On balance---are you more proud of your country, or critical of it?--Al

-- Al Schroeder (al.schroeder@nashville.com), July 04, 2000

Answers

I'm old enough to remember before Watergate, and a time when flag waving was much more common than it is these days. I remember Camelot. I remember when the media respected politicians and didn't wash their dirty linen in public. I have a daughter who can't understand "the whole Kennedy thing" and talks about her generation not being able to understand patriotism. I have a son who can find very little to like in this country and who is about to chuck it all and go wander around Europe for awhile to see if he can find a country he likes better. Not to change citizenship, just to see how it is in other countries (oddly enough this is the kid who lived in Brasil for a year).

That said, I think that I don't know that I'm exactly PROUD of my country and there is a lot to criticize, but I still think that on balance we have things together better than a lot--not all--of other countries. I'd love to have the pride I had when I campaigned for Kennedy--both of the Kennedys. I don't have that. I feel jaded. I feel some of the blame for that rests with the media which feels we have a right to know EVERYTHING. So is there more corruption, immorality, etc., etc. now than 50 years ago? Probably not. We just know about it now. And that has stolen from us our ability to be proud. For those of us who can remember being proud, it's sad. For those who have never known that feeling, it's tragic.

-- Bev Sykes (basykes@dcn.davis.ca.us), July 04, 2000.

I feel both. I feel critical in that there are so many people suffering in this country. This is a wealthy country and it shouldn't have to be that way. My grandparents have still given me the ability to be proud, since they can remember another country where they did not have freedom of religion or the basic human rights that we take for granted.

-- AJ (joijoijoi@hotmail.com), July 05, 2000.

I feel that my country is like family - - - it has its faults and good points - - - I love it because is the big family. I think we should do less griping and try to find ways to bolster and perfect it.

-- Denver doug (ionoi@webtv.net), July 05, 2000.

Let me see.........in Iran they are killing women for being unfortunate enough to be working in a field that a strange man walked next to....... In Africa they chop off the private parts of women, to keep them submissive to their future husbands......The Serbs and ethnic cleansing.....Siberia where people have nothing to eat.....Cuba, Haiti, China......

What was the question? Am I proud of it? THANK GOD for it.

-- Planet Earth (imagine@industrial-ideas.com), July 10, 2000.

Well, in the US - random people are killing and being killed on a daily basis - hundreds of thousands of people are dying because they can't afford health care - children are going hungry in our country - women (primarily but men also) are being violently abused and killed in our country - underrepresented peoples of the US are being discriminated against EVERY DAY - gay people are being killed for their sexual orientation - women make about 75% of what men make.

The list goes on. I'll completely agree with you - the US has some great aspects about it. But let's not ignore the challenges the US faces. I would daresay that if you ask a teen that is homeless or has been physically or sexually abused, s/he would probably not have great things to say about living in the US.

Having said all of that, I'm really not going anywhere soon. The US is really a land of opportunity - though realizing these opportunities is a question in an of itself.

Sometimes Canada looks better and better every day.

-- Lis (lis_beth76@yahoo.com), July 11, 2000.

Well, in the US - random people are killing and being killed on a daily basis - hundreds of thousands of people are dying because they can't afford health care - children are going hungry in our country - women (primarily but men also) are being violently abused and killed in our country - underrepresented peoples of the US are being discriminated against EVERY DAY - gay people are being killed for their sexual orientation - women make about 75% of what men make.

The list goes on. I'll completely agree with you - the US has some great aspects about it. But let's not ignore the challenges the US faces. I would daresay that if you ask a teen that is homeless or has been physically or sexually abused, s/he would probably not have great things to say about living in the US.

Having said all of that, I'm really not going anywhere soon. The US is really a land of opportunity - though realizing these opportunities is a question in an of itself.

Sometimes Canada looks better and better every day.

Lis - blue letters

-- Lis (lis_beth76@yahoo.com), July 11, 2000.

"Pride in one's country." That's a novel idea. In eightheenth century England, there was pride in their land. Ben Johnson (not the inventor, the British author) especially took pride in the English meadows and hated Scotland's craggy moors. Scotland, on the other hand, adored their heath and rocks. Modern-day post-colonial cultures, such as the Maoris in New Zealand, experience a similar pride in their mountainous landscape. And Costa Ricans are so intrigued by their largely rainforested landscape that nearly every citizen could tell you exactly what a random piece of flora, fauna, or animal is. Can we say the same?

Oddly enough, Americans (I hate that term - U.S.'ers would be more accurate - it implies that we're the only thing in the Americas) consider "pride" to be more of a governmental issue. The land itself is relatively unimportant. We spoil our natural resources in the name of big business and then use our economy as the measuring stick against other countries. So, do I have "pride" in my country? No. In fact, I intend to apply for dual citizenship with Costa Rica next year when all my things are in order.

-- Elan Kesilman (elan@elanworks.com), July 13, 2000.

The USA is pretty screwed up, but it is still the best game in town. By a long shot!

-- Chris Hawkins (peace@clover.net), August 11, 2000.