American patriotism isn’t like everyone else’s patriotism. It’s a strange dichotomy where you can wear an American flag t-shirt covered in mustard stains and not be thought of as unpatriotic, but might get beaten to death if you were to fuck with a flag as a political statement.
Of course, South African patriotism isn’t like anyone else’s patriotism either. There was a documentary on ESPN the other day about the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and Mandela trotting out onto the pitch before the final wearing a Springboks shirt, and so on.
You don’t think it’s at all odd to expect people who don’t believe in God to ask for his blessing?
Being grateful to have been born here and being proud to have been born here are two different things.
The first is a good thing - Americans (and pretty much anyone not born into privation) should understand that they have it much better than most of the world’s population.
The latter is a completely nonsensical; being proud of being born American is like being proud of having blue eyes. It’s an accident of birth, not something you have any right to feel pride in.
Just popping in to express my relative lack of surprise that Angry Lurker’s objective, unbiased criteria for which countries are or aren’t worth a damn have failed to materialize.
I did. Didn’t reply, though, I never know when I should.
I’m OK with a sort of self-pride in the *ubuntu *mode, or the World Cup fever. I just don’t like celebration of the state as an entity, or its symbols. I cheer the Proteas, Springboks and Bafana on just fine without that.
Now, now, if you read his quotes and replies to my disdain, he mentioned that his rating was unbiased and objective because it was strictly abiding by criteria.
I disapprove of any public ritual that tends to identify some as in-group members and others as outsiders even when no outsiders are present.
I believe “pride” in one’s national or ethnic heritage is nothing positive and is a root of all brands of other-isms. I don’t know about people in other countries, but we here in America spend far too much time and spirit being proud of ourselves.
Nevertheless, I stand, so as not to stick out.
But what about for a rousing rendition of “Land Down Under”?
Our country is free because of the people that fought and died to make it so. People have forgot the history that made our country so great and free. It is out of respect we put our hand over our hearts. Yes, We have it so good and yet we cannot appreciate what we have so it will be taken from us by our own stupidity.
I say any person that does not put his hand over his heart and salute the flag is a traitor and not an American. He should be shipped off immediately to a third world country and forced to spend the rest of his life in charge of handing the NATO food drops.
So Patriotism is bad? Wait for what is coming to replace it. Only then will we appreciate the freedom we had but gave away. We are so dumb sometimes but history is doomed to repeat itself. Why is history doomed to repeat itself? Because we forget what is really important and it takes losing what we had to appreciate it. Has anyone checked out what is going on in Thailand? Probably not because only Siam is covering it. CNN won’t let us see it? We are headed there if we keep our heads in the sand.
The war cry of the fat, lazy, apathetic, American, “I want, I want, I want, I want what I want and I WANT IT MY WAY”! To hell with the greater good it’s all about me! No fair, I’m a minority and I deserve “blank” because we live in a free country. Abuse of freedom comes with a price. So you don’t want to be Patriotic?
Were going to get a big spanking soon and we deserve it. :smack:
Fortunately, nobody gives a shit what you say. Luckily for you, nobody cares what I say, either, because I say that any person with a P in their username is a traitor and not an American- and must be beaten to death with a flagpole.
It’s a fucking flag. It’s not sacred. It’s not even a particularly nice design. People who demand pointless displays of loyalty usually themselves spurn actual loyalty.
If you spend all day demanding that people respect the flag, you forget about respecting the country- and start doing things like calling people traitors for exercising the rights whose guarantee is our founding value.
It’s a fun tactic, you call someone a faker without actually accusing them of something. That so-called heterosexual Michael Savage who loves so-called homeopathic “medicine” isn’t saying anything about the President’s legitimacy, of course.
That’s just it - are you proud to be white? Proud to be tall? Proud to speak English? Like your nationality, these are accidents of birth (unless, of course, English is not your first language, which as far as I am aware is not the case).
You should take pride in your accomplishments, or those that you had a hand in- ie., your kids’, your spouse’s, your friends’, and so on. I think you’d admit that you have not personally made the United States of America a better/stronger/prettier/healthier/smarter nation… so why should you be proud?
