Seems like you're just grateful of the benefits you receive by living in the US.
Being PROUD of what we do as a country is a different thing entirely.

@Proud to be an American:

|>|>Why wouldn't you be proud of the USA?

Before I write up the few reasons for which I am still proud, I'd just like to say that if you honestly can't answer that question, you have answered your own question far better than anyone else will.

From a personal view, I find it difficult to express pride in a membership that did not require some hard work on my part. How I feel about being from the USA is much more complicated than pride. One should be proud of being a millionaire who started in poverty, but should one be proud to be a particular ethnicity? I think our Constitution and democratic, transparent government are wonderful examples. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the world. But pride? Just doesn't seem to fit, since really it was just an accident of birth that I was born to US citizens. Patriotic, sure, but probably not prideful about being from the USA.

Hi all,

First of all I'd like to say I'm European and I have no problems with people from the US. Actually most of them I have met are great people.

Also, it's quite natural to find pride in one's country, even if there are many reasons not to. But IMHO, if you think about it, it's a bit stupid to be proud about things you haven't decided or achieved yourself: it's like being proud of being a brunette, or being straight (or gay), or living in the 21st Century.

In any case, I am a bit surprised for the reasons given for being proud of the US, as for me, they seem to be the reasons to be ashamed of it! Let me explain myself:

- "We have freedom". I don't think there is much more freedom in the US than in most 1st world countries. For starters, in Politics, I don't think you have more choices than to vote to Republicans or Democrats. Then you have the freedom to buy different brands of the same product, but that's about it. For example, in my humble country, I have the freedom to marry to another male if I want to, I don't see that happening in the US in the near future.

- "We live in one of the most powerful countries in the world". Well, probably in the most powerful one, but I'm not so sure that can be a reason to be proud. Your government has done (and will have to do) many many horrible things to stand in that position: invading countries for their resources, placing dictators in certain countries, dropping nuclear bombs against civilians, etc. Empires need to do these things to keep being empires, but admit they are quite ugly.

- We dominate in the Olympics. Well, I think that's a feeble reason to be proud, you have more population plus more resources for having people dedicated just to sports. It's maybe because I am gay, but I have never seen any reason to be proud about a local athlete: I would be more proud about scientists, scholars, writers... And you have many of those too!

- We have the strongest military in the world. Well that has a lot to do with what I said about being an Empire. You NEED to have the strongest military, and personally, I would be ashamed of the huge amounts of money that are spent in the military when you don't even have a welfare system. I am sure much of that money would be more useful to US population if spent in education, for example.

Again, I have nothing against American people, it's not your fault to have been born in the world's current leading empire, and for sure you are not responsible of all the stuff I have mentioned, but think twice about what are you proud of! I have never been there but I am sure you have many many other things to be proud of: mix of ethnicities and cultures, cultural relevance, etc.

Sorry for my bad English!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyGGG1I-rf8&feature=related

[USA] Proud just wants a little love, man. Foxy.

Excellent point by NoZone.

I have patriotism, but not really proud. I didn't fight for the freedoms I have. And while we do have many more civil liberties than most countries, there are still elected officials that do not believe in equal rights for all races/religions/sexes.

There needs to be some major changes in politics before I am proud. But certainly I am patriotic.

"personally, I would be ashamed of the huge amounts of money that are spent in the military when you don't even have a welfare system. I am sure much of that money would be more useful to US population if spent in education, for example."

Funny how I have worked on US defense projects that were going to support Denmark's military and communications ability. And I am quite certain that Denmark didn't have to pay the R+D costs... they left that up to the American public.

I love my country, but hate my government. We've been heading down the wrong path now for some time, and our politicians are content to let the train crash. Lately their is not much reason to be proud of my country, yet I'd still do anything to defend it and my countrymen. I'm thinking the U.S. is about to go through a time of great change in the next decade and I hope it'll be for the better. It can't get a whole lot worse without things collapsing(though it might be better to just start over from scratch.)

