In recent years, the official Russian language began increasingly to use the word “pride.” “We remember, we are proud!”; “The pride for our athletes”; “Our past — our pride”; “we Should be proud that we are Russians”; “Proud of our achievements” and so on have become clichés in the promotion. Following the promotion of our citizens have picked up the turnover in application to different subjects and objects: now proud of nationality, ancestors, the size of the country, fellow citizens, the flag and emblem history (and everyone knows some history) and so on. A common feature of all these “pride” — their subject is out of the proud individual, and usually very far from it.
“I am proud of my ancestors, defending Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, how can you write!” — I wrote a lady on FB in response to my comment that organized Muravyov large-scale projects in Kamchatka and the far East has been controversial in effectiveness, costly, and, in particular, the order of the defense of Petropavlovsk, which killed many brave Russian soldiers who were useless — still a city left after a few months, and the aggressor so it never took — there was no need.
If the ancestors of this lady really defended the city, that they are worthy of respect and compassion — on the orders of a senior bureaucrat, they gave their life without any meaning. But what’s pride?
The meaning of the word pride, meanwhile, is very clear: “pride is painted a positive emotion that reflects a positive self-image; having self-respect, self-esteem, self-worth. In a figurative sense of “pride” can be called the reason for such self-evaluation” (dictionary Ephraim).
How can the presence of a distant ancestor of the hero is to increase positive self-image? Where is he and where are you? What is the connection?
It turns out — maybe, if you convince the public that the achievements of the past and victories completely strangers enough to your personal self-esteem was very high. No matter what you did nothing in life, deprived of all rights, even the right to go to the rally, you can never put that ambulance with you dying will stand, letting the car of a provincial official, and in the hospital, if you have time to drop off, there will be drugs, that you long have nothing to choose, and the state offers you to impose all the decisions, even what to read, what to look for and with whom and how to sleep — the main thing that you have in the knee is the fifteenth ancestor, who fought bravely (though — also with no rights, except the right to die for the Emperor, a foreigner, once they unleashed “the game of war”).
Imposing society such terminology can not be afraid of his demands of freedom, opportunity, equality, openness, control over the government (as well as the attempts of people to escape, to become something, to create something) — people have all right, because Suvorov crossed the Alps, the great-grandfather defeated the Germans, the country is the largest in the world, and Arshavin scored a lot of goals are, what and who to be proud of!
By the way, pride even in the correct sense of the word thing is not too positive. The dictionary Dahl is generally not shared by the words “pride”, “pride”, “proud”. Pride is the main sinful passion, which is expressed, according to St. John Climacus, in the rejection of God and contempt of the people. So even if you actually have something to be proud of, that is, you personally have a dignity that distinguishes you from others, don’t rush to do it — better to just rejoice over the fact that genes, upbringing and the circumstances were favorable to you.
The most correct word “pride” is used in the famous film “Moscow does not believe in tears” — where the older character tells the younger: “Well, what to hide something? Our chest is our pride!”. Our. Not Marilyn Monroe. If we teach with the word “pride” every Russian looking at your chest (or there is someone what can be seen), but not in the breast of the great-grandmother or Anki-gunner (respectively, not on anything of Batu Khan and Vladimir Lenin, but on his own), society will have to change your attitude — and have to finally try to do something (Yes, even implants).
And seeing the chest Anki-gunner or bare of Batu Khan, you can experience a completely different feeling — “the rapture.” And here is to health, the rapture is “the state of fascination by anyone or anything” (same dictionary).
So let’s face it: we like Russian society and the Russian citizens to be proud of, alas, almost nothing (Boobs and so on — is almost the only exception). But — we have much to admire. And this admiration should inspire (view on the meaning of this word in the dictionary!) on actions that will ultimately give us reason to be proud (and we still think, to be proud of, or, following the Christian rule — just be happy).
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