Why are Americans so Patriotic?

[interspark]

it might be just an unfair stereotype, but it's generally believed that if you badmouth america, any nearby americans will go up in arms and get very angry, and i'm just wondering why. Just to clarify, i have nothing against america, but i hardly think it's anything to write home about. and don't say that anyone would be that way about their home country, because if someone came up to be and said "hey, england's crap!" i'd just say "yeah, it is a bit"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Let them have their patriotism.

Their country is still new, they still have time to do a few more war crimes, maybe colonise some places, kill the natives etc.

You're only young once.


*sips tea*

Yes, quite.

 

[The Human Torch]

It's just the vocal minority. Which unfortunately (as always) are far more in the spotlight than most Americans, who plainly don't give a crap.

 

[Jamie McLaughlin]

Let them have their patriotism.

Their country is still new, they still have time to do a few more war crimes, maybe colonise some places, kill the natives etc.

You're only young once.


*sips tea*

Yes, quite.

I keep thinking I may be in love with you. Stop making me feel this...

But yeah, because that's what we do. We're uh-mur-i-kan.

And that's how I pronounce it, goddamn it.

 

[Furioso]

What's wrong with having pride in your country? If you love where you live you should defend it, I'm not saying beat the tar out of anyone who dislikes America or anything but when did liking where you live become a bad thing?

Edit: Also, I'm pretty sure that if I went to France and said "WOW this country is terrible!" tons of people would get up in arms about that so I don't see your point about us getting mad when someone badmouths America out of the blue

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Let them have their patriotism.

Their country is still new, they still have time to do a few more war crimes, maybe colonise some places, kill the natives etc.

You're only young once.


*sips tea*

Yes, quite.

I keep thinking I may be in love with you. Stop making me feel this...

But yeah, because that's what we do. We're uh-mur-i-kan.

And that's how I pronounce it, goddamn it.

Shhhh, It's okay, there's nothing wrong with it...

Search your feelings. You know it to be true.

 

[chadachada123]

The thing about America is that it is NOT a single culture. We're an incredibly mixed culture with much variation.

If you said that America was crap, yes, a fair number of Americans would get pissy about it, but equally many would agree with you completely.

The difference in culture between the ultra conservative Texas, the nanny-stateist California and New York, the meth-dealing Tenessee, and the other states...It's like lumping France in with Latvia as far as culture goes. Sure, they're both European and share a "similar" history, but the similarities stop there.

Even the laws among states are very different, and the education system in some states REALLY pushes patriotism while other states don't at all.

So, in conclusion, yes, I would say that it's a bit of an unfair stereotype. Although, simple patriotism isn't the same as having an aneurism over making fun of the US. I have "pride" in what the US *used* to stand for, the *concept* of rights that the US says it supports yet doesn't. But I digress...

 

[repeating integers]

I dunno, insecurity? Like some others have said, I bet it's only a vocal minority, so don't worry too much about it.

 

[Mangod]

What's wrong with having pride in your country? If you love where you live you should defend it, I'm not saying beat the tar out of anyone who dislikes America or anything but when did liking where you live become a bad thing?

Nothing wrong with having pride in your country, it's just that Americans are percieved, rightly or not, as being far more hung up on being perceived as patriotic than other people.

 

[Sizzle Montyjing]

-snip-

Indeed.
They will learn in time.
But only when they start using the proper words, it's getting quite scary now, using 'could' as a supplement for 'couldn't', also, every empire/ leading country will fall eventually.

What's wrong with having pride in your country? If you love where you live you should defend it, I'm not saying beat the tar out of anyone who dislikes America or anything but when did liking where you live become a bad thing?

If you like it for the 'wrong' reasons if you will...
As in, you shouldn't like Britain because it enslaved thousands of Africans.
Much in the same way as you shouldn't be patriotic about going to war.

 

[Freaky Lou]

it might be just an unfair stereotype, but it's generally believed that if you badmouth america, any nearby americans will go up in arms and get very angry, and i'm just wondering why. Just to clarify, i have nothing against america, but i hardly think it's anything to write home about. and don't say that anyone would be that way about their home country, because if someone came up to be and said "hey, england's crap!" i'd just say "yeah, it is a bit"

1. Well, when you're in another country, and the only American in the immediate area, every attack someone levies against the US is going to feel like a personal attack whether it is or not. Anyone who moves from one country to another is going to be a lot more patriotic than they ever were back home. A lot of Americans have the same attitude about people who move here from other countries; they won't stop talking about how much better their homeland is, so why don't they move back there?

2. Americans do everything BIG. We may have some of the most vocal patriots, but we also have the most vehement self-loathers. On top of that, we're a very self-analytical country. You don't see other countries talking about their own faults, or how they've done cruel things in their history--at least not to the extent Americans do.