Being proud of one's birthplace is only natural. Very few people are ashamed of their country. SUre, America has done some totally shitty things, from the get go. Slavery, the way we treated the native peoples, the way we treated anyone who wasn't a white Protestant male, etc. Still, I am perfectly happy not living there. America is pretty cool, bros. Still, I am American by birth, but Texan by the grace of God (I am not religious, nor did I make that up myself, although I wish I had). Everyone should be proud of where they are from, because otherwise they wouldn't be the same person. And I say all of this as a relatively informed American. The vast majority of my friends aren't even FROM America. As of now, my closest friends are from damned near everywhere. Belgium, England (oi oi oi), Oz, Norway, China, even Austria.

And to whomever said that the US is dominant in the Olympics due merely to the population, I would be happy to point out the fact that China is pretty shitty in most proper sports, despite having 1.3-1.5 billion people.

China have a massive population but that population doesnt have access to the training and facilities that most Americans (and British etc) have access to.

|> And to whomever said that the US is dominant in the Olympics due merely to the population, I would be happy to point out the fact that China is pretty shitty in most proper sports, despite having 1.3-1.5 billion people.

Ah, but that is according to your (American) idea of "proper sports". In all kinds of intellectual sports (as opposed to physical sports), China is unmatched. Just look at all the International {Chemistry|Computer Science|Mathematics|Physics} Olympiads; before the competition even starts, everyone already knows China is going to win. And many of the top competitors from the US are from Asian descent.

|> We have the strongest military in the world. Well that has a lot to do with what I said about being an Empire. You NEED to have the strongest military, and personally, I would be ashamed of the huge amounts of money that are spent in the military **when you don't even have a welfare system.** I am sure much of that money would be more useful to US population if spent in education, for example.

We do have a welfare system; I know this because I'm on it and I'm mighty grateful for it.

Sorry RvW... I'm an engineer and in no way, shape or form should academic olympiads be considered sports. They simply aren't.

Hi Guys.

I'll answer u individually.

Richard Sharpe. I am actually not Danish, but Spanish :P I know my nickname is misleading though. In any case, I guess the same that you said applies to Spain too, as it is also a NATO member. So yes, we are also under the wing of the US army. Still, every member is forced to spend money on military, so it isn't for free.

Tacticus. About sports I said population AND resources (meaning money and facilities). During the Cold War, the URSS also won many gold medals, it's just a matter of power. It is also a matter of artificial selection, since during slavery, the fittest slaves were selected to breed.

On the other hand, Spain has done quite well in some sports lately, but this hardly makes me proud. I would be prouder of having great scientist and scholars, for example.

Vapor X. I guess I made a mistake there. I meant public helthcare system, ehich in my view is something every developed country should have.

In any case, there are things I admire about the US (altough I only have been there as a kid learning English) but also things I loathe.

For example, politicians like Henry Kissinger, who is arguably one of the worst criminals in History.

China does great at quite a few of the Olympic competitions, notably Ping Pong (no great surprise) and Gymnastics.

In any event, there are two primary things to be very proud of America for, which isn't to say that y'all shouldn't be proud of other things about the USA as well, but IMO these things are complete no-brainers on the being proud front:

1) The inception of large-scale democracy - Although many nations historically contributed to the rise of government by the people (The city-state of Athens, The British Empire,) the USA was the first major nation to be founded from the outset in democratic principles, and to maintain them more or less intact on a global scale. Democratic principles that were laid down in the American Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Constitution were used time and again as models for other nations that were considering reforms or building a new government after the collapse of the "Ancien Regime". Even if democracy and human rights sometimes play second fiddle to maintaining the American world hegemony in the eyes of the US government, it is still something very important to the actual citizenry, and the occasional callous disregard of this has caused many a politican to fall from grace in the eyes of the public, after which they're voted out. Yay democracy!

