I’m proud to be an American, despite any number of flaws that detractors could point out. Cradle of democracy, land of the free, high standard of living, etc…we Americans have plenty to be proud of.
That got me thinking though… what are the sources of OTHER countries national pride? Former empires (UK, France, Spain, Russia) seem like a no brainer. China is an up-and-comer. Greece and Italy of course trace back to antiquity, and have centuries of history and culture. But I’m mostly wondering about the smaller/less well known countries of the world (Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Andorra, Tajikistan, etc).
Surely residents of these countries are swelling with national pride (First to do, best at, known for, etc) What brings a tear to their eye as their national anthem plays?
Please no judgements of whether or not something is worthy of being proud of.
I’m a proud American, too, and am chiming in here to share that when vacationing in Canada a few years back on a 1st of July, I was in Chemainus in British Columbia, on Vancouver Island. I hadn’t heard of Canada Day before, and saw a few houses flying their national colors, and asked a couple of nice elderly ladies about it. They said that Canadians didn’t make as much of a “big deal” about their day as Americans did about the 4th of July. They also said they wish more Canadians were proud about their country like Americans are.
No shortage! Nearly every country has some great accomplishment, some triumph of art, science, philosophy, or engineering. Or warfare.
Great minds have come from nearly every country on earth. Great events are scattered widely.
The English can be proud of Shakespeare. The Egyptians (even modern ones) can be proud of 4,000 years of history and being one of the several the originating sites of human civilization. Japan and China can be proud of their ancient heritage of advanced civilization.
Some might say it’s silly to be “proud” of the accomplishments of others, long ago, but I don’t agree. I can be proud of being a citizen of the same country as Washington, Jefferson, and Madison; the light of their genius shines on in all Americans, just as the light of the Magna Carta shines on in all Britons.
France : we had the balls to chop our king’s head off in the name of liberty instead of fleeing overseas and calling him names from across an ocean, so there’s that :).
Napoleon was kinda badass for a mass-murdering tyrant ; but more generally we kicked the ass of pretty much everyone in Europe and beyond at some point or other (got our asses kicked a bunch too, but none of those count). Joan of Arc, very big in Brit-despising circles - and Japan, for some reason. The Sun King, bit ostentatious but damn if he didn’t make the ridiculous wig work.
Other than history, we know all about sex, most things about food, there’s lots of plonk to go around and it’s tough to have a go at us when it comes to all things artsy fartsy. Best healthcare in the world, bar none (how we make it work is another issue altogether). Biggest bestest military of all the non-superpowers, savvy enough not to swing it overly much (any more). I hear we’re pretty decent at soccer too, if that’s your thing.
You’re mistaken re:the former empire however. We tend to conveniently forget all about our colonial past these days. When we don’t we always have to remember about the Algerian War at some point and that’s super-depressing for a slew of reasons. Many of which having to do with having been monstrous racist cunts throughout.
Not really; I mean, most Spaniards are pretty happy to have all these other countries that speak the same language but we wouldn’t use the word “proud”. We’re more likely to be “proud” of specific individuals, and they’re often the same ones whose display of our social virtues and defects make us laugh or shake our heads.
Mio Cid was a great warrior; he was also much more of a “straight arrow” than many of our countrymen past or present, and landed himself in hot water quite a few times over it. Those guys who took dismantled ships over the Istmus, no, they weren’t stubborn, what do you mean? Cortés and his line on the sand. El Pachi (aka Francis Xavier) going where no man (well, ok, a few) had gone before - I mean, dude had more miles than an airline pilot. Isabel of Castille, who wasn’t what you’d call “normal” by either contemporary or current standards, but who wouldn’t have achieved what she did if she had been. There are also a bunch of artists and writers and whatnot, but it’s not as if any other country doesn’t have those - there was only one Velázquez but also only one Leonardo, only one Cervantes but also only one Shakespeare; we’re happy to have had them here but equally happy to be able to enjoy the works of foreign artists, whether they happened to work here or not.
Remember that, for many countries, nationality and ethnicity are closely tied together, so national pride and ethnic pride overlap, as opposed to places like the US where they are distinct entities.
I have always respected the way the French dealt with their kings. No one throws a revolution quite like the French.
Napoleon was very badass. And when compared to contemporary European rulers I think he comes across as a relatively benevolent dictator who helped propel much of Europe into the modern age. He was also, of course, not a Frenchman but an Italian living in France.
One of the neat things about being an American is that I can be proud of being an American but I can also be proud of my Italian/German/British heritage.
Your war against the Vietnamese wasn’t exactly 'sporting" either.
Oh well…
I’m happy to live in the United States. There are many parts of its history that are frankly deplorable ( the treatment of Native Americans and the lack of civil rights for Black Americans for centuries being chief among them,IMO) but it’s my home and I don’t plan moving any time soon.
I’d have to give up my guns if I did and that would be the biggest tragedy of them all…
Dunnow, I was thinking of the burned ships actually. That one’s credited to Cortés or to “that Macedonian guy” depending on who you listen to (first time I’ve seen it credited to Alex has been a google as of five seconds ago).
I can be ‘proud’ of something I did - something I achieved - but it gets weird quickly if you’re talking about a stranger or bunch of strangers. Extra weird if it’s not in my lifetime.
Am I proud of Issac Newton or the Battle of Britain? er no. Am I proud of the NHS? kind of.
Yeah, I’m not really proud of being American, I was born here and all my stuff is here, but I’m not really proud of it, it’s not like I landed on the moon.
I would agree. For the vast majority of people reading this, you are probably American simply because you were born here. So it is sort of like being proud you are tall, or white, or a man or have good health, or have great teeth. Luck of the draw and if it makes you happy, good for you. But it is not like you had much choice in the matter.
Then again, no reason not to be proud of your country when they do good things - and the USA is pretty good with financial support for some countries, with helping with science and medicine and other real life aid to other people/countries. I think the USA (as well as other countries) have a few things that might not go down in history as being our shining moments.
