I mean, the same could be said of anyone expressing love for patria, be it a Brazilian or Russian. What I’m getting at is patriotism is an internal perception of someone’s sentiments toward what they perceive their country to be. Their sentiments aren’t going to work for you, just as yours isn’t going to work for them. It’s subjective, and no one is under any obligation to accept someone else’s love of country.Some Schmo wrote: ↑Tue Feb 09, 2021 2:44 pmI can appreciate what you said about America, but most of what you said isn't unique to the US. It could also be said of Canada, France, Germany and the UK, for instance.Doctor CamNC4Me wrote: ↑Mon Feb 08, 2021 12:04 amAt the end of the day, what makes America great is what your brain accepts as greatness. If we opened our borders there’d be a billion people here as soon as they could get here. That’s a pretty good endorsement of our values, as wonky and fraught as they are.
I can't help but think that most people who say "America's the greatest!" have never really been anywhere else. Otherwise, they're mostly ex-military who, ya know, kind of have patriotism built-in, given they gravitated toward the military.
Patriotism is a nice sentiment, for certain, but it's feels over-the-top and unrealistic in America.
Lest I come across as adversarial, I’ll admit that my patriotism has nosedived over the last five years. Between our homeless crisis destroying the fabric of our cities, wealth distribution shifting quickly toward the 1%, Trump’s callous Presidency, the electorate as outing themselves to be irreparably stupid and unable to stave off brainwashing, and the unabated consumerism driving us all toward an extinction event because we lack long-term thinking I’m very sympathetic to your point of view.
That’s why I have to go for another long walk in a few weeks. It’s a mental, physical, and emotional health break for my wife and I.
- Doc