Are you Patriotic?

[Reincarnatedwolfgod]

I felt like making a thread and since it is independence day in America I figured I should make a thread on the topic of patriotism. Also I saw this video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw0MripVxss] a few days ago which got me thinking.

I not really a patriotic person and I just don't give a shit if someone tries to insult America.
I remember assassins creed 3 had some dlc that had George Washington becoming a tyrant and people were offended. I failed to see the problem in it.

Being proud of the country you're born in just seems silly. I can see being happy about where you live but not the pride. America has flaws but it could be a lot worse and I'm pretty happy live here.

I am sure America is a better places to live in then a lot of other countries out there but at the same time I am quite sure I could find a better place to live too. I don't get involved in debates about what country is better because it would be utterly pointless and stupid.

the video that linked is in the spoiler if people are too lazy to click that for some reason

Spoiler

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

Eh, no. I'm not a patriot at all. Entire wars have been waged in the past based on a "MY country is so fucking great" mentality. I'm not about to fall into it.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I'd say I'm somewhat patriotic, and my patriotism doesn't stem from me being proud of what country I was born in. I'm an immigrant, the country I was born in is a shithole, and when I immigrated to the US and became a citizen I was really quite proud of it.

 

[Shock and Awe]

I'd say I am fairly patriotic, but I still disdain the attitude that you see these days with people running around in American Flag clothing and spouting phrases. Its a very shallow form of patriotism that typically stops at words and never actually comes to any form of action.

 

[piinyouri]

It's funny, I'm one of the first to point out all the totally fair and legitimate flaws the US has on good days, while being outright apathetic on my bad days. (Fuck this country, moving to canada ect) But when someone else criticize the country my first impulse is to say "Hey c'mon it's not THAT bad."

Fucking stupid I know.

Also no I am not, not on my good or bad days.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Hell no. It's a landmass, not a way to define myself. So long as I enjoy my life I'm happy to live anywhere.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Nope. I never really saw the appeal in nationalism either honestly...this is just a place where I live. I'd gladly move to/live in Canada, Sweden, the UK, Australia...doesn't really matter to me. I never had school spirit either...just let me do my thing and don't involve me in any cheerleading.

 

[Henrik Knudsen]

It's funny, I'm one of the first to point out all the totally fair and legitimate flaws the US has on good days, while being outright apathetic on my bad days. (Fuck this country, moving to canada ect) But when someone else criticize the country my first impulse is to say "Hey c'mon it's not THAT bad."

Fucking stupid I know.

Also no I am not, not on my good or bad days.

Well its alright when someone from a group of friends criticize eachother but damn the outsider who does it

OT:

"Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious" according to Oscar Wilde.

*Takes punch in stomach*

Thank you proving my point.

--

No not at all patriotic, I am happy about my country Denmark in some ways but most often I prefer to say I'm Scandinavian or just from The Occident in general.

But I never get excited about anything anyway, perhaps I should take up patriotism as a hobby to get me excited sometimes...

 

[Catfood220]

No not really. I mean England is alright, there are definitely worse places to live but if Wales decided to invade tomorrow, you won't find me laying down my life.

 

[Kennetic]

I would definitely say that I'm patriotic. Mind you, I will admit that there are flaws with our government but that doesn't take away from my love of the different cultures and the people here. I love the idea of freedom and I've gone to war to defend it. I'll fly the stars and stripes outside my house til the day I die.

 

[Tom_green_day]

I live in England, and I kinda hate my country. We're a little too self-obsessed. We steal stuff from America- our culture, our language; and then when America says 'we love British stuff' we have to pretend it's British. Also, people always complain that Americans think they're the centre of the Earth. Well, never come to England.
And we've also made some pretty huge mistakes. Look at WW1 (and maybe 2, but I never studied that) or the miners strikes etc.

 

[Kolby Jack]

I like living in the USA, and I think it's been a positive influence on the world overall. That's about the extent of my feelings towards my country. I'm no fan of ignorance either; someone proclaiming the US is perfect and the best country ever is just as foolish as someone saying we're awful and the world would be better off without us in my eyes.

 

[Greg White]

http://youtu.be/tpH5L8zCtSk

I chose to serve my country, for better or for worse. I know my country isn't perfect, and sometimes the politicians or some of the people in it do things I disagree with, but it's home. This was where I was born, this is where my family was born, and this is where I plan to raise my family.

All that plus none of what I've seen of the rest of the world makes me think that there is a better place to live.

 

[Jux]

Happy I won the birth lottery, but I don't feel the need for the dick waving. My specific opinion on my own country is that the US has the potential to do great things and be a force for good, but right now we're fucking it up pretty bad.

 

[Hero of Lime]

I'm happy to have been born in the U.S. and I love the country, not just because I been told to, or pressured to love it. The U.S. has problems, lots of them, but I can look at so many other countries and say "glad I'm not there", that sounds pretty awful, but there's no way most people in stable countries don't have that mentality.

You won't see me waving the flag all year round, or have it featured on my car, but I'll gladly pick it up off the ground out of respect.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

I'm one of those guys that absolutely looks down on patriotism and flag-worship in general, regardless of country. Now I fully admit that the First Amendment alone makes me grateful that I live in the U.S. rather than some other nation that has no qualms jailing anyone who dares say something unpopular or critical of the government - though the U.S. government does try to bypass the Constitution whenever it can (see the Patriot Act and the recent NSA scandal), it at least does have it's own Constitution firmly against such actions. Can't say the same for a lot of nations out there.

However, the U.S. still doesn't deserve the unconditional love that defines patriotism, nor does any nation in human history. As long as there is corruption in the government (especially as much as there is today), it never will deserve it either. The entire concept of patriotism is flawed as well - it is nothing more than an extension of basic tribal mentality, which is a horrible thing in of itself.

 

[Nomadic Fanatic]

I'm patriotic in a sense. I love my country, and I do think that my home is the best place in the world compared to other places, but I'm not hateful of other people.

I love my home and the soldiers that protect it, but I also feel like my country is going to the dogs because my age group doesn't think at all, and they are allowing the government to have more control over our lives. It sound stupid I know, but it honestly scares me a little bit.

 

[slacker09]

I would consider myself a patriot, but I try not to fall into nationalism. I like my nations ideals, though I am often disappointed in those in government and the generally stupid people who live here. I think my country is great and has many great people in it, but understand that there are many areas we need to improve in. I love my country but understand that it could be better and hope that I can help it do so. So I am a patriot and proud of what my nation has accomplished, but recognize that we can do better and have failed to live up to our own ideals numerous times in the past.

 

[tilmoph]

I am patriotic. I don't feel the need to defend our entire history, I don't pretend we didn't do some messed up shit, I don't pretend we are the shining beacon of democracy, freedom, progress, and opportunity we call ourselves and ,relative to much of the globe, were for a time.

I think that last sentence sums it up; I'm proud of what the United States was, even with the slavery and conquests, even with the robber barons and the exploitation of the Chinese, the Jim Crow laws and the union busting, we were, on the whole, far more open and filled with opportunities to make a better living for yourself than your parents had, more individual freedom from overbearing government, more democracy (largest electorate and highest percentage of population eligible to vote on our founding, that's something to be proud of), and a wonderful constitution, with it's best feature being the ability to change the thing without scrapping the whole document. In 222 years, we've added 27 formal changes to the document, one of which was just to cancel another (not a shining moment, that 18th amendment). For comparison, France has had about 16 different constitutions not counting Vichy in the same time period, starting from the Constitution of 1791.

To make this short, I'm proud of my country's heritage overall, weighing the bad with the good. It's its present that is really worrying to me, which is appropriate.