THE wave of national pride that has been sweeping the country since late Monday night when Ms Yendi Phillipps placed second in the prestigious Miss Universe pageant in Las Vegas is reminiscent of the mood among Jamaicans — both here and abroad — when our athletes excelled at the Beijing Olympics in August 2008 and at the World Championships in Berlin a year later.

Ms Phillipps created history by being the first Jamaican to finish among the top three in this contest and as such deserves our heartiest congratulations.

Her achievement, we submit, was no easy feat, and it could not have come at a better time, as Jamaica is still recovering from the damage to its image sparked by the late May operation in Tivoli Gardens to arrest Mr Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke and to repel a brazen attack on the state by gunmen.

But even as we celebrate Ms Phillipps’ accomplishment, we cannot avoid highlighting the stark difference we have noticed here between nationalism and patriotism.

For despite the swell of national pride in our chests, there are still too many of us who do not appreciate the value of pitching in to help build the country.

Take, for example, the people who avoid paying taxes, yet are among the first to complain about poor infrastructure. The sad fact is that the majority of these people are professionals who know better but choose to ignore their responsibility to the country. They, of course, will proudly display their nationalism when necessary. But being nationalistic does not mean that Jamaica is a land we love.

For if we did indeed love Jamaica, we would care for the country in much the same way we care for our families and will do almost anything to help them develop and make them safe and happy.

Jesus Christ exhorted and challenged mankind to extend that willingness to help others beyond our immediate circle of family and friends. When He said love thy neighbour, He was telling us to be willing to help others whether we like them or not, and even if they are strangers.

This dictum, we submit, is not idealism but good sense, because if practised it makes us all better off.

We acknowledge, of course, that there are some Jamaicans who are trying to live by this credo, but they are a small minority, overwhelmed by the vast majority who care only about themselves.

However, a country cannot achieve its full potential for economic and social development without the majority of its citizens having a spirit of patriotism which, we recognise, is largely lacking among the generation born after Independence.

The task of instilling in that generation the patriotism that this country so badly needs will be difficult, given that so many of us are unapologetically materialistic, self-centred and prone to migration.

It is, however, not impossible. What it will require is outstanding leadership — leadership of the kind displayed by the late United States president Mr John F Kennedy, who is remembered for his famous charge to America: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”