(from my friend, MsUnderestimated)...
Happy Birthday to the greatest nation on this earth. After seeing the Capitol's 4th Celebration on PBS, NASCAR on ESPN2, and watching fireworks off of my patio, I was so truly proud to be an American on this day. It also reminded me of a stunning exchange I recently had with a former co-worker of mine, which left me wondering "aren't all other people proud of their own countries?"
For the rest of the article, please check it out here.
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Amanda Justice... That
July 5, 2008 - 01:27 ET by bigtimerAmanda Justice...
That was one of the most insightful, sad, inspiring articles I have read in a long time.
Thank you is all I can say for putting this out here and sharing it with the rest of us..it is very thought provoking in so may ways.
MsUnderestimated did a great job...I couldn't quit reading until the end.
Rich indeed...very rich.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Thanks, Bigtimer...
July 5, 2008 - 02:13 ET by Amanda Justice.. I will pass it along. She told me she hadn't been able to write about it until today, she was so verklempt about how her German friend made her feel.
How Do You Say "NewsBusters" In German?
July 5, 2008 - 10:07 ET by zeestephenI owe Matt Drudge an eternal debt for opening my eyes to international news coverage of the USA.
Linking to the top European newspapers is like linking to Mother Jones or the Village Voice in America.
Just as important, outside the USA and Canada, there are few Conservative Blogs in the English speaking world that offer even a trace of ideological balance.
Last year I had a conversation with an exceptionally bright London-based MSFT programmer whose entire world view was built around the BBC and Michael Moore films.
The idea that someone - me - could challenge the "science" of global warming and intellectually defend gun rights was so astounding to him, and my arguments and facts were so novel to him, that he literally sat there repeating, "I don't know what to say to someone like you."
Still, and amazingly, just like 5 billion other people, his life's dream is to emigrate to the USA!
→ I know Stephen
July 5, 2008 - 10:10 ET by Cool ArrowEarschplittenloudenboomer
LYDSEXICS UNTIE
Cool Arrow
July 5, 2008 - 10:12 ET by zeestephenI think this is about to become a very interesting, very active, and very humorous thread!
Thank you Amanda. Too many
July 5, 2008 - 03:29 ET by cocodrieThank you Amanda. Too many good things about our country go unnoticed. God bless you for posting this.
I'm glad to see I'm not the
July 5, 2008 - 04:20 ET by RukusI'm glad to see I'm not the only one celebrating into the wee hours! That was an excellent article! That kind of pride I feel every day ! What a great country we live in! Great job Amanda! God Bless America!
"Nuke 'em 'til they... oh hell, just shoot 'em!"
Interesting article
July 5, 2008 - 04:39 ET by anamericaninnihonI just read your article and must admit it really hit home to me. I am American, but as an army brat, spent many years in Germany. I even lived in Atlanta for many years, so it's funny how much I can understand where both you and "Ingrid" are coming from.
Her reaction to a patriotic display is very German. The key to understanding where she is coming from may lie in the difference between patriotism and nationalism. I hope we can all agree that patriotism is good but nationalism is bad. The question is how do you know when patriotism has crossed the line to nationalism?
This is a video that really does make a lot of sense to me:
http://jp.youtube.co...
Happy 4th!
anamericaninnohin....
July 5, 2008 - 07:09 ET by Amanda Justice... according to the YouTube video you've referenced, I still claim I'm a patriot and not a nationalist.
I didn't mean to say you were....
July 5, 2008 - 10:26 ET by anamericaninnihonI'm sorry if my comment came off the wrong way. I wrote a lot, but
then decided to not put up the novel, just the summary. I think most
Americans are merely being patriotic, but that there is a disturbing
trend to try to make patriotism an all or none issue.
Since I grew up in Germany, I appreciate where
Ingrid is coming from. I’m not terribly comfortable with the extreme
displays of patriotism that I have seen in America over the recent
years. You seem to be well informed about politics and the current
affairs. However, I worry about those Americans who are swept away by
their patriotic feelings but have no idea what is happening in America
or the world.
anamerican...
July 5, 2008 - 10:44 ET by Clear thinkerYou have got to be kidding.
I don't give a rats ass if people in other countries don't like our patriotism. We are proud of our country, the greatest nation on earth, and there's not enough whining in the world that could change our minds.
God Bless the USA!
45 Communist Goals for America http://www.nationmakers.com/com_goals.htm
I'm not kidding. It's
July 5, 2008 - 10:57 ET by anamericaninnihonI'm not kidding. It's people like you that scare me.
anamerican...
July 5, 2008 - 15:50 ET by Clear thinkerGood, I hope I scare you so much that you have a super low sperm count and can never procreate. We will be whole lot better off if we don't have more people like you.
The United States of America is the best thing that ever happened to our planet!
45 Communist Goals for America http://www.nationmakers.com/com_goals.htm
I'm sure America would be a
July 5, 2008 - 18:16 ET by anamericaninnihonI'm sure America would be a better country if there were more gentlemen like you. Thank you for your kind and respectful comment. God bless you (seems like you'll need it).
"I'm sure America would
July 5, 2008 - 18:22 ET by Clear thinker"I'm sure America would be a better country if there were more gentlemen like you."
Darn right!
;-)
45 Communist Goals for America http://www.nationmakers.com/com_goals.htm
Better than sliced bread?
