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(For non-Americans) Are you proud of your country?

Are you proud of you country?

  • Yes

    Votes: 9 90.0%
  • No

    Votes: 1 10.0%

  • Total voters
    10

Ahlevah

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In the Are you proud to be an American? thread, someone wrote:

(P)eople who like their country recognize how ridiculous it is to be "proud" of being from that country.

Is that true?

(Please indicate your nationality and tell us either why you're proud of your country or why you're not proud and why it would be ridiculous to be proud of your country. Thank you.)
 
I have 4 nationalities and I switch between being proud and ashamed of all of them. Pride is not something that is a constant for me when it comes to where I'm from. I was proud of the Spanish team when we won the World Cup, but I'm ashamed of our bullfighting tradition. I'm proud that Canada has legalized gay marriage, but I was ashamed by what went on in Vancouver after the Stanley Cup. I'm proud of my Italian hometown of Rome, our culture, architecture, food, but I'm ashamed of the circus that is our politics. And finally, I'm proud of Switzerland's neutrality, stability and political system, but some parts of our history I'd rather would have never happened.
 
I am willing to bet Spud is proud to belong to the koala nation.
 
I have 4 nationalities and I switch between being proud and ashamed of all of them. Pride is not something that is a constant for me when it comes to where I'm from. I was proud of the Spanish team when we won the World Cup, but I'm ashamed of our bullfighting tradition. I'm proud that Canada has legalized gay marriage, but I was ashamed by what went on in Vancouver after the Stanley Cup. I'm proud of my Italian hometown of Rome, our culture, architecture, food, but I'm ashamed of the circus that is our politics. And finally, I'm proud of Switzerland's neutrality, stability and political system, but some parts of our history I'd rather would have never happened.

Since you wrote that at times you feel proud, can I assume you don't agree with the view that national pride is a ridiculous concept?
 
In the Are you proud to be an American? thread, someone wrote:

(P)eople who like their country recognize how ridiculous it is to be "proud" of being from that country.

Is that true?

(Please indicate your nationality and tell us either why you're proud of your country or why you're not proud and why it would be ridiculous to be proud of your country. Thank you.)

I'm British and proud of it, obviously in a lot of corners of the world that will raise hackles (our former colonies, those envious European nations who wanted a bigger empire than us). Our history is chequered, we were colonial masters to huge parts of the world and very often we fought dirty to be there or to control those parts of the world. We also however left quite a legacy in some parts of the world and a large part of it is good.

I remember reading somewhere that Victoria recognised that to maintain our position we would have to be absolutely ruthless and we certainly were in some parts of the world. In the modern world, I'm proud of the part we played in the last century- the fight against Nazi ideals, being a refuge for many (not enough sometimes) and having created the welfare state and the first universal healthcare system which still survives today. I'm proud of most (not all) of the Royal family without being a Royalist and I'm proud of our armed services.

If you look at recent genetic studies-we're mostly the offspring of viking and or german marauders but we're still uniquely "British" and we have a strong sense of fair play and affinity with the under-dog.
 
Since you wrote that at times you feel proud, can I assume you don't agree with the view that national pride is a ridiculous concept?

No, I don't agree with that. National pride is very real, it's just that I actually need a reason to be proud. It doesn't come as a given. Which is why I couldn't really vote in your poll, because it's too black and white. There's an option missing there. "Sometimes" or "on and off" would do.
 
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Since you wrote that at times you feel proud, can I assume you don't agree with the view that national pride is a ridiculous concept?

It's perfectly rational to take pride in something your country has done that you feel is right, especially if you had a hand in it, such as with your vote. Winning the war, putting a man on the moon, fighting bigotry... all of these things are actions worth being proud of. Simply being proud of your country "because it's better" is stupid. So, reasonable pride is good. Unreasonable pride is bad. And excessive pride is called hubris and will cause you all sorts of misfortune if you believe Sophocles.
 
I'm British and proud of it, obviously in a lot of corners of the world that will raise hackles (our former colonies, those envious European nations who wanted a bigger empire than us). Our history is chequered, we were colonial masters to huge parts of the world and very often we fought dirty to be there or to control those parts of the world. We also however left quite a legacy in some parts of the world and a large part of it is good.

