Why are Americans so Patriotic?

[Docturphil]

The freedom to pick a turd sandwich or a giant douche for president.

Yeah this election is very disappointing.

[TwoNineMarine]

God, this is such bullshit. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be offensive to you, I rather like America, to be honest, but this is bullshit. America, whenever it fought on the good side, didn't do it because they were trying to help people. They did it to help themselves. Take WWII (your example). America joined the war because their allies were at war and because an undemocratic and totalitarian Europe wasn't a favorable option.

"We try and help others."?? You don't even help your own people. You leave those worst off among you at the mercy of ultracapitalism.

And your struggles at founding weren't unique. There have been thousands of revolutions in the history of mankind. And I'd add that this was a while ago. It's silly to be proud of something your ancestors did 250 years ago.

Quite rude.

But that aside you are quite incorrect. There has been a ton of people, WW1 and WW2 as good examples, that we didn't have to help. Not to mention the myriad of humanitarian operations we've been to throughout the world. It's to the point that people want the US to stay out of their business. But if we don't respond to a disaster of some sort we are evil and uncaring. It's a rather lose lose situation for us.

Make up whatever reasons you want for us joining but you'll prolly be wrong.

Just because someone is an ally doesn't mean you WILL help them.

Our only real threat at the time, during WW2, was Japan. We could have easily ignored Europe for a good while and been fine.

And like I said we aren't perfect. A lot of people are in a shitty way.

But that isn't a reflection of the people so much as the government. And I don't know if you've noticed but the government lately doesn't quite reflect what a lot of people want or need. It's rather frustrating honestly.

Also it's not silly to be proud of what your ancestors did 250+ years ago. If it weren't for them none of this would be here.

I'm immensely proud of what my fellow Marines did all those years ago. They've created an incredible legacy for myself and all currently serving Marines to uphold.

So it's definitely not silly.

[Enthusiastic Steward]

I guess the biggest reason is that its my home and I was fortunate enough to be born into a country where I have lots of opportunities and a good life.
I'm not blindly patriotic, thinking 'murica is the best country at everything ever and the rest of the world is a bunch of losers, but the life I enjoy is pretty good and I appreciate that.

Has America done terrible things? Absolutely. Are they taught and discussed enough? Nope. Has America done great things? Absolutely. Do too many people focus too much on that without being honest about the darker parts of American history? Yup. Do the majority of Americans have a skewed/incomplete understanding/perception of the history of our country? Pretty much. Can you apply this general rule to most any country? Absolutely.

[Krigaren]

America didn't become this brand of chauvinistic, dangerous form of patriotic until after WWII. You can thank the explosive growth of the military, combined with wartime propaganda, and a huge economic boom.

Having the biggest, strongest economy in the world, having been the ones to arguably "win the war", being the most technologically advanced nation, and suddenly having the strongest military and political influence all over the world basically sealed America's fate as the big, blustering frat bro rich kid who thinks he can do no wrong. American culture and self-identification followed suit.

[Poopymonster]

So I recently made a post asking how patriotic the average american was (http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...erage-American), I didn't respond in that thread because I didn't feel that I had anything to add but after reading through all of the responses, I realized I should have expanded the question when I originally posted to ask why Americans are so Patriotic. I didn't want to edit the original post or add a reply with the question as it may have been overlooked.

So regardless of an Americans definition of Patriotism, my question now is why? I can see why you would be proud of your country and glad to be a citizen, but I saw a story that I cant wrap my head around, which revolves around the American Flag:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ican-flag.html

It just seems to me that some of these responses were a bit drastic. 'Shame on you, Kaley. You lost a fan.' Really?? That person will no longer be her fan over an image of 2 dogs sitting on the flag on the ground? I understand that the American flag stands for a lot to its citizens, but at the end of the day it is just an inanimate object that can be made by anyone, its a flag.

How does one become Patriotic? It seems to me that people are taught to be Patriotic from a very young age in schools, which seems odd as its done when people are young and impressionable, they don't seem to get much choice in the matter because they don't have time to form their own opinions.

I don't want to offend anyone with this thread, I just want to understand American culture more because a lot of it seems very alien to me, having not been raised this way myself. If I have gotten anything wrong, please feel free to correct me, as stated already, I mean no offence.

McCarthyism

[Shadowferal]

How do my fellow Americans feel when people from other countries say our US Constitution sucks?

[Allybeboba]

Ah the glorious moon landing which was only possible with the help of the german engineers who had functional rockets and the expertice.
And america was build by people who left europe soo...

Yes, that is one the things that makes the US beautiful. It is the melting pot of the world after all. The US has the world's most diverse culture.

[McFuu]

I have another new reason for being patriotic thanks to this thread and forum.

Americans don't need to justify their existence by bashing other nations.

[willtron]

Sorry but the inventors of the sport called it soccer.

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index....e-word-soccer/

Again deal with it.

And yet the world calls it football. Deal with it.

[Tabrotar]

I do believe my aunt (his wife) did receive something from the VA because they were the ones who diagnosed the cause being agent orange. I'm sure it wasn't much, she still lost their beautiful home and all their nice things (like both their cars) to pay for medical bills and end of life care.

Argh thats bad and getting only a small amount for going trough that is a disgrace.

[JohnBrown1917]

The opposite of superior is?

Who turned this into a black & white issue?

[Allybeboba]

How do my fellow Americans feel when people from other countries say our US Constitution sucks?

It is one of the things that has allowed the US to be the oldest country with one continuous government, over 240 years. No other country in the known universe an claim that.

[Deleted]

pretty much indoctrination through education and relentless repeating.

America is great, usa usa and similiar slogans have the same jest. I'm not against it per-se .. there are many things in the us the us can be proud of.. europe could use a bit more of that pride.. america could probably tone it down a smidge, just so that between the shouting of how great you are there is enough silence for self critique to keep you great.

Just my 2 cents.

[Mic_128]

The problem isn't so much Patriotism so much as Nationalism.

[Wyrt]

How do my fellow Americans feel when people from other countries say our US Constitution sucks?

Thomas Jefferson believed that the constitution should be rewritten every ~20 years because he didn't think the dead should rule the living, but we ended up making the Constitution be a holy text anyway.

[Low Hanging Fruit]

I think the problem is most people outside of America only see what the media presents of the United States. I have gone weeks without dealing with someone going off about how great America is or anything a lot of people suspect is common in the States. Truth be told since I am common on these forums I see a lot more from various Europeans about how great their place is and how bad my place is. But I kinda get it that these forums is likely slanted towards the European people and younger people that worry a lot about "I am the best" on the internet stuff. Where as most people my age just stop giving a fuck as long as I get 3 meals, have a roof, and can have fun once in a while.

[Shadowferal]

It is one of the things that has allowed the US to be the oldest country with one continuous government, over 240 years. No other country in the known universe an claim that.

Thomas Jefferson believed that the constitution should be rewritten every ~20 years because he didn't think the dead should rule the living, but we ended up making the Constitution be a holy text anyway.

Neither responses really answer the question.

[JohnBrown1917]

It is one of the things that has allowed the US to be the oldest country with one continuous government, over 240 years. No other country in the known universe an claim that.

Our constitution is older, or is being occupied in your history a huge deal?

[rosebull]

People love to claim Americans are ignorant.

However anyone reading this thread can see that ignorance is a world wide phenomena. Theres some extreme ignorance in this thread from other countries.

[Tabrotar]

Thomas Jefferson believed that the constitution should be rewritten every ~20 years because he didn't think the dead should rule the living, but we ended up making the Constitution be a holy text anyway.

Too bad almost all americans tend to forget that part of the founding.