Table of Contents
BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 245
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST- PASSAGE – 2
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST
READING PASSAGE – 2
PATRIOTISM VS HUMANISM
As Corey Booker once said, “Patriotism is the love of country. But you can’t love your country without loving your countrymen and countrywomen. We don’t always have to agree, but we must empower each other, we must find common ground and we must build bridges across our differences to pursue the common good.” The common good that Booker refers to here is humanity. Patriotism is the feeling towards the nation – one of pride and belonging. But, what we have to understand is that humanism is the embodiment of benevolence towards other human beings.
Humanity has to be placed above patriotism. Compassion towards fellow humans, irrespective of caste, creed, gender and nationality is the crux of humanity. The main aim of patriotism should be to inculcate a genuine feeling of oneness as people and the willingness to withstand the test of the ever-changing world together.
Sadly, a large number of people in modern times construe the word abrasively, valuing aggressive patriotism, not humanity, without realizing that patriotic feelings are an intrinsic feature of humanity. Patriotism is not blind love for one’s country. It is love for the country by loving its people. Corliss Lamont, a philosopher, stated in his works on Humanism that the true ambit of patriotism involves the death of altruism and promotes a school of thinking. Intense feelings of patriotism have killed genuine self-sacrifice. Everyone is busy promoting self-interest.
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On the other hand, there are individuals like John Davis, a blogger who writes about the US military and its veterans and is also an ardent supporter of patriotism, says patriotism is sacred. It leads you to form a bond with your neighbour, makes you loyal to the country and creates a special bond with the ‘motherland”. He further elucidates that it makes people more sensitive to the needs of their country.
Today, self-conceit, arrogance and boastfulness have become the essence of patriotism. The modern-day concepts of patriotic feelings have divided our globe into multiple countries, each of which has water-tight security measures to ensure that it does not let a ‘foreigner’ enter without a tedious process. It is thereby implied that everyone living in a particular country has to fight, kill and ultimately die in an attempt to retain the country’s greatness.
People give speeches about abnegating bloodshed and genocide, yet they choose to remain absolutely reticent when such untoward incidents take place in other countries. George Bernard Shaw has articulately explained this situation, he states that patriotism is an individual’s conviction that the country is superior to all countries because one is born in it. This innate superiority complex has raised many global issues.
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A person who loves his country may not be highly productive. On the flip side, it has been noticed that people who believe in national identity often know more about the country and have a higher level of political engagement. Most patriots have displayed contrasting trends. They are barely aware of what is going on in their country and are often disinterested in learning new things.
Research has shown that patriotism is liable for narrowing the thoughts of individuals, making them rigid and inflexible to the idea of change. Philosophers like Howard Zinn and Corey Booker have repeatedly asserted that patriotic feelings generally create mistrust and generate negative feelings towards other countries and their citizens. This is commonly known as the ‘us and them mentality’.
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A number of theories have been formulated in favour of humanism allowing a better understanding of humans and their innate needs. Carl Rogers’ humanistic approach states that humanism was adopted as a rebellion against what was seen as limitations of behaviourist and psychodynamic psychology. Rogers stated that psychology is not a behaviour or dynamics of the unconscious mind. It is the innate need for humans to be free, to socialise with fellow humans that determines behaviour.
Humanism is based on empirical evidence, whereas patriotism is based on blind belief. However, there are individuals who consider patriotism as an appropriate school of thought as it motivates people to act for their countries. Bertell Ollman, in his book Dance of The Dialectic, states that using patriotic symbols has a massive effect on the minds of the people. This can be construed from election results of political parties using patriotic symbols.
One can say that patriotism has inhibited our ability to think about the long run. It has blinded us with feelings of pride, selfishness and ultra-nationalism and in the process, we tend to forget our basic traits and duties toward other human beings. Human knowledge demands upgrading because the world is dynamic in nature. Humanism embraces this aspect which allows flexibility and tolerance. Patriotism has clouded this vision of ours. We do not need an alien invasion to unite us and to make us think as one race instead of a cluster of groups, to give up bickering and confusion about what we truly want.
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Questions 14 – 19
Look at the following statements (Questions 14-19) and the list of people below.
Match each statement with the correct person.
Choose the correct answer and move it into the gap.
14 Patriotism makes us more thoughtful towards the cause of the nation.
15 In spite of differences in opinion, people must be united towards the betterment of mankind.
16 Love for one’s nation encourages selfishness by destroying selflessness.
17 Human being is an inborn social creature.
18 National emblems leave a deep impact on people.
19 Being born in a country is a reason enough to regard that country as the best.
List of people
Corliss Lamont
Carl Rogers
Bertell Ollman
George Bernard Shaw
John Davis
Howard Zinn
Corey Booker
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Questions 20 – 26
Complete the summary using the list of words. Choose the correct word and move it into the gap.
Humanity is 20_________ to patriotism as it is the expression of love towards all human beings regardless of 21______________ characteristics. Though, the latter is an 22 ______________ part of the former, it is unfortunate that many 23____________ it incorrectly. Instead of uniting people, patriotism, in modern times is dividing the 24_________ . Studies show that it has made people 25______________ and, as scholars believe, has given rise to 26__________ between people of own and other countries.
Superior
Conservative
Inherent
World
Interpret
Differentiating
Discrimination
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ANSWERS ARE BELOW
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ANSWERS
14. JOHN DAVIS
15. COREY BOOKER
16. CORLISS LAMONT
17. CARL ROGERS
18. BERTELL BILMAN
19. GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
20. SUPERIOR
21. DIFFERENTIATING
22. INHERENT
23. INTERPRET
24. WORLD
25. CONSERVATIVE
26. DISCRIMINATION
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