Yeah, the concept of patriotism is long past, I fear. Once, you could be proud to be an American because of the great work and lofty ideals that the country was founded on. Now, the face of America in the world is one of an arrogant bully, insistent on doing everything it wants, regardless of the way the rest of the world wants to live. We have become an embarrassment to the founding fathers. The hypocricy of the actions of the USA compared to its noble founding principles is shameful. I don’t disparage the good work we do in certain places in the world - fewer and fewer, by the way, but being the richest country in the world obligates us to do many of these things. On the other hand, being wealthy doesn’t justify protecting “American Interests” internationally if that means attacking Iraq, for example, or ignoring international treaties. I hate president Bush and his corporate henchmen, and I’m damned ashamed to be called an American these days. And don’t go telling me to leave. I’d still be an American.
Agreed completely.
Only you forgot one point: Bush wasn’t exactly elected.
But yeah, we’re still the protectors of democracy, why do you ask?
I’m not going to resurrect the whole re-election controvesy but I can say yea, I’m not a fan of our president either. He’s arrogant and incompetent–not a good combination for a leader I’m afraid.
If your patriotism is dependant upon who sits in the oval office, than I respectfully don’t think you’re a patriot.
I’m a patriot of backyard barbecues and baseball games, of an imperfect people who despite failure strive to live up to high standards of goodwill and equality. I’m a patriot of people of opposite poiltical affiliations yelling at each other in the street in anger, and then working together in harmony anyway. I’m a patriot of all the people that ran towards a collapsing world trade center to help others. I’m a patriot because I beleive that of all the nations that have ever existed there has been no other with our capacity and desire to do good, and I believe that there is none that has none as much good.
Yawn. You people are getting old, and you blathering makes you sound like children who dropped their ice cream cone on the sidewalk. You and yours just string together random thoughts with no sort of connection whatsoever. “We have become an embarrassment to the founding fathers. The hypocricy of the actions of the USA compared to its noble founding principles is shameful.” Would those noble principles include slavery and only allowing men to vote? What the fuck are you talking about? You don’t have to like the administration in power, hell, I didn’t like Bill Clinton and I’m not a HUGE fan of GWB (though I’m glad it isn’t Al Snore) but even when Clinton was in power it didn’t mean I loved my country any less. You nation is not a football team that you can decide to follow when it is winning and drop when they have an off year.
We aren’t perfect, but no one is.
I thank god every day that he put me in the lucky 3% of human beings fortunate enough to have been born American. I’m even thankful that I live in a country where people are free to make complete asses of themselves - the people who use their freedom of speech to complain about us trying to give citizens of another country those same freedoms, while at the same time spouting off about our obligations to share our good fortune with the rest of the world. I’m proud to live in a country where I can disagree on every point with another person and yet coexist peacefully and without fear of reprisal other than those consequences which are the natural result of my own actions. And though I disagree with what you’re saying with every fiber of my being, I’ll defend to the death your right to say it. Too bad you won’t do the same.
I agree with you Scylla, I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else (apologies to our foreign Dopers but that’s my opinion). Unfortunately, Bush and his merry band of morons don’t deserve to lead our country, they don’t deserve one drop of the blood that’s being shed for our ideals, and they certainly don’t deserve one iota of our trust. As far as I’m concerned, if you have the honor of being selected to lead our country, you’d better spend every waking minute making sure you do it well. And if you decide to go to war, you damn well better make sure you a) have no other alternatives and b) do it right. I’m not arguing we shouldn’t have taken out Saddam but Bush sure as hell didn’t do b). He still isn’t, in fact. Bush doesn’t deserve to be C-in-C and neither do his pals. They’re single-handedly dragging this great nation through this bloody quagmire because of their shortsighted, ignorant and incompetent policies. Fuck 'em.
IMO it is perfectly patriotic to hate Bush. I loathe the man. But that’s one of the nice things about being in this (and many other these days, I know) country; we CAN loathe the president. I think he’s a disgrace to the office he holds. I think he’s an incredibly dangerous idiot.
But dammit, I’m an American, and that’s just not going to change. Even if I tried. The solution to this is not “love it or leave it” it’s “love it and FIX IT DAMMIT.”
I just hope the OP wasn’t one of the nimrods who voted for Nader in swing states. AFAIC, every person who voted for that posturing asshole, especially in Florida, owes the rest of the nation–hell, the world–for helping to defeat Gore and put Bush and his droogs into the White House.
I despise President Bush, and I consider myself a patriot. I’m even a conservative, about most things. Ditto to everyone who says patriotism and support for the president have nothing to do with each other.
“I love my country, but I fear my government.”
Why does it obligate us to do anything? According to whom?
Sure he was. Bush won the Electoral College vote 271-267. In case you haven’t been paying attention, that’s the way Presidents are elected under the Constitution.
When I was in our military in the early 70’s…I kept hearing America! Love it or leave it.
I always prefered America, change it or lose it.
The point is that in the state that put him over the election was marred with shenanigans. That is until the SCOTUS stepped in and said enough! We want Bush.
Put me in the “patriot, not Bushman” category. Honestly, I don’t know why anyone would associate the two.
Probably because idigenous hunter/gather tribesman are known for their strong nationalistic tendencies.
I’m no fan of the President personally, either. I don’t hate him. I am a Patriot.
So, CC, if Al Sharpton beats Bush in the 2004 race, would you be a Patriot then? Don’t spain any ankles jumping on and off that bandwagon, fair-weather pinhead.
But that’s absurd, scylla. Everyone knows Bushman prefer to function in loosely associated clan groups with little regard for geopolitical abstractions!
Except when coke bottles fall out of the sky, of course. Coke bottles can upset the balance of an entire society, especially when mixed with Hamburgers.
You owe me a new keyboard!
I’m no fan of Bush and frankly Clinton wasn’t nearly liberal enough to suit me. Every so often (happened a lot on the Fray on Slate) some conservative would tell me if I didn’t like things the way they are, why didn’t I leave the country. I’d always tell HIM (it was ALWAY a guy) to leave the country, and take two funnymentalists with him while he was at it. It’s my country, I’ll stay here an try to make it work even if its leaders are a bunch of maroons.
And, they are.