The document discusses the concept of patriotism in Brazil, particularly as it relates to the World Cup. It argues that the patriotism demonstrated by many Brazilians during the World Cup is "false" as it only emerges during the tournament and games, rather than through actions to improve the country. The document likens the World Cup spectacles to the "bread and circuses" used by Roman leaders to distract citizens and maintain power. Similarly in Brazil, it suggests the World Cup acts as a distraction from serious national problems while the government seeks to maintain power. True patriotism, the document concludes, requires more consistent love and support for one's country beyond just sporting events.

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FALSE PATRIOTISM OF BRAZILIAN PEOPLE WITH THE WORLD CUP
Fernando Alcoforado *
The patriotism that Brazilians seek to demonstrate in the World Cup is false because it
is caused by alienation by which the people is submitted based on the illusory idea that
by twisting the Brazilian national team will be playing their role as citizens. How can a
person be patriotic just in time for the World Cup cheering the victory of the Brazilian
team and then do nothing to improve your country? Football in general and the World
Cup, in particular, are instruments of holders of political and economic power to
maintain ignorance among the masses of illiterate and destitute and get the support of
the most educated and affluent who lack a critical sense political social.
It is unfortunate seeing the fake Brazilian patriotism emerge in full force at the time of
world football championships, while true patriotism does not happen among Brazilians
to prevent your rulers hand over their national wealth to foreign capital as has occurred
in Brazil from the colonial period to the current times. During the World Cup, the
Brazilians buy flags and green and yellow shirts to show off his "love of country" and
paralyze their activities during the games to see twenty-two men running after a ball.
Who does not know Brazil, think there is a real patriotism here, but unfortunately is not
the case. "Patriotism" is only seasonal in Brazil, occurring in only season games
Brazilian team and World Cup.
Football has turned into a circus for the Brazilian people to make a lot of alienated
people consider the World Cup to what's most important in their lives. It should be
noted that during the Roman Empire, the politics of bread and circuses (panem et circus
in the original Latin) as it became known, was the way in which the Roman leaders
dealt with the general population, to keep her faithful the established order and gain
their support. This policy was adopted by the Roman emperors contemplating the
distribution of cereals and promoting various events to entertain and distract the people
from more serious problems existing in Roman society.
During the Roman Empire, in times of crisis, the authorities calmed the people by
building huge arenas in which bloody spectacles were held involving gladiators, wild
animals, chariot races, stunts, bands, and shows with clowns, theater artists and horse
racing. Another custom of the emperors was the distribution of cereals monthly in
Portico of Minucius in Rome. Basically, these "gifts" to the Roman people ensured that
the mob did not die of hunger nor revolted against those in power. The advantage of this
practice was that, while the population was pleased and appeased the Emperor's
popularity among the humblest was consolidated.
Loosely speaking, in Brazil, the Bolsa Familia program works like the "bread" and the
World Cup like the "circus". The hosting of the World Cup this year operates as if it
were "circus" for the Brazilian people to dispose of it away from the struggle for solving
serious national problems. The victory of the Brazilian team at the World Cup can act as
"opium" for the Brazilian people not revolt against the current power holders that do not
meet their demands and aspire to renew the mandate in the next presidential elections in
October. It should be noted that repeated use of opium leads to habit, the addiction and
then a physical and intellectual decadence of the individual. This was one of the
instruments of domination of China by the British Empire.

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As for true patriotism, antithesis of false Brazilian seasonal patriotism, it is important to
note that it is a feeling that means loving the country as one loves a father, a mother or
to their children, love their people as if they were brothers, and feel able to share the
pain and suffering of his people, suffer rape and outrage of the motherland, take and
show your patriotic feelings towards any circumstances, live your day to day life as a
child of his land, even from miles away, terminate in loud and clear, wherever you are,
those who oppress and cause suffering brothers homeland, not condoning domestic or
foreign criminals who use the motherland for their illicit business and only for their own
profit, not condoning those that increase hatred and divisiveness among the brethren of
homeland, whether that motivation, is not collude with criminals who use violent means
to reach the country's leadership and not collude with criminals who are using weapons
that were to be used for the defense of the people and not to oppress their own people.
According to Charles de Gaulle, Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first
and nationalism is when the hatred of other peoples comes first. For these reasons,
being patriotic is much more than being nationalistic. The terms Nationalism and
Patriotism are not synonymous, although nowadays very often used as such. Are terms
that have different stories. Patriotism has a much more ancient history. Patriotism is a
word that originates from the Greek patris. For the ancient Greeks, the word was
associated with identification with and devotion to a language, traditions and history,
ethics, law, and common religion. Patriotism arose long before the concept of nation-
state. Even in the eighteenth century in Western Europe, patriotism was understood as
individual responsibility towards other citizens, a devotion to humanity and an ethic of
equality and charity towards the disadvantaged and those who were part of the
community, regardless of their cultural or profile Ethnic. That is, Patriotism was not
related to an ethnic group, a geographic location, or an autonomous political
organization.
It arises in the nineteenth century that the concept of nationalism and nation as a
political entity, entitled to one (the nation state) State. The Nation emerges as something
to be protected; hence the need for a state of their own; hence various nationalisms have
led to numerous international conflicts throughout history, many devastating as the First
and Second World War. In this sense, the concept of nationalism is in deep
contradiction with the concept of internationalism, or cooperation and fraternal link
between communities of nations who communicate the same humanity. This
contradiction does not exist, however, between Patriotism and Internationalism because
the individual can be both patriotic and internationalist.
From the foregoing, after the presentation of the concepts of patriotism, one can
conclude that they are false expressions of patriotism by the Brazilian people during the
World Cup. It is important to note that the concepts of nationalism and internationalism
were presented in this paper to distinguish them from the concept of true patriotism. The
pity is that the "circus" of the World Cup in Brazil is armed with much of alienated
people thinking it is acting patriotically rooting for the success of the Brazilian national
team while economic problems of the country are worsening every passing day.
* Fernando Alcoforado , member of the Bahia Academy of Education, engineer and doctor of Territorial
Planning and Regional Development from the University of Barcelona, a university professor and
consultant in strategic planning, business planning, regional planning and planning of energy systems, is
the author of Globalização (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1997), De Collor a FHC- O Brasil e a Nova
(Des)ordem Mundial (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1998), Um Projeto para o Brasil (Editora Nobel, São
Paulo, 2000), Os condicionantes do desenvolvimento do Estado da Bahia (Tese de doutorado.
Universidade de Barcelona, http://www.tesisenred.net/handle/10803/1944, 2003), Globalização e

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Desenvolvimento (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2006), Bahia- Desenvolvimento do Século XVI ao Século XX
e Objetivos Estratégicos na Era Contemporânea (EGBA, Salvador, 2008), The Necessary Conditions of
the Economic and Social Development-The Case of the State of Bahia (VDM Verlag Dr. Muller
Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Saarbrücken, Germany, 2010), Aquecimento Global e Catástrofe
Planetária (P&A Gráfica e Editora, Salvador, 2010), Amazônia Sustentável- Para o progresso do Brasil e
combate ao aquecimento global (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2011)
and Os Fatores Condicionantes do Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2012),
among others.