Are you proud to be an American?

It is indeed subjective, and as such - a discussion which is counter-productive to pursue at any length.

As I mentioned in another thread - national hubris is such an unattractive trait - is it not?

 

Well that depends.

If your GOOSE STEPPING AND BURNING BOOKS then YES.....national hubris is an unattractive trait.

If your a Nation that has a LOT to be proud of....and I personally am PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN as I believe the single most important document ever written in History even if the slave issue was not resolved at first....would be without a doubt THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE BILL OF RIGHTS.

There simply was nothing ever like it written previously and it genius is it's ability to adapt and evolve while still maintaining it's core values.

And I am PROUD to protect it.

AboveAlpha

 

Just as Italians are proud to be Italian and Mexicans are proud to be Mexicans, I am a proud American.

Got a problem with that friend?

 

Some members dwell on the Mistakes that the U.S. has made over the years and we have made mistakes but NOTHING like the mistakes made in the Histories of other Nations.

We developed a Democratic Republic which alone is Genius as Majority Rules by Vote....but the RIGHTS OF THE MINORITY MUST ALWAYS BE UPHELD CONSTITUTIONALLY.

The amount of GOOD that the United States does around the world is unmatched.

And when disasters hit....the U.S. Navy and Military are there.

No ther Nation donates anywhere near what the U.S. Donates as far as Food, Water, Medicine, Agricultural Aid....and just about every other form of Aid that can be imagined and not only does the U.S. Government supply such massive amounts of Aid but so do the people of the U.S. who are always generous.

AboveAlpha

 

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I am proud of what America once stood for but given the events since WWII, am not proud what it stands for today. We are already a nation being manipulated by the amoral (or immoral) corporations and banks into doing crimes against humanity.

 

Such things are so in every nation but we the American Voters can CHANGE THINGS.

The most powerful person in the world is a person with a VOTE to cast.

AboveAlpha

 

Wish I could click the 'like' button more than once for this post!!
Thank you for all you do for us!!!!

 

Thank the Guy's.

They are the very best of us.

AboveAlpha

 

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Those are sublime, lofty words but lost amidst the cacophony of lies, political criminality, corporate malevolence and mindless partisanship which has become this country.

 

I am extremely proud to be an American. Despite our flaws, we are still the number one force for good and stability. Our past is a glorious one, filled with tragedy and triumph, and despite all the odds, our nation rose to the top, and remains there today. Nearly every generation of my family has served in the U.S. military since the founding of this great nation, and I proudly carry on the tradition today, still serving in the U.S. Army after over 17 years. Despite so many efforts to destroy this nation's great heritage, the USA and her traditions still endure, and I believe will strengthen rather than decline as the silent majority grow less silent. God Bless America.

 

National hubris means its arrogant for an American to be proud of their country to you?

If you are proud of being the biggest kid in the school yard, why must that be arrogant? Arrogant would be bullying other kids, but America protects smaller kids like england and eastern europe from other big kids like russia and china.

 

No I am not. Pride is something that should be reserved for things that you achieve on your own power. Something that happens by accident of birth is not something you should be proud over.

Unless you are a newbie, like say a Mexican, Asian, Indian, your ancestors worked, sacrificed, fought, and died; and paid for this country so their descendants would have a 'better live for themselves'. You are not the kind of person that 'reared' this country from its birth. I don't know about your ancestors.
Even when I was a flaming liberal I was proud to be an American. I didn't realize it though. But, if anyone would have asked me to pack up and move to another country, I would have said, "No, I like it here."

 

If those Americans who have answered that they are not proud to be American are not cheating and they are real American, US is below my expectations about patriotism. That's an "Italian" result [Italians are usually not that proud of their country, it's an Italian historical vice].

 

I agree, people who can trace their family tree back to the revolutionary war where they defeated the tyrannical british for freedom have more rights to be proud of America. Those with ancestors in the first two world wars as well, immigrants who build the country today with cheap labor are benefiting from their sacrifices.

Active or veteran military earned the right most because they achieved it presently, rather than relying on what their ancestors sacrificed.

I think what we can all agree on as Americans who are each very proud of our country, is that foreigners are jealous of American success.

 

Yes, you CAN cheer without feeling personal pride, but that's a pretty stupid thing to do. Why wear my Ole Miss jersey at the football games if I don't feel pride wearing it?

I see your point, but I truly think if you asked those crazy soccer fans if they felt pride for their country, you and I both know what they would say.

 

No - national hubris applies to any nation, but as far as I am concerned, you are the exception where Americans are concerned. The fact that you correctly capitalise the word America, and incorrectly do not where England, Europe, Russia, and China is concerned tells me something of your attitudes. Most Americans are more even handed and polite.

The USA (America is a couple of continents,) has much to be proud of, but none of my American friends would dream of articulating the national hubris some have done in this thread - they are much too well brought up. I have the highest regard for Americans as is the due of a friendly and generous people, but the myth of the USA saving and protecting the world from all evil is evident in a cursory examination of conflicts such as Vietnam and Iraq. The USA, as with all other nations, acts in its own domestic and international interests, and no one should expect otherwise.

As I said, you have much about which to commend your society - fantasies about global supremacy and extraordinary virtue are unnecessary. And you may find that less strident self-congratulation will elicit more frequent and far greater compliments from others.

 

Vietnam helped stopped the spread of communism, that was in the interests of a free world and deserving of American pride. Iraq had unsecured oil, the global economy is built around this energy source and it must be secured. That is also worthy of being proud of, and is in the interests of the international community as it relates to the free world and not tyrannical states.

Is it a fantasy that Russia is running expansive military drills in Europe, or shooting down civilian passenger commercial planes?

With all Respect Sir, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? America has a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Iraq and Vietnam, and you curse American patriotism as "arrogance". You have that luxury. That those wars, while tragic, probably saved lives. And America's existence, while incomprehensible to you, saves lives.

I feel compliments by Europeans are necessary, as they rise and sleep under the blanket of the very freedom that America provides. And no my friend from across the pond, it is not global supremacy that we are proud of, we are proud of the fact that we are defenders of the free world.

 

You are allowed to feel whatever you wish. I am proud to be an American. I'm proud to be part of the most successful social experiment in the history of mankind. Yes, it's an accident of birth, but I will admit, I would be proud of whatever country I was born a citizen of.

 

Why would I have "pride" in something I had no control over?

 

Nationalism is a collectivist mental disease that encourages people to divorce themselves from their individual identities and to replace it with some nominal group entity that is defined almost exclusively by its subservience to a centralized state. It's one of the last things any rational person should take "pride" in.

 

If you cheer for a football team, or any other sports team, you are praising THEIR work, not your own. What right do you have to feel pride over someone else's work.

 

Having pride for something doesn't require someone to have a "right" to feel that way. You can feel the way you want to feel.

 

Yes, I am. There was no accident of birth that gave me my Citizenship I was born a German Citizen and am a Naturalized Citizen and have earned my Citizenship due to my service to this Nation.

 

I have some Canadian Family Members.....Canada is nice....BUT TOO DAMN COLD!!! LOL!!

AboveAlpha

 

The only thing that is really A CRIME AND SHAMEFUL....is when people think they can't do anything about it or change it.

People can....they just need to get off thier A$$E$ and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!

NOTHING is impossible.

AboveAlpha