# Ashamed of being an American? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 13, 2018, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833 "2018-07-13T08:36:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Parkerized](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@Parkerized](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parkerized)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/81 "2018-07-15T19:52:45Z")
> **[I HATE THE MEDIA ™ - Oh, God! Obama gives the Queen of England an iPod! Music](https://www.ihatethemedia.com/obama-gives-the-queen-of-england-an-ipod)** > > I HATE THE MEDIA ™ - Oh, God! Obama gives the Queen of England an iPod! ---
**Author:** ![Parkerized](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@Parkerized](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parkerized)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/82 "2018-07-15T19:55:50Z")
I like your husband. But EU Liberal seem just as violent as ours. And, you will have no way to protect yourselves! Best to be the “quiet” American when abroad. MAGA ---
**Author:** ![Parkerized](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@Parkerized](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parkerized)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/83 "2018-07-15T20:14:56Z")
> **[And the World’s Most Educated Country Is… | TIME.com](https://newsfeed.time.com/2012/09/27/and-the-worlds-most-educated-country-is/)** > > Despite all the recent chatter wondering if college is still worth the investment, a new study shows that we've continued to flock to college at record rates. So which nation is the most educated? ---
**Author:** ![Parkerized](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@Parkerized](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parkerized)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/84 "2018-07-15T20:22:00Z")
> **[Trump approval rating tops Obama’s at same point in presidency](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/8/trump-approval-rating-tops-obamas-same-point-presi/)** > > President Trump’s approval rating in one of the major daily tracking polls has improved significantly and is now higher than President Barack Obama’s on the same date of his first term. ---
**Author:** ![Parkerized](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@Parkerized](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parkerized)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/85 "2018-07-15T20:25:04Z")
You mean Hillary, Strzok and Comey? ---
**Author:** ![Parkerized](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@Parkerized](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parkerized)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/86 "2018-07-15T20:28:50Z")
Socialist/Liberal. How many can distinguish between them. As for the old Conservatives dying off. I think of Hillary, Pelosi, Schumer. Duplicitous handringers of the “people” will be gone too. Racism is an obsolete word. Dead from overuse. ---
**Author:** ![Parkerized](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@Parkerized](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parkerized)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/87 "2018-07-15T20:35:40Z")
Mature adults, men and women of all colors “lean conservative”. Regardless of how they vote. > **[Hard Evidence: do we become more conservative with age?](https://theconversation.com/hard-evidence-do-we-become-more-conservative-with-age-47910)** > > We know that older people are more likely to vote conservative: but is this because of their age, or their generation? ---
**Author:** ![Parkerized](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@Parkerized](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parkerized)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/88 "2018-07-15T20:41:05Z")
“No. We just can’t trust the American people to make those types of choices … Government has to make those choices for people.” – Hillary Clinton Hillary definately is better qualified… Or even Bill…“I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” If sexual deviation is the standard for political office. You either a Liberal or you aren’t. Only a Democrat can use one standard and two meanings. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/89 "2018-07-15T20:46:32Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > This is like being ashamed of your wife because she got a bad haircut. The US has done so much for the world and humanity in general that it is crazy to be ashamed of the country because of a bad person is president. We have had worse presidents and yet managed to still be a force for good in the world. It would be more like being ashamed of your wife because she wasn’t the one that you proposed to, but she was the one the electoral college made you marry. Then, even before you have had a chance to carry her across the threshold, she is out on your lawn with a megaphone yelling racial epithets at your neighbors, and even at a few of your children. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/90 "2018-07-15T23:53:31Z")