2) Charitable giving - Americans consistently rank very highly in comparisons of charitable giving. The USA isn't currently on the top of the chart in terms of total amount given relative to GDP, but it exceeds the second place contender (France) for total amount given for global charitable aid by almost 100%, coming in at about 26 billion USD yearly. Privately, American citizens donate over 400 billion USD every year to charitable causes. The USA has also played a leading role in the formation and continuation of institutions such as the Red Cross and the United Nations that perform vital functions in mitigating the famines and tsunamis and epidemics that afflict the world. Yay charity!

americans should think what is really to be proud about about.

Rock and Roll, John Coltrane, Abe Lincoln, Normandy Beach.

John Tesh, George Bush, Mei Lai, Wal-Mart.

The U.S. is a bat-shit crazy place where anything can happen. You may find inspiration and redemption and the birth of a new dawn, or you may wind up shivering on a dead-end street with no money in your pocket. There's a big, broken beauty to it that I love, and yes, I'm proud to be American, in spite of it all.

sorry, My Lai, not Mei Lai.

|> the USA was the first major nation to be founded from the outset in democratic principles

That's not exactly a fair measure, seeing how the USA was founded (relatively) recent. To make it fair, it would have to be "the USA was the first major nation to use (and keep using to this date) democratic principles". Of course, in that case, the statement isn't true any more.

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|> Democratic principles that were laid down in the American Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Constitution were used time and again as models for other nations

At least the Declaration of Independence was heavily based on at least the 1689 English Declaration of Rights and possibly on the 1320 Scottish Declaration of Arbroath and the 1581 Dutch Act of Abjuration ("Acte van Verlatinghe")
as well. I don't think it makes very much sense to claim being an inspiration for others if you yourself took a lot of inspiration from others as well. Besides, how do you tell the difference between the US Declaration of Independence being an inspiration for country X as opposed to the Dutch Act of Abjuration being their inspiration?

[Source](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_declaration_of_independence#Influences):
|> Jefferson's most immediate sources were two documents written in June 1776: his own draft of the preamble of the Constitution of Virginia, and George Mason's draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Ideas and phrases from both of these documents appear in the Declaration of Independence. They were, in turn, directly influenced by the 1689 English Declaration of Rights, which formally ended the reign of King James II. During the American Revolution, Jefferson and other Americans looked to the English Declaration of Rights as a model of how to end the reign of an unjust king. The Scottish Declaration of Arbroath (1320) and the Dutch Act of Abjuration (1581) have also been offered as models for Jefferson's Declaration, but these arguments have been disputed.

[Source](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Abjuration):
|> The Act was remarkable for of its extensive Preamble, which took the form of an ideological justification, phrased as an indictment (a detailed list of grievances) of King Philip. This form, which is strikingly similar to that of the American Declaration of Independence, has given rise to speculations that Thomas Jefferson, when he was writing the latter, was at least inspired by the Act of Abjuration.

I'm not exactly an expert on the English and Scottish declarations, so I can't give detailed information about them.

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|> Even if democracy and human rights sometimes play second fiddle to maintaining the American world hegemony

How can you say that!? I don't know about you, but to me, that says "even if the most important thing of all has sometimes come second to a pissing contest"...

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|> The USA has also played a leading role in the formation and continuation of institutions such as the Red Cross

The formation of the Red Cross was mostly a European affair as far as I know (which, by the way, is not something to be proud, because of the reason behind it: we were waging lots and lots of war, so we just needed it badly).
I have no idea about *the continuation* of the Red Cross, you may or may not have a point there.

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ps. Am I the only one wondering what happened to the distinction between "I'm proud of my country" and "I'm proud *of being from* my country"? The first one I can understand, but the second one seems pretty ridiculous, since it's not something you actually had any influence over.

WOW this thread really took off....

I want to say this. I'm DAMN proud of my country and what it does here and abroad.

No country is perfect, not a single one.

There are issues in Denmark, Spain, China, etc... you name a country it has issues.

I think basing a country on athletic accomplishment is a bit immature. Though being obese isn't healthy either, and we do, here in the states, have one of the highest obesity rates.

I see more good than bad done at home and abroad, and for that I'm proud.