I really like living in the United States. I hear quite a lot of people on Straight Dope complain about all the problems in the United States, people commenting how backwards our policies are, the wastefulness and decadence we live in that is supposedly absent in the homes of Canadians and Europeans. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
But I must say that I am very satisfied with it and wouldn’t have it any other way. Often I feel like a minority in this regard- everybody always seems to bring up the bad things, always trying to undermine everything I am proud about.
These days, the word “Patriotic” seems to have a vulgar, almost scatalogical connotation to the international community. I think that is kind of sad- I wished it were possible to be proud of the place you live without having that pride somehow make other people feel threatened.
With you, Inc.
There are lots of nice places in the world, and I’ve visited some, but I still like it here.
I hope this doesn’t turn into another America-bashing thread, as suggested by Gorgon’s comment.
Almost everybody likes the place they grow up in; our own familiar ways just seem right to us regardless of what they are, and everything can always be improved.
One of the many things I like, here, though, is that if you don’t like the way things are where you are, you have a good chance of finding someplace else in the country that’s more to your liking. And you can work in your own way to make the place where you are better.
I think the phrase you are looking for is “sour grapes.”
I, too, feel that patriotism is looked down upon. Lately, that is because some real assholes are wrapping themselves in the flag and declaring their undying, unconditional adoration of The State. Sometimes, being patriotic means pointing out the flaws in the system, or standing up for what you know is correct, not what is “Right.”(pun intended)
But this is the greatest country the world has ever seen, and that makes others jealous, envious, and vindictive.
Nothing negative meant, MLS - merely being pragmatic in a whimsically time-stream-ignoring way.
I certainly agree it’s one of the best countries in the world, as far as opportunities for education, quality of life, and numerous other things go.
I also acknowledge there are problems.
I don’t think its a bad place, I just feel that at this time other countries may be justified in disliking us. That is, current policies and military actions, etc.
On the whole, we are some very good people who would, if we could, bend over backwards for any other people in the world, and I think that should really count more in public opinion abroad than what our government does.
I agree. hating the US and blaming the US (and the US alone) for all the worlds problems is a viable political philosophy now. Even though the US is far from perfect, we do still have much to offer the world.
What i don’t get is why europeans hate us but people in places like Guatemala, the Phillipines or Vietnam (areas the US supposedly f*cked over hard) like us. Makes no sense. The vietnamese like the US and US citizens more than the brits do.
Politicians, presidents and congresses come and go. Five years ago there were people here saying the country was going to heck because of all the <insert criticism here> that the <expletive deleted> Bill Clinton was doing that gave us a bad name because of how he <insert action here>. Of course, now you can simply change the name and insert different contents in the brackets.
During each crisis we’ve faced, a goodly portion of everybody claims that terrible things will happen and it’s all the fault of <the current people-in-charge><the previous people-in-charge>.
In general, most Americans are hard-working, generous and forgiving. (Remember I said MOST, and that does not include certain members of my father’s family…)
They are often idealistic to a fault. Most genuinely want for no one to suffer the horrors of hunger, slavery, disease, natural disaster and tyranny. They really would like to fix everything and make everything well. And they often believe this is possible, against all evidence to the contrary.
Oh, no, not again that “US is the country with more freedom of the world” thing. sight it was in the XVIII century, but I don´t think it is now. I´ll bet I´m as free (or even more) in my country than you in yours anyday. Come to Spain, we´ll buy you a drink.
By the way, I´ve heard a lot of things about US, the one which catched my attention most was this: “US are the countyr with the best people ruled by the worst rulres”. Allright, maybe next year I´m paying a visit to US (my cousin is working in Chicago), any suggestions/advice?
I’m quite certain you are just as free. I would venture a guess that the ‘most free’ country on earth is probably Norway or Sweden. In fact, according to the NGO freedom house, roughly 1/2 the modern governments on the planet qualify as liberal democracies, which mean they are electoral governments that respect civil, political and (i think) human rights.
i’ve never heard that one. I doubt you can classify a nation of 300 million that way. Most americans i’ve known however were polite and respectful. Don’t know how chicago is, just stay out of the ghetto.
well, i don’t think being patriotic should be looked down on, one thing that makes me glad to be american is the fact that its ok to criticize the government. just because some of us speak our mind doesn’t mean we don’t think its a pretty nice play, its because we can do so that makes it great.
