskov painted a vivid picture. He described a society where small domestic tasks hold deep national value, connecting state goals with ordinary family life.
“When a student excels in school, is that patriotism? That’s patriotism. And when a woman gives birth to a child, is that patriotism? And when she gives birth to a second child?” he asked the audience.
He continued his list with more ordinary actions. The official tried to link simple kindness to the highest form of sacrifice.
“And when we move our grandmother across the street, is that patriotism? And loving one’s mother is also patriotism, having one’s own yard and going out with a broom to sweep the yard, that’s patriotism. And dying for the Fatherland is also patriotism,” Peskov stated, as quoted by RIA Novosti.
Sources: RIA Novosti, O2