Parkerized, this is a debate forum, not a fling-shit-at-the-wall rant forum. Posting multiple one-liners is not a debate. If you need to rant, take it to The BBQ Pit. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/91 "2018-07-15T23:55:48Z")
That said, this thread seems to be more suited to IMHO than to Great Debates. The thread is being moved, (although the instructions to Parkerized apply equally in IMHO). ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/92 "2018-07-16T00:51:41Z")
It’s just as dumb as being proud of it. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/93 "2018-07-16T00:53:11Z")
Ashamed of many of my fellow Americans including some Board members here, but no, certainly not ashamed to be an American. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/94 "2018-07-16T02:08:27Z")
I haven’t been proud to be an American since I was a kid. And I haven’t felt that I was _really_ an American for decades now, except in the purely geographic sense. I’m just somebody who happens to live here, surrounded by a nation that hates me and will always hate me. ---
**Author:** ![betterlifethroughchemistry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/betterlifethroughchemistry/32/3094_2.png) [@betterlifethroughchemistry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betterlifethroughchemistry)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/95 "2018-07-16T02:56:18Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > In about two weeks, I’m going to Europe. It’s my first trip across the ocean, and it’s something I’ve wanted to do all my life. > > I really wish I’d done it back when Obama was President. I’m not really looking forward to being an American over there, right now. I traveled extensively for business while Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43 and Obama were POTUS, and have taken several trips while Trump has been in office, to include Canada, China, Japan, Taiwan, England, Spain, France, Switzerland, Mexico and Germany…I’ve found the VAST majority of people don’t judge you for your nationality, but how you treat them, be nice, they’re pretty much willing to be nice to you…if politics come up, just be honest, explain your feelings, it’s fine… I’m amazed that people feel like they have targets on their backs when they travel internationally, most people you’ll encounter don’t care…the worst things I’ve had happen to me are to be called ‘gringo’ (which can be bad) in Mexico and ‘gweilo’ in Hong Kong and, ‘laowei’ in China…it was at times derogatory, but mostly observational, and it’s fine, so, you are American, so what, the vast majority of people you will encounter are intelligent enough to understand you are a person and not a representative of the Trump administration… Last year, my 84-year old mother went on a three-week trip throughout China, I first traveled to China in 1985, she kept saying, “I guess I’ll eat rice for three weeks, I’m too worried to eat anything”, I kept telling her, “Mom, the food is awesome, it’s fresh, it’s diverse, it’s not mall food court Chinese”, she’d say, “I just don’t know”…she came back, I asked, “How was the food?”, she said, “It was fantastic”, I said, “Yup…” Don’t worry about it, don’t project your concerns upon people who just want to be treated the same as you do, being a private citizen is fine, the worst that will happen is someone will say something about you (or America) in their native language, and if you don’t speak it, so what? The more common and better thing is conversing with people of other cultures and getting an understanding of each of your lives, that is the cooler and far more meaningful thing that can happen… Some of the really fun things that have happened to me was to bar hop with a couple of Aussies in Shanghai, my boss and I being dragged into a wedding party in Frankfurt, black market shopping in Stanley Bay, impromptu tours of southern England with people I met at the BnB I was staying in, getting dragged into an Irish foursome to play golf in Wales, just too many to list…be open minded, people are generally nice… ---
**Author:** ![betterlifethroughchemistry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/betterlifethroughchemistry/32/3094_2.png) [@betterlifethroughchemistry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betterlifethroughchemistry)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/96 "2018-07-16T03:33:54Z")
I know the majority of the SDMB membership leans to the left, and at the risk of being pitted (which I don’t care about), I find the OP’s question to be a bit superfluous…it’s a First World question, we live in a time and place where I would have believe the vast majority of the members of the SDMB have cell phones, cars, internet access, all the trappings of a modern world, they are not worried about where their next meal comes from, and GENERALLY (OK, this one might be an issue) have access to decent medical care…the point is, we have the time and place to entertain such a question because others before us have sacrificed to create this nation… Is it perfect? No, of course not…Does it have a tainted past? Absolutely…Is it the place that others outside of this country aspire to live in - yes, absolutely…America still offers the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness other