While I admit we are better off than most countries...

No. I'm not really all that proud to be American. We are still too close minded and stuck in the past.

What I am proud of is the fact that I was raised right.

warmaker : I love being an American… I will say though that there are times when I do get scared for the country and where it’s going but scared to the degree that I don’t vote because I see our voting process as a broken and flawed system. I voted in 2000 and 2004 and that was enough to convince me that it just wasn’t adequate.

I do know and speaking from the experience of someone who is disabled and doesn’t have the easiest time trying to get things done, that I would like to see our healthcare system nationalized. I don’t know if President Obama’s policies are necessarily the way to go. I’m not too familiar when it comes to things like insurance policies and red tape and such. I do know though that if there were a system similar to that of Canada’s where every citizen was guaranteed health insurance and was guaranteed the care they needed things would be much better. Another thing that I would like to see done is more jobs brought back to America and not outsourced, even telecommuting jobs which is becoming more and more the norm. It would obviously boost our economy and help us get back to where we were before the economic clasp and maybe at a point where it is stronger and more stable than it was then.

There have been times though where I have been so scared for the country and where things are heading that I have said that if I could afford it that I would consider moving to Canada for a while to see what the differences are. It seems like sometimes that the powers that be in Canada know something that we don’t and it seems like you never hear anything negative coming out of Canada. Where as here in the US no matter what’s going on politically, who’s in charge or, what’s going on in terms of current events there’s always something out there that stirs up anger and gets people fighting over things. It just seems really negative when you get down to it.

I have three relatives that I know of who served in the military, I would also like to see those who serve in the military and defend us better taken care of when they come home from active duty. As far as I’m concern for those who go and put their lives on the line for us, they and their families should be able to get anything that they need especially in regard to medical care and benefits. Just one man’s opinion.

We took land from native americans
We use to hang black people and hose them on the streets
We nuked the hell out of innocent japanese people overseas
We train terror cells around the world and scratch our heads why they turn on us
We hide aliens and cool things that the people should know
We screw our own citizens by employing people overseas
We open the flood gates to illegal aliens and pretend there is a border protection
We possibly have the worlds best military but took 10 years to find a man in a cave
We are scared of taliban when they don't even have their own airforce
We are broke but spend trillions more each year
We assist in terrorism and fear mongering with mass media
We tell people what to eat, how to dress, who to vote for
We allow people to get out of jail if they have lots of money
We allow corporations and sections of government to be corrupt because they have power to
We have top notch security until a middle eastern with box cutters make us look primitive
We split the country through politics instead of working together

I'm proud of my country, but I don't stand for what it represents and the people who run it. Land of the free = land of the corrupt especially if you are in a high status in society and have the power to pull strings. A lot of our problems originate because the people at top do not get punished for their corruption.

I absolutely hate that song... partially because I hate country music, partially because I heard it fifteen times last 4th of July... and partially because some of the lyrics honestly stuck me as offensive.

I may not support the actions of those in power all of the time, but I enjoy my right to be vocally opposed to it. I enjoy my right to practice my Pagan beliefs, even though many people around me would gladly want me arrested for it because they personally are ignorant and hateful. Our history may not always be one of honor, but neither is anyone else's... because we are human.

I suppose that, in the long run, while I may not be proud of my fellow Americans, I am still quite proud of my country.

Defining my country as uk or scotland would effect my answer.
One of them represents all I oppose.
The other is more in line with my ideals.
Neither are to be ashamed of, im lucky to be born in one of the richest most stable nations.

Here is what I believe.
I believe the economy is bust.
I believe the society is immoral and undisciplined.
I believe the government is corrupt and backward.
But here's what I also believe:
I believe that America is the only country where a man is fully a man.
I believe America is the only place where EVERYONE is entitled life, liberate, and the pursuit of happiness.
I believe that America is the ONLY country that fights for these rights, these rights THAT SHOULD BELONG TO ALL PEOPLE, not just for Americans but for ALL people!!
I believe America would gives these rights to everyone if they could!
I BELIEVE AMERICA is the strongest nation in the world because EVEN IF THE PEOPLE Don't ACT LIKE IT, OUR NATIONS STANDS FOR GOODNESS< GODLINESS, FREEDOM AND RIGHT!!!
I DON''T  believe in PEOPLE, I BELIEVE IN HUMANITY! I BELIEVE IN JUSTICE! I BELIEVE IN ALL RIGHTS FOR ALL HUMANS, GRANTED TO THEM SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE HUMAN!
AND I BELIEVE THAT AMERICA IS THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD WHERE THE BELIEFS ARE REALIZED!
So forget the economy, the selfish, corrupt government, and the ungrateful people! What I believe in
AMERICA!!!
And so I gladly fight and die for that belief, even if no one agrees with me or even cares; because I care. And in the end, we can decide what others stand for.
We decide we, ourselves, stand for.