July 5, 2008 - 18:43 ET by balboaBetter than sliced bread?
No offense taken
July 5, 2008 - 17:12 ET by Amanda Justiceanamericaninnihon, I took no offense to what you said. I was just stating, probably incorrectly, that I agree with you 100% but that I truly feel that I am a patriot and not a nationalist.
God bless America!
NATIONALISM VS. PATRIOTISM...
July 5, 2008 - 07:30 ET by danybhoyThe Germans are still trying to get a grasp on acceptable displays of national pride. Germany hosted the World Cup in 2006, & there were concerns by some in Gemany about the overwelming show of flags & people wearing red, black, & yellow, the colors of the German flag. They were actually proud to be German, as they should be. But there was a section of opinion in Germany that was worried about that display. I think it was much to do about not very much.
"...it's still We The People, Right?" Megadeth
True
July 5, 2008 - 10:42 ET by anamericaninnihonYou're right about Germany. The 2002 world cup was a big thing for them when it comes to displays of patriotism. The only other time I ever saw that degree of patriotism from Germany was after the 1990 world cup.
I think the point here is that showing pride in your national soccer team is perhaps a little different than showing pride in your servicemen when they are at war. There's just a bit more at stake (although the Europeans do take their soccer quite seriously!).
I think we can be proud of our servicemen, but please consider that a foreigner may see such a display as more of a sign of support for the war, than support for our troops.
150% agree
July 5, 2008 - 17:19 ET by Amanda JusticeDanybhoy I agree - Germans should be proud of their country, if that's the way they feel. Speaking of "too much" red, black & yellow being worn, MsU told me that all of the American flags we display everywhere was disturbing to Ingrid and her friends that visited. She couldn't quite understand it.
I, on the other hand, could not understand NOT loving your own country. Our country, with all its warts, is still a product OF the people - you and me.
Wasn't it Tony Blair who was complimenting America by saying something like "the character of a country can best be judged the number of people wanting to get out versus the number of people wanting to get in."? Spot on, Mr. Blair.
Amanda... I am so glad
July 5, 2008 - 17:34 ET by bigtimerAmanda...
I am so glad you put that quote on from Mr. Blair...it was some of the best words he ever spoke...and he spoke many IMHO.
....thanks for the reminder...he said it all..eloquently as always.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
I don't know for sure, but
July 5, 2008 - 17:27 ET by balboaI don't know for sure, but maybe they were thinking about the last time there was lots and lots of national pride in Germany?
BALBOA...
July 5, 2008 - 22:25 ET by danybhoyOh,I know for sure what the concern was/is, & you are on the right track. But their is a difference between rooting on Hitler & rooting on Micheal Ballack & the rest of the German national team.
I will say this though, most of the rivalries extend well beyond the soccer pitch & go back to the battlefield over many centuries. Do you think England vs Germany for example, is 1 of the biggest grudge matches world soccer because on top of how good both nations are in soccer, but that they have met on several occations in war? Yes of course, but if the nations of the world can wave their flags for soccer after they have gotten sick of going to war with 1 another, fine by me. Besides, I'll watch the game.
"...it's still We The People, Right?" Megadeth
That's great, thanks for
July 5, 2008 - 20:57 ET by GregEThat's great, thanks for posting. Quite an interesting piece. A very important aspect of that was that it wasn't just Ingrid, but also others that Ingrid knew.
America is a unique nation in ways that we ourselves sometimes often don't see. It takes an outside view to point out to us, by their perceptions of it (regardless of whether their perception is positive or negative), the great nation in which we live.
Sometimes folks in Europe,
July 5, 2008 - 08:23 ET by forestSometimes folks in Europe, and particularly in Germany, think they invented peace. They were actually forced to stop fighting with one another by US and Soviet military supremacy after WW2, but nevermind that...
Natonalism caused the great European wars and is therefore bad, and they don't have wars anymore because they rejected nationalism. Anything that doesn't fit this line of thought is ignored or rejected.
That's the meme, and they're sticking to it. They've shifted from being militaristic to being militant pacifists.
Thanks Amanda,
July 5, 2008 - 10:06 ET by FastEdunfortunately, if we, as a country keep listening to the lost media, we will have the same thoughts as the lost europeans.
I still think there is a shift coming - that there will be move towards the right, as more and more people see that liberal/socialist thinking is NOT freedom nor liberty.
As for pride in my country, if you believe in the Constitution, our liberties and freedoms (some being taken away by the libs and courts) all you need to do is go to any other country and KNOW that ours is where the heart belongs - where freedom and liberty exists for all people, even if we, as a country made mistakes in the past - why then are people risking there lives, their very reason for living, to come here? How many people flee Cuba, and head southward? Even those who leave africa, entering europe, then head for the USofA - why?
Hey europe - you don't have to like us, in fact you can hate us, just remember, as the historians would point out, 1919 and 1940 and afterwards.
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V
For some reason this brings to mind....
July 5, 2008 - 11:58 ET by Prester John....that immortal quote of Bill Murray in "Stripes":
"We're Americans. Our ancestors were thrown out of every decent country in Europe".
Too bad we can't return the favor and get rid of our dregs of society and send them back.
Right on Amanda
July 5, 2008 - 13:29 ET by the struggler"...our media are wholeheartedly to blame for the world's opinion of the U.S."
You said it.