I'm vaguely fond of my country, but I wouldn't go to great lengths to defend it past debunking stereotypes.
Are you Patriotic?
- Thread starter Reincarnatedwolfgod
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By my own definition yes, I am patriotic. I am proud of my country and what stands for. I'm not always proud of it's people or it's actions, but if I was blindly proud, I wouldn't be a patriot.
"A true patriot supports his country all the time, and his government when it deserves it."
-Mark Twain
I'm a patriot in the sense that I love my country, and want what's best for it. It's not perfect, and sometimes it does bad things, but instead of disowning my country I want to help make it a better place, so that it does whats right for itself and for others. Kind of like family.
I think people sometimes confuse patriotism for ultra nationalism, the kind that led to to WW1. In my opinion a true patriot openly criticizes his/her nation when it does something wrong, instead of blindly following it into ruin. Otherwise people create a "us vs them" mentality, and bad things happen as a result.
-Mark Twain
I'm a patriot in the sense that I love my country, and want what's best for it. It's not perfect, and sometimes it does bad things, but instead of disowning my country I want to help make it a better place, so that it does whats right for itself and for others. Kind of like family.
I think people sometimes confuse patriotism for ultra nationalism, the kind that led to to WW1. In my opinion a true patriot openly criticizes his/her nation when it does something wrong, instead of blindly following it into ruin. Otherwise people create a "us vs them" mentality, and bad things happen as a result.
British people aren't allowed to be patriotic no really there is a law against it! The last time we were proud of ourselves we went and tried to rule the world and that didn't end well for the world...
On a more serious note there's not much to be proud of in regards to Britain except perhaps our NHS or the SAS and our armed forces, in fact it's gotten to the point where a lot of English people hate other English people, I know I certainly do. On the opposite end of the spectrum there's a lot to moan about.
The weather - only in England could the weather get worse with global warming.
The bankers.
Our corrupt politicians.
Poor social mobility and the widening gap between the rich and poor.
Our horrendous rates of child poverty.
The economy + The Conservatives.
The poor state of our comprehensive state funded schools.
Poor job prospects.
Our Anti Europe stance and general tendency towards racism.
Our role in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Our CCTV big brother culture.
Our ridiculous Health and Safety and PC culture.
Chavs and the lack of respect and common decency.
Our binge drinking culture.
Our tourists abroad that give us all a bad name.
See there's not much to be proud of, or maybe I'm just being stereotypically British by having a good moan, and yes I did so while drinking a good old cuppa of tea!
On a more serious note there's not much to be proud of in regards to Britain except perhaps our NHS or the SAS and our armed forces, in fact it's gotten to the point where a lot of English people hate other English people, I know I certainly do. On the opposite end of the spectrum there's a lot to moan about.
The weather - only in England could the weather get worse with global warming.
The bankers.
Our corrupt politicians.
Poor social mobility and the widening gap between the rich and poor.
Our horrendous rates of child poverty.
The economy + The Conservatives.
The poor state of our comprehensive state funded schools.
Poor job prospects.
Our Anti Europe stance and general tendency towards racism.
Our role in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Our CCTV big brother culture.
Our ridiculous Health and Safety and PC culture.
Chavs and the lack of respect and common decency.
Our binge drinking culture.
Our tourists abroad that give us all a bad name.
See there's not much to be proud of, or maybe I'm just being stereotypically British by having a good moan, and yes I did so while drinking a good old cuppa of tea!
You can, just as long as its in a corner, on your own, in the dark.fractal_butterfly said:
Im from the UK, i love my country but doesnt mean i owe that country my life. I will just move some where else.
Gotta love Carlin. And he's right; having the serendipity to be born in a first world western nation isn't any kind of accomplishment for me to take pride in, it's simply a matter of circumstance. Whilst I'm certainly glad I don't live in China or Iraq or North Korea or Texas and I'm rather accustomed to our culture and landscape, that doesn't mean I'm so attached to this floating hulk of land mass that I'm willing to blind myself to it's faults and defend/justify everything that's shit about it or the shitty things we've done/continue to do. At the end of the day, a country is just a large piece of rock to me and while I'm perfectly content living in my homeland (or at least less miserable then I would be elsewhere) I wouldn't have any qualms about jumping ship if a better offer came along. So no, I'm not a patriot, but you probably already guessed that.
And he's right; having the serendipity to be born in a first world western nation isn't any kind of accomplishment for me to take pride in, it's simply a matter of circumstance. Whilst I'm certainly glad I don't live in China or Iraq or North Korea or Texas and I'm rather accustomed to our culture and landscape, that doesn't mean I'm so attached to this floating hulk of land mass that I'm willing to blind myself to it's faults and defend/justify everything that's shit about it or the shitty things we've done/continue to do. At the end of the day, a country is just a large piece of rock to me and while I'm perfectly content living in my homeland (or at least less miserable then I would be elsewhere) I wouldn't have any qualms about jumping ship if a better offer came along. So no, I'm not a patriot, but you probably already guessed that.