JigSaw : You do realize almost all of that can be credited to other country's, not just America, right?

I think almost all of those things are inevitable and are not quality's of America, but Man kind.

Yes, I am proud to be American. I think anyone who is not proud of their country should move, or in the least, keep their mouth shut.

IN MY OPINION I think bad mouthing your own country is ignorant.

No I'm not referring to you jigsaw by that last one, I can understand most of your criticism , the ignorant comment is more towards a person who downright says America is bad or people who burn flags etc.

LegolasJJH :
If you accept that as part of your country you have low standards.
War, theft of land, in fact most of jigsaws comments, true or not, dont apply to a lot of modern countrys.
Which is what matters. All old nations were evil, even the usa.
So the only thing to judge is today.

And I vehemently disagree with what you said about speaking against your country. its freedom of speach. on top of that the greatest patriot is one who stands up and speaks up. who states all that is wrong no matter how others may react.
Because they love there country so much they want to make it better.

Someone outwith america may saying they think america, in terms of its system or policys is bad. Thats really an opinion, which theyre entitled to.
If you live in the usa and downright hated it I would wonder why you didnt want to move, but to each his own I guess.
Burning flags is pretty low, but you should think of it this way(there's a swear in this):

As Shaw put it, patriotism is the conviction that your country is better than all the other countries because you were born in it.

Patriotism serves no purpose, other than to polarise countries against each other. And it is silly. We are all human, and all humans have the same potential. Arbitrary lines in the dirt do not make some people better than others.

Traduweise :
Very nicely put.
However I think that, as you work together as a society ( if you dont what a poor nation indeed) something you can take pride in is progresive achievements. Better education, tackling issues like global warming and renewable energys, succesfully helping other nations to achieve that.
A little rivalry can be beneficial. Its when youre blinded by your flag that bad things happen. If your focus is on institutions and advancement, it serves as an example for others and isnt a matter of being better than them.
Granted thats rarely, if ever, the case.
It would be an ideal model though.

And patriotism as we know it does serve a purpose. It allows nations to balance the books on the death of others, and keep the working class in line with the idea that you owe something to the nation, that you should do as told without questioning it.
If it wasnt patriotism driving that it would be something else though.
Race, gender, religion. People love division.

thenumberone : That's the thing. There is no reason for me to be any prouder of the accomplishments of my society than the accomplishments of any other society. The entire concept of a nation is out of date; globalisation is a reality, and it's time countries started working together and putting petty differences aside. That will get far more done than each country working indepdently. Rivalry can also be beneficial, but once again, there should be no difference between rivalry between people regardless of where they live.

Yes, patriotism does have other purposes. Just not any beneficial ones.

A country is not a living entity. Therefore unless you personally know all three hundred million inhabitants of it and somehow find them all in the same boat (in which case you're a racist or an ethnocentric) it makes no sense whatsoever to speak of being "proud" (or "ashamed") of it. Individuals are all there is. The actions of individuals are all that matters.

Traduweise : I don't know about that.  I think patriotism and nationalism are fairly different things.  Just because you are proud of a nation, doesn't mean you have to judge other countries next to it.













Also, you don't have to dislike countries because you like your own country.  I hate North Korea on its own merits .

Dai_Jua : Nationalism and patriotism are just about the same thing. The only difference is that nationalism can also refer to a specific group of people; you don't necessarily need to be proud of your country to be a nationalist. But ultimately they both lead to the same thing: an unwarranted sense of superiority.

As for North Korea, while its government may be undesirable, it's quite a nice country with decent people. Just like any other. It's a real shame that you would judge an entire country so poorly over something most of its people have no control over. Is it their fault for being born there?

Traduweise : Both words do mean the same thing, but I meant that they're different in the way the words happy and glad are. They aren't different, but you perceive things differently when you say one or another (Sorry that I didn't clarify). Nationalism sounds a lot more negative went I think about it, while my perception of a patriot is someone with an admirable trait. Nothing is absolute. Pride isn't that terrible sin in moderation, in my opinion. It's very healthy to be proud of what you judge as good (considering you have fair judgement). What about not having enough pride? If someone is extremely pessimistic to the point that they think themselves or the people and things around them to be garbage, they run an unhealthy deficiency of pride.

We can go back and forth debating definitions, examples and whatnot, but the point I want to make is that things aren't black and white, if you were some idiot spouting how people should have pride for their country, right or wrong, I'd still counterpoint you. I don't think it is right to assume one result can come from every single form of one trait.

As for North Korea, it was just a joke, man. I don't have anything against North Koreans, just the North Korean government. In any case, it fails as a country. Any country that fattens its soldiers while starving its citizens is dispicable. Its not the people's fault, but they deserve a better government, if not a better nation. I guess I am sorry I made a joke on such a serious matter though.