Compared to other former colonial masters (France, Holland, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Japan... ), Britain was a saint. For example, I can't imagine a Malayan circa 1942 saying he preferred the Japanese over the British, unless he were a moron or some sort of masochist. And overall, I think Britain's good trumps the bad. The world is a better place because of the contributions of British arts, letters, and sciences. I don't think we would have gotten a better result if Issac Newton, William Shakespeare, or Alfred Tennyson had been born and raised somewhere else. And a world without British rock? I mean, Ladysmith Black Mombazo and Wu Man have their place, but I find their impact somewhat lacking compared to, say, Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd.
 
I am English by choice, Russian by blood and French by fire. I'm proud, in different ways, of all three nations, and I've no doubts that they are the three greatest nations on Earth, probably in that order, though admittedly they're all rather different and excel in different ways.
 
I am a Canadian, and I can say I ****ing love my country, and would rather live no where else. I am proud to be Canadian.
 
Am I proud of Denmark.. sure, but I am also critical of many aspects of Danish society. But no I am not a blind follower of my country regardless of what she does or says..
 
I was very proud of my country as a kid, and then I grew up.
 
I'm proud of the country and not proud of the state.
But considering the pressure from the high powers of the world (geopolitics), I guess that's somewhat normal. ;)
 
I'm quite proud of my country, sure, our history is short and incredibly racist, our politics are the most boring in the world, and our culture consists of alcohol, bad food and melanoma, but I'm proud of everything else.
 
In the Are you proud to be an American? thread, someone wrote:
P)eople who like their country recognize how ridiculous it is to be "proud" of being from that country.
Is that true?

(Please indicate your nationality and tell us either why you're proud of your country or why you're not proud and why it would be ridiculous to be proud of your country. Thank you.)

I am proud to be an American. America is the greatest nation in the history of mankind, a beacon of freedom, a shining city on a hill, the defender of Liberty and liberator of nations. We have been to the moon and the depths of the oceans: We have liberated continents from fascism and spread liberty around the globe. In times of disaster, we are the most generous nation giving aid and comfort to victims. Despite our problems, I would never live anywhere else.

AmericanFlag-Animated.gif
 
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I am proud to be an American. America is the greatest nation in the history of mankind, a beacon of freedom, a shining city on a hill, the defender of Liberty and liberator of nations. We have been to the moon and the depths of the oceans: We have liberated continents from fascism and spread liberty around the globe. In times of disaster, we are the most generous nation giving aid and comfort to victims. Despite our problems, I would never live anywhere else.

AmericanFlag-Animated.gif

Moderator's Warning:
This thread is for NON-Americans. There is a thread that addresses this issue for Americans, here: http://www.debatepolitics.com/polls/102577-you-proud-american.html
 
Oh. Okay. Sorry.

Well, the poll was for non-Americans. But feel free to comment about whether you agree with the statement that people who like their country find it ridiculous to be proud from being from that country. The sense I get from my unscientific poll is this is not a ridiculous concept to non-Americans:

I'm British and proud of it....

I am English by choice, Russian by blood and French by fire. I'm proud, in different ways, of all three nations....

I am proud to be Canadian.

Am I proud of Denmark.. sure....

I'm quite proud of my country, sure....
 
Well, the poll was for non-Americans. But feel free to comment about whether you agree with the statement that people who like their country find it ridiculous to be proud from being from that country. The sense I get from my unscientific poll is this is not a ridiculous concept to non-Americans:

Well, of course. Patriotism is alive and well across the world. It just takes different shapes here and there.
 
Well, of course. Patriotism is alive and well across the world. It just takes different shapes here and there.

Some of it is also just plain garbage.

Think about it: If you live is Somalia, or Red China, what the hell would you have to be patriotic about? The Germans under Hitler were highly patriotic, with grand parades and rallys and so forth. But what were they celebrating? The Soviets made a great show of patriotism. To what end?
 
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