There are ways in which other countries (to certain people) would be superior to this one. It’s a taste thing; I don’t think it’s really that hard to understand.
Can we PLEASE not turn this into “people shouldn’t complain about the U.S., it rules?” Pointing out flaws doesn’t not equate with hating the U.S., and it does NOT mean sour grapes.
As mentioned earlier, I think it’s the assholes who are doing the uber-patriotism thing who have people feeling threatened.
There are probably a lot of women and people of color who believe it is a heck of a lot more free now than it was in the 1700s.
I am glad that you also feel free in Spain; nobody said otherwise.
All some of us are saying is that we like it here. In fact, as I said earlier,
You could probably start another thread about all the wonderful things about Spain; I’m sure there are a lot of them. And I’m sure as an honest person you could probably think of things in Spain that you hope to improve, right? Surely you don’t begrudge others the pleasure of saying what they like about their own home, do you?
The right to bitch endlessly about it with no repercussions other than heated debate.
The right to “armchair quarterback.” Along with every single red-blooded American, I know exactly what should have been done, and who was wrong for doing what.
The right to complain about taxes, but oppose funding cuts in my favorite social programs. As an American, it’s my God-given right to demand to eat my cake and have it, too.
We Americans are a quarrelsome, rebellious and selfish lot, but we’re also capable of great acts of generosity, compassion, and the determination to always try to make things * better. * Sure, we make blunders and sometimes backtrack along the way, but our nation is in continuous renewal as we try, albeit clumsily sometimes, to make the world a better place.
Despite all of our flaws, I think this is a great nation, if only because its people so want it to be. We really do want an honest, free, and just nation. We want a Utopia. We’ve been working on it for 200 years now, and we’ve made a lot of progress, though there’s much ahead of us. Just imagine where we’ll be in 200 more.
I don’t really have a lot of use for patriotism. Being “proud” of your nationality always struck me as sort, well, I don’t want to say “stupid”…
I’m proud of my college degree. I’m proud of my skills as a machinist. I’m proud of my high score in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4. These are all things I’ve worked hard at to achieve. I didn’t have to do a damned thing to be an American. It’s just the place my parents happened to be nine months after they fucked. I consider myself very lucky to be an American, but I can’t say I’m proud of it. Unless you’re George Washington, being proud of being an American seems… cheap to me. It’s like being proud of being right handed, or having blonde hair.
That said, I do get annoyed when people spend so much time complaining about what’s wrong with America that they lose sight of how fortunate they are to live here. Things could certainly be better, but they could be a hell of a lot worse.
I’m proud to be an American. While it is basically a cosmic lottery sorta deal in that I was born here I believe that truly patriotic people who have a right to feel ‘proud’ of their country are entitled to that pride because being a true ‘patriot’ means that you put work into being a good American citizen. If you’re some shchmoe who got lucky and was born in Wala Wala Washington then proceed to cheat on your taxes, never give to charity, break every law you can get away with, never vote, have no idea about your government and take no interest at all in affairs not immediately concerning you, complain endlessly, always find problems and never any solutions, ect. ect. ect… you have no right whatsoever to the pride that comes with being a good citizen of this country. On the other hand if your the kind of person (and there are untold millions of them) who is kind to strangers, gives to good causes, believes in the best spirit of what it is to be American, make a point to vote (and be an informed voter), make a point to be law abiding where your conscience permits, try to make things better instead of assigning blame, serve our nation in it’s times of need (even if you feel it means to protest) and respect those who put themselves in harm’s way for the rest of us (even if you don’t necessarily agree with what they’re being sent to do), you can feel jusitifably proud to be an American in my book. The pride doesn’t come simply from being born here, but in making the home you find yourself in a better place.
I have been to America several times and I love the place. I love that places like the Castro in SF and Biblesville, Alabama can exist within the one country. I love the way that freedom means different things to different people. I love New York, the most energised place I’ve ever been to and I loved the Grand Canyon, one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever had the pleasure to see. Americans have created something special and unique over the years and you are right to be proud of that achievement.
So, please, when someone like me says that your President is dangerous, that your foreign policy is mostly misguided or that your supports for the weakest in society are insufficient, don’t do me the disservice of hearing nothing more than “I hate America”.