3. Going back to the first point a bit, it's a lot easier to handle criticism of your country when you're currently in it. You're surrounded by fellow whateverians so it feel like you've got backup and can approach the situation more rationally. I live in the south, and it's rare I'll see somebody really get up in arms about the US being insulted. I've seen a lot more bashing of America by Americans, actually.

 

[Vivi22]

If you like it for the 'wrong' reasons if you will...
As in, you shouldn't like Britain because it enslaved thousands of Africans.
Much in the same way as you shouldn't be patriotic about going to war.

Indeed. And I would actually add to this that sometimes patriotism, particularly in the most prevalent view of American patriotism, gets jumbled in with such things as unquestioning loyalty to ones government, president or military. And I think that's the most disturbing thing about some people's view of patriotism.

There's nothing wrong with loving where you come from, but it's how you show your appreciation for that place. For example, I'd argue that blind loyalty to ones government is a form of undesirable patriotism, whereas questioning your government and demanding accountability when you feel they went off the rails is something that I feel is a better form of patriotism. It shows you actually care about where you live because you want to make sure that government isn't run like a wolf set lose in a hen house. I could go on, but that's the biggest problem with what I think the rest of the world views as American patriotism.

That's not to say that that's how everyone acts. Clearly that is not the case and it's simply a very vocal minority.

 

[Vuliev]

The more socially aware Americans like myself will only get angry because they're ashamed of their country for quite a few things, but there are thing that we are genuinely proud of. not going to go into that unless someone asks.

 

[Mallefunction]

You know that being patriotic is actually part of our goal in public education here in the US right? I'm not even kidding. There is a reason that every morning, public school kids are made to stand and read the Pledge like we're goddamn Hitler youths.

It's mostly due to WWII and the Cold War. Especially the McCarthy cases. People got so scared about foreigners and it became all about how America is the fuckin' shit. Unfortunately, times have changed, but the attitudes of many current adults who were either born during those times or grew up during them have no yet changed with them.

 

[Larmo]

I think its the feeling "Its my country, I live in it so I know how to insult it properly, what do you know about such-in-such.

That's the attitude I always perceived anyway, i can insult my country all i want because i live there and i know what really needs insulting.

 

[Larmo]

There is a reason that every morning, public school kids are made to stand and read the Pledge like we're goddamn Hitler youths.

I always hated saying the pledge every morning, its like "what did i become less American overnight" i eventually stopped bothering.

 

[interspark]

What's wrong with having pride in your country? If you love where you live you should defend it, I'm not saying beat the tar out of anyone who dislikes America or anything but when did liking where you live become a bad thing?

i didn't say it was a bad thing, standing on top of a street lamp and singing "twinkle twinkle little star" isn't a bad thing but that doesn't mean people won't wonder why you're doing it

 

[castlewise]

Unfair stereotype. And contradictory to the stereotype that all Americans pretend to be Canadians when they are abroad.

 

[HobbesMkii]

I dunno. I think it's because other countries have a different perception on what constitutes patriotism. For instance, flag waving. I've heard (someone from there will have to correct me), that displaying the flag in Britain, especially the Union Jack, is sort of the domain of the nationalists. But in the US, we'll slap our flag on literally anything, including the sorts of things that would be disrespectful in other countries (i.e. bikinis and boxer shorts). And then we'll wear that. It doesn't necessarily mean we're rampant patriots, but it certainly could come off that way.

I'll also say that a lot of our political culture does hinge around the idea of being "true" Americans, as if there were such a thing. I think when your politicians are always stressing how they have the country's best interests at heart and their opponents are nothing more than horrible little subversives who would sell it to foreign interests, it starts to impact and color the discourse.

One more thing I'll add is this: Some may be tempted to say that the patriotism is confined to the minority of flag-waving conservatives who appear on Fox News (a channel littered w/ American flags, by the by). But I'd say this isn't true. Because every time there's a critique of liberals as being naysayers or down on American policy, one of us trots out the old gem (often misattributed to some founding father): "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." I've got to say we believe we're being just as much patriots as anyone else (if not more so).

 

[Aulleas123]

What's wrong with having pride in your country? If you love where you live you should defend it, I'm not saying beat the tar out of anyone who dislikes America or anything but when did liking where you live become a bad thing?

I agree with this.

Before I continue, I suppose I'd be one of those proud Americans. I don't have a flag waving everywhere around me and I don't really think we're better than everyone else (different, yes; better, absolutely not), I just like where I live.

I can understand how many may see a populace who is patriotic going to the next step of being so nationalistic that they start committing major atrocities (like going to war on unsuspecting nations... oh wait... crap). But that can happen in the name of anything, such as religious zeal, striving for scientific perfection, economic inequality, or nationalistic pride (OK, the scientific perfection one is a stretch, but you guys sense my drift).

People can be real dipshits but they can be really great too. Believing in something is just where you put your energy the most. If someone loves their country then cool. As long as they don't hurt others over their love then I have no problem about that.