nations do not… I’m am proud of America as my great-great Grandfather came over from Scotland in 1859 at the age of 14, and not being able to find a job (the Scottish got lumped in the Irish bucket, i.e., “Irish Need Not Apply”), joined the 95th PA Infantry in 1861, was shot through the neck at Spotsylvania, recovered in two months and finally mustered out in July 1865 in DC… I’m proud because my grandfather flew combat missions in the South Pacific in WWII…I’m proud because my father flew four years in the USAF and 27 years in the MDANG…I’m proud that my oldest son serves as a 35G in the US Army…all of which they have done as volunteers to help protect and serve our country… I’m proud of this country because we offer excellent opportunity, that we’ve survived bad presidents, that administrations come and go, but the resolve to keep America the freest nation in the world continues…why else would people want to come here and not stay in their country? In my lifetime, we’ve survived Johnson (who ramped up Vietnam), Nixon (Watergate, et al) Reagan, (which many of my undergrad friends were CONVINCED would cause WWIII), Carter, Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43, Obama, and you know what? We’ll survive Trump…stop it…look around…we’re OK… ---
**Author:** ![betterlifethroughchemistry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/betterlifethroughchemistry/32/3094_2.png) [@betterlifethroughchemistry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betterlifethroughchemistry)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/97 "2018-07-16T04:43:33Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I haven’t been proud to be an American since I was a kid. And I haven’t felt that I was _really_ an American for decades now, except in the purely geographic sense. I’m just somebody who happens to live here, surrounded by a nation that hates me and will always hate me. Please expand upon that statement. As someone who does feel proud to be an American, it really upsets me to see you feel that way…‘surrounded by a nation that hates me and will always hate me’ is a really powerful thing to say and I would hope we could discuss this further to understand your feelings… I worked 10 years in an area of Baltimore which was predominately black…I had graduated from undergrad and was working on a grad degree…so I landed at a company that was all black as far as the workforce, but owned by a white guy…I got along great with everyone - the guys were great, I got to be good friends with the foreman, they teased me about being the ‘white guy’, yes, they called me, ‘honkey’ at times in jest… But there were times when I was driving through the area to go home where I was verbally attacked, “What the fuck you doing here, white boy??”, The the women were the worst, banging on my car window, “Get the fuck out of here!!” I would tell the guys my experiences, they laughed, they felt bad, but they also would say, “Sorry, get used to it…” It always upset me, I was raised by very rational parents to never be racist, so I had no understanding how to respond when I was attacked racially, I just looked forward and hit the gas when the light changed… I am sure nobody on the SDMB can understand or believe me, but it did happen… Our company was a little specialty chemical company, one evening, I had flown on a Friday evening, I needed to return the instrumentation I had brought on the trip, I was was pulled over by some Baltimore PD officers, they searched my car, they only let me go when I convinced them I was clean as they thought the only reason a white boy would be in that area was to get drugs or a prostitute… ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/98 "2018-07-16T05:48:12Z")
My government is not my country. They are two very different things. I was proud to be an American when Obama was president, even though I loathed Obama and all he stood for. I’m proud to be an American now that Trump is president, and even though I support Trump, it has nothing to do with him. I love my country, it’s principles, its Constitution, its philosophy, and its dedication to freedom. I don’t agree with Trump; he agrees with me. God bless the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/99 "2018-07-16T15:53:28Z")
Not ashamed, not really proud (because I’m not much of a nationalist as opposed to feeling let down). Pretty much everything gripeworthy about the USA can be applied to nearly every other land in any given century. The USA is in a bit of a state these days : deeply politically divided, questionable people elected into office, abysmally (given our potential) educated. But that doesn’t have to mean we’ve failed. The state of a nation I think is not unlike the state of a person. Sometimes we’re at our best, sometimes not. We could do with a shave, maybe a few hours at the gym and less time in front of the bottle… But things could be so much worse. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833/100 "2018-07-16T16:53:31Z")
Most of the of the US expats here - like myself fall between ashamed and amused. The Angolan staff are truly mystified [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashamed-of-being-an-american/817833.md?page=6)