[mystiek]

I have always been proud of my country, my dad and husband are veterns of foreign wars, served in the airforce. I encourage my children to respect the flag, etc. However, recently I feel if I traveled abroad I would feel more than afraid, I would feel embarassed. It personally bothers me to feel like this, as an American it breaks my heart to see the condition our country is in and the probable further worsening in the near future. Is anyone else out there wrestling with this too? Sorry if this was a former topic that is archived, but with all the recent economic problems and the upcoming elections-its becoming more relevant in my mind.

[kpeavey]

I live in the greatest country in the world-The USA.
I have tremendous faith in its people, its history, its culture.
There is no place I'd rather be.

I do take issue with the government. It is self-serving, uncaring, inflexible, incompetent, and is moving ever closer to oppressive.

[Carlhole]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mystiek', 'I') have always been proud of my country...

[Rogozhin]

When I first traveled abroad I was overwhelmed with despondency as I first flew with and then interacted with Americans (my country) as I returned to our beloved nation.

[Blueberry]

I used to feel this very same way -- but have since taken on the new mantle of 'scared sh!tless'.

[Micki]

You are proud of what America WAS and the idea of what America was supposed to be.
The foundation of America was not a random event but the struggle of people who knew what they wanted.....and what they didn't.
But like Benjamin Franklin said, We have given you a republic...if you can keep it.
And this takes education, work and vigilance. Not mindless sacrifice in the army and saluting the flag.

Giving you a video link is not much support but hopefully it will motivate and shake some life into some of you and spurr some action before all that once made America unique is gone....possibly forever.

OVERVIEW OF AMERICA is an inspirational piece on what the founding fathers intended to achieve and why it America once became a beacon of freedom.
Go take it back, you owe it to the past generations who struggled for it and you need to pass it on to your children.
It is 11.59PM. You got a minute before it all turns into a pumpkin.

[WyoDutch]

Patriot Act... Military Commissions Act... $2,000,000,000 a week wasted on the insane Iraq "war"... Nationalization of the financial industry... strip searches at airports... yellow, stinking fear and hatred for "Them Islamofascicts who want to rape our women and butcher our babies"... militarized police forces across the nation... All in support of a President who wouldn't be qualified to drive a garbage truck if he hadn't been born with a silver thermometer up his chute.

Patriotic? If that means love and respect for the United States Constitution... then I'm patriotic.

If being patriotic means empty-headed, screaming support for sleazy political partys or wars of occupation... then count me out.

[galacticsurfer]

I'm a US citizen abroad since 1990. I am earth patriotic. No better place to be than earth. No reason to like one place better than another. It's like religions, all just different way to say the same thing. We don't need a reason to hate and kill. Patriotism and religion give us a good reason, really the best reasons. OF course we gotta live somewhere and love those around us and identify with them so I suspect we get caught up in all that so it's inevitable someday to be patriotic and deeply religious, in a shrinking world in particular, to become even bigoted and racist and clanlike in a really small uneducated future without learning or TV or radio or newspapers where strangers/visitors of any sort are feared for years of being weird. Maybe patriotism helps bonding. We can't just skip outta town and say "screw you all I don't care" like all those superrich with houses in Monte Carlo and Manhattan and accounts in Bahamas. So what to say I don't know. Sky is blue wherever I get up on earth and I hope air is breathable so I like earth. People I meet however I can't tell, they might get on my nerves.

My old man used to joke "I love humanity, it's people I can't stand".

[mystiek]

It just breaks my heart when I see people (average middle class) working hard and having these fat cats with their goldern parachutes run companies into the ground (ie: Enron, etc, etc) at the expense of their employees. Our "leaders" (???) in Washington (like Chris Dodd and Barney Frank) reaping benefits at the expense of the taxpayors. I haven't even touched on my anger about the need for energy independence which was really brought to main stream reality in the 70's after the Yom Kippur war. It seems like the one politician that might have a handle on the economy (Ron Paul) is shoved off to the side. If our "leaders" would return to the principles our country was founded on these fat cats and "leaders" would be looking out for the backbone of this country and not their special interest. Do I still love America - of course-but am I disappointed in what I am seeing-definitely-IMO our country's leadership has really lost its way and I feel its embarassing that we puts ourselves out as the leader of all the "right things", but can't practice it ourselves (ie: do as I say and not as I do).

[Bigfoot3814]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Carlhole', 'S')ee my thread: Doomers Don't Believe In America

If you believe in your country, you must believe that it at least has the possibility of a future. And you must believe that the culture underlying all our modern trappings can arise and meet the great challenges we face.

Back in the 30's, people grew contemptuous of the extravagant, decadent lifestyles of the booming 20's. Patriotism resided in the spleen instead of the memory. The whole country turned more Socialistic than it had ever been before by necessity.

Mark Twain, I think, said that "History doesn't repeat itself. But it surely does rhyme".

Well, I think, we are in for some 21st century rhyming with our great grandparents' time.