Mangetout: Part of the major difference between Democrats and Republicans is the floating cultural tension. That is, not how they differ, but that they exist to oppose one another. Long ago, they stared into the belly of the beast, and by and large, became that one creature, the politician, but that said, in opposition, they define themselves. That, and in the segments of the country they claim to represent. Which are somewhat considerably different.
And not too long ago, domestic products were the best in the world. And when they weren’t, they were more familiar, and thus best to a essentially insular culture. Remember, ‘domestic’ covers a sweep from NY cheesecake to Wisconsin Cheddar to California wines. So ‘domestic’ for us, is all the way from England to Russia. There’s a lot more to be domestic about.
Part of the inherent American patriotism is the fact that at heart, every one of us chose to be here. (Excepting the Native Americans, of course.) We, or our ancestors, left somewhere to find a better life here. And by and large, most of us did, we like to think. So if here is better than where we came from, of course it’s better than anywhere else.
It’s not especially logical, but there you go. Not only have Americans fought and died for their land, but they fought and died to make it what they want it to be, as well. Not by the whim of the ruler, but by the demand of the population.
There is an amount of self-determination at the core of every American that simply can’t be duplicated by your great mass of Europeans. And that’s probably the best explanation of our national patriotism as I can give you.
As far as guns, it’s like free speech and religion. They wouldn’t be such a big deal if people didn’t keep trying to take 'em away from us. (Note: This is a mention of emotional reactions, not logical ones.)
