US Patriotism VS the Rest of the World

by Xena 107 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Francois

  "blinded ignorant patriotism" Please inform us the full meaning of this phrase; "blinded" by whom, ignorant of exactly what? Be very specific, but please inform us, oh do.

  Xena, you've been here long enough to recognize that Prisca (short for Pissy) has very definite opinions on every thing and is an expert on none of them. High School educations in Oz aren't what they are in developed countries. Stand by. When she answers the above question, if she answers the above question, you will see the depth of her reasoning and the width of her, well, the erm, width of um, the width of her ego.

  francois
• 

  Prisca

  Thanks ZW, and Francois, for explaining why America is the bestest country in the whole wide world, not to mention why American patriotism is different from patriotism from other countries. And thank you Francois, for trying to insult me, although you'll have to try harder than that, and if you did manage to insult me, you'd also be using

  1. "Insulting, threatening or provoking language" or
  2. "Inciting hatred on the basis of race, religion, gender, nationality or sexuality or other personal characteristic."

  I'm sorry that you take a rational discussion and think that my observations are on par with "America bashing". Unfortunately, recent discussions about the Iraqi war have shown that some Americans cannot distinguish the difference.
• 

  berylblue

  I was going to respond to these posts, but as I was typing I realized that not a thing I would write would change any one's opinions on Americans. People believe what they want to believe. It simply no longer matters to me if someone dislikes Americans or even me. Flame away, bomb away....whatever. I'm me, I'm American, and I'm so glad for those two things.

  Rosemarie
• 

  Prisca

  Who's said anything about disliking Americans? I thought this thread was about patriotism, and the differences between American patriotism and that of other countries.

  I found Italians have a very strong patriotic urge which is similar in it's ignorance, and one-sidedness, as that of Americans. But it doesn't mean I hate Italians, or Americans for that matter.

  It is very noteable that Americans take any type of criticism of their country so personally. I think that is one thing that makes these sorts of subjects difficult to discuss - the inability of Americans to look at themselves objectively.
• 

  Realist

  xena,
  

  very interesting topic! and something that i think was due to be discussed.
  

  It does bother me when people of other nationalities constantly make negative comments about the country I live in...kinda like when someone bad mouthing your family....you know they have those bad qualites and probably complain about them yourself....lol and it ok for you to do it, but you will be damned if anyone else can...it isn't because I don't see the bad, but I see the GOOD too....and believe it or not there is a lot of good here...

  i can 100% symaphize with this comment! however, one should not get so attached to a country that legitimate critisims is taken as a personal insult. the US as the most powerful nation does many things that effect all people in the world. that is the reason the US gets more critizised than any other country. be it the energy consumption, the suppression of 3rd world countries or the unscrupulous tactics with which competitors from other countries get screwed in the US to name a few issues...these are things that effect all of us and provoke critisism.

  many americans live under the impression that the US is the best country to live in and that the US gov. actually wants the best for people around the world. i have lived in manhattan and knoxville tennessee for a while and can just say that there are several european countries which offer a higher quality of life for the average citizen. nevertheless the US is under the top countries in the world and many aspects of US society are great! especially the unbreakable optimism and willingness to discover and invent. so imo it is absolutely ok to be proud of being a US citizen but it should be moderate. to view the US as greatest country in the world, to salute the flag and stay behind the US president (to view the US institutions as ifallible etc.) is however a little ignorant if i may say so.

  about my country...i am proud of the land i live in...if austrians win in a sport event i cheer for them etc. but i don'T view it as the greates country in the world, i don't be oblivious to the wrongs we did in the past and i certainly do not condone everything thats going on today. i am also not blind to the faults in my society. therefore i would never salute my flag, i would never view the austrian political institutions as something holy and would never say i cannot imagine to live anywhere else.

  cheers,

  Realist

  PS: because of berylblues comment i want to add that i have many friends in the US and in general met only very nice people! so critisim on US politics has NOTHING to do with disliking americans!
• 

  berylblue

  Who's said anything about disliking Americans? I thought this thread was about patriotism

  Well I guess you told me!!!!! So sorry to mistake your critical tone for dislike.