I'm not, and the fact I'm living in another country, which I intend to leave as soon as possible should be a clue. The only thing I miss from "home" is the variety in food.
As an American, I feel like I'm patriotic in the sense that I want to see my country run as good as it can. However I certainly don't believe in "patriotism" for the sake of itself. The documents the founding fathers wrote up is cool and all, but there are still a lot of faults and problems and certainly there are some major issues with how things run today. I don't dislike the country I guess, at least no more than anyone else dislikes their country. I don't really swell up with some sort of inherent "pride" whenever I hear the national anthem or a flag goes by. I more or less see the flag as the logo of America, not really a "symbol" of "freedom" or something like that.
I also don't get why people get so bent out of shape when a flag is abused, intentionally or not. If your pride in America is instilled in a sheet of cloth that was most likely manufactured in China then you need to get your priorities in line. You want to ***** at people for disrespecting our country's integrity? Go ***** at the people who litter and dirty our beautiful forests, or engage in business practices that hurt fellow Americans, or who refuse to accept a minuscule raise in taxes so that the local schools can have books that were written this side of the year 2000.
I also don't get why people get so bent out of shape when a flag is abused, intentionally or not. If your pride in America is instilled in a sheet of cloth that was most likely manufactured in China then you need to get your priorities in line. You want to ***** at people for disrespecting our country's integrity? Go ***** at the people who litter and dirty our beautiful forests, or engage in business practices that hurt fellow Americans, or who refuse to accept a minuscule raise in taxes so that the local schools can have books that were written this side of the year 2000.
You are confusing patriotism with nationalism. Patriotism is fine, almost everyone is in some way and I know for a fact I am. Nationalism is the "we're number one" deal that scares everyone else.BathorysGraveland2 said:
Patriotism: Going to your friends soccer game, cheering them on, having a good time but hoping they win.
Nationalism: Going to the world cup and bashing someone over the head with your fists because they are rooting for the other team.
Very different, please realize this.
I've spent a lot of time trying to make this country a better place. I'd consider that patriotic, but not by the terms of the blind worship crowd.
No, I'm not patriotic, I'm not proud of my country, and I think nationalism is one of the biggest evils we have, a very bad path nations took in the 18th/19th century.
I support my country as such, and think some things Germany does is good, but I won't be nationalist or patriotic.
I support my country as such, and think some things Germany does is good, but I won't be nationalist or patriotic.
No, There's no way to beat about the bush, I really am not proud of my country, I like some things about it but it's overall not a country that fills me with pride to live in. I've always found patriotism an idiotic concept.
I'm damn proud of my country, it has a rich history and rolling landscapes.
I'm not however proud of my government or it's people, but I want for my country, it's government and people to be better. For me that's the difference:
I love my country, it doesn't mean I have to like how it's run.
And despite being English, I'm also heavily anti-royal.
England: The only country to have such high levels of nationalism coupled with such short memories.
I'm not however proud of my government or it's people, but I want for my country, it's government and people to be better. For me that's the difference:
I love my country, it doesn't mean I have to like how it's run.
And despite being English, I'm also heavily anti-royal.
England: The only country to have such high levels of nationalism coupled with such short memories.
I'd say I'm patriotic to a certain degree!
If there was war I'd go out to fight for my country like my grandparents and their parents did 70 years ago
I'm not that patriotic thou that I think my country is better than the rest and if someone sais something bad about us I want to send an assassin to kill him.
If there was war I'd go out to fight for my country like my grandparents and their parents did 70 years ago
I'm not that patriotic thou that I think my country is better than the rest and if someone sais something bad about us I want to send an assassin to kill him.
I am British (English to be exact), but I am not patriotic. Given half a chance I would move to another country, and I hope to someday, as long as I can take my classic Doctor Who DVD's with me. George Carlin sums up patriotism quite well (apologies if this has already been posted, I only read the first page of comments)
Nope.
FUCK DA SYSTEM MAN!
YEAH!
No, really. It is literally impossible for a reasonable person to be patriotic towards this Eastern European shithole. Doesn't stop half the populace from being neonazis though.
Even if this was the best country in the world, I still would feel 0 obligation towards it. I guess I'm just a silly causeless teenage rebel.
FUCK DA SYSTEM MAN!
YEAH!
No, really. It is literally impossible for a reasonable person to be patriotic towards this Eastern European shithole. Doesn't stop half the populace from being neonazis though.
Even if this was the best country in the world, I still would feel 0 obligation towards it. I guess I'm just a silly causeless teenage rebel.
To me the word "patriotic" conjures up images of racist shitheads who want to keep Sweden "pure". So I avoid calling myself that despite the fact that, like with the word "feminist", just because some who call themselves that are shitholes doesn't mean all of them are. (I do identify as feminist btw.) I like my country though. It has its faults, but I have a hard time picturing myself living anywhere else.
Nope. My only purpose in life is to take a job in Australia so the Aussies can keep complaining about Kiwis taking their jobs. It's a mutually beneficial partnership.