  Rosemarie
• 

  teenyuck

  Xena and Outnfree covered things quite well.

  I found Italians have a very strong patriotic urge which is similar in it's ignorance, and one-sidedness, as that of Americans. But it doesn't mean I hate Italians, or Americans for that matter.

  It is very noteable that Americans take any type of criticism of their country so personally. I think that is one thing that makes these sorts of subjects difficult to discuss - the inability of Americans to look at themselves objectively.

  Honestly, do you try to make people dislike you?
• 

  Sadie5

  Prisca,

  Just a few thoughts: As far as the claim of "living in the best country in the world", to me this is more of an expression of contentment. I could say I live in the best home in the world. I know there are other homes out there that surpass my home in everyway, yet I am happy and content with my home so for me my home is the best in the world. I could dwell on all the negative things in my home, the carpet needs to be replaced and I would love to paint or wall paper the walls, and so and so has a bigger, newer home, to the point where I'm not happy with my home. But if I don't have the finances or means to accomplish that, there is no sense in dwelling on that now. Will fix it, when I can.

  We take pride in our neighborhoods, our towns and cities, our states. There is always competion between local high school football teams.Our team will beat your team. We always compare our state's performance in everything from crime, punishments,wages sports, academic, roads and etc. with neighboring states. And whatever state you are from, you take pride in your state. Even though some other state has something better than yours. If you are truly miserable about it, you move to a place where you can be happy.

  I was most impressed with a show of patriotism from some of our local WWII veterans. Many of them were Native American. Their parents and grandparents had settled our town. While growing up, they were not allowed to attend our local schools.(Sometimes I am so embarrassed to be a white person) They were shipped off the special "Indian Schools" that were miles away. Yet during WWII they enlisted in the service. Many of the tribes had treaties with the US Govt which would not allow them to be part of the military, so they had to go to court to gain the freedom to enlist. One of our Native American Vets is in his 80's now, and has been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

  Even though the US Govt treated them terrible, they saw it as better than what the other gov. were. They also saw it as fighting for their homeland, their country.

  Our town has grown over the years, we still have a large population of Native Americans. We are a very patriotic town. We fly our flags a lot. they do the flag salute for every public gathering. There is a sense of deep pride for our community.

  In closing, I don't think American are saying our country is better than yours. They are just expressing their pride and contentment with their country(not really our gov either). If you express that YOU live in the greatest country in the world, I wouldn't argue with you at all.

  Sadie
• 

  Simon

  I think the response to this topic about patriotism illustrates the point: immediately we see aggresive defense of the country and insults towards the person with no thought to challenge any of the actual points or answering whether they are valid or not.

  I would remind everyone who wants to use the forum that personal insults are not allowed and if they continue they will be removed. If anyone disagrees with something then debate the topic.

  This is a question / comparison about patriotism and how markeldy different it is in America compared to the rest of the world. If you don't think it is, say so and say why. If you think it is then it is valid to say so and say why.

  I am getting quite tired of the constant whining of "America bashing" whenever any post that is critical of America is made. It really is a lame excuse for not addressing the topic and issues raised. If you do not wish to address them, fine ... just skip the topic.

  This has the potential to be an interesting and informative topic but we can already see attempts to drag it down.
• 

  Englishman

  I agree that the Brits need to be more patriotic, having surrendered too much to the God of Political Correctness. It is changing now, though, believe you me.

  I also understand why Americans are so patriotic. It's a relatively young country, peopled in the main by descendants of ex- Europeans who left because they didn't feel that they were getting a fair crack of the whip back home, and that opportunities beckoned overseas. Bit like Oz.

  Now, IMHO, these people chose their homeland, and also chose to love it and cherish it because they elected to be there in the first place. They fought tooth and nail to get the place settled and habitable, and rightly got very pissy when they were taxed by the Brits without any parliamentary representation.

  Now this kind of patriotism gets passed down through the generations, and is particularly necessary when a country hasn't inherited the same sense of history that Europeans have. In a way, the new country strives mightily to create it's own history through it's achievements, which is what we are seeing in the US today.

  Englishman.