So, if you all will indulge me, and stop the food fight for a few posts, I have an honest question with no hidden agenda.  And here it is:

What exactly do you mean if you say you are "proud to be an American?" 

I love this country.  I'm damn glad I was born here and live here.  I wouldn't live anywhere else.  Taken as a whole, it's the best place on earth.  But I wouldn't use the word "proud" because I didn't have anything to do with it.  I wasn't born here on purpose.  I'm not one of the founding fathers.  They're the ones that should be proud.  So should all the people who died defending this country.  They should be proud. 

I'm proud of my own accomplishments, in a way.  But I didn't cause myself to be born in the United States.  That was just luck. 

So what does it mean to you when you say you are "proud to be an American?"

Great questions!  For me I think of the months I spent in Europe and the nice people I met.  I was proud of being different from them, not that they are bad or anything, but I wouldn't want to be like them.  You pick up on certain things that set us apart.  We have an attitude that anyone can do anything at any time, and we set up guardrails in society accordingly.  They, on the other hand, are much more set up around the idea that your career path starts to get determined around age 9 and you will never have opportunities to try anything without the utmost in training. There are other examples.

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My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

So, if you all will indulge me, and stop the food fight for a few posts, I have an honest question with no hidden agenda.  And here it is:

What exactly do you mean if you say you are "proud to be an American?" 

I love this country.  I'm damn glad I was born here and live here.  I wouldn't live anywhere else.  Taken as a whole, it's the best place on earth.  But I wouldn't use the word "proud" because I didn't have anything to do with it.  I wasn't born here on purpose.  I'm not one of the founding fathers.  They're the ones that should be proud.  So should all the people who died defending this country.  They should be proud. 

I'm proud of my own accomplishments, in a way.  But I didn't cause myself to be born in the United States.  That was just luck. 

So what does it mean to you when you say you are "proud to be an American?"

I think everyone who has contributed positively to this country should be "proud" because they are what makes this country great. Whether they are scientists who advance medicine or our military who defend against all enemies both foreign and domestic; first responders or taxi drivers, etc. There is no One Thing that makes this country great so to say only certain people should be considered proud isn't seeing the big picture. It's all of the people who make a positive difference, and we all do to a degree, no matter how big or small. 

You're right in that we didn't ask to be born here and every single one of us is lucky to have been. That gives us a responsibility- actually it's a privilege we have that we can contribute to this country. It's a shame we have become a society that sees nearly everything through a political lens. That corrupts a lot of issues and makes it not so easy to see things clearly.

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So, if you all will indulge me, and stop the food fight for a few posts, I have an honest question with no hidden agenda.  And here it is:

What exactly do you mean if you say you are "proud to be an American?" 

I love this country.  I'm damn glad I was born here and live here.  I wouldn't live anywhere else.  Taken as a whole, it's the best place on earth.  But I wouldn't use the word "proud" because I didn't have anything to do with it.  I wasn't born here on purpose.  I'm not one of the founding fathers.  They're the ones that should be proud.  So should all the people who died defending this country.  They should be proud. 

I'm proud of my own accomplishments, in a way.  But I didn't cause myself to be born in the United States.  That was just luck. 

So what does it mean to you when you say you are "proud to be an American?"

I am proud to be privileged enough to have been born here.

I am proud to have the opportunity to chart my own path in life.

I am proud that I (as well as anyone else) is free to practice any religion of my choosing or not practice one at all.

I am proud that I can "come and go" as I please within my city, state and country with no special "papers" or having to go through "checkpoints" that monitor my movements.

I am proud that my fellow citizens fought and worked so hard to give us our freedom over our country's short age.

I am proud that my fellow citizens put a man on the moon, developed the technology that we enjoy today and evolved the way that we did.

I am proud that I wore the uniform of the United States Navy and served honorably.

I could go on-and-on.  Really, what kind of question is this that really questions somebody's patriotism?

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

I didn't see it as a question of patriotism. Interesting.

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I didn't see it as a question of patriotism. Interesting.

When one questions if "you are proud to be an American" I consider that a question of patriotism.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

I didn't see it as a question of patriotism. Interesting.

When one questions if "you are proud to be an American" I consider that a question of patriotism.

I can see that line of thinking depending on how the question was asked, or who was asking. I find it interesting to know how others define being proud to be an American because different people have different reasons, or no reason.

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Like most words, pride has multiple meanings. Using the right context matters.

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I didn't see it as a question of patriotism. Interesting.

When one questions if "you are proud to be an American" I consider that a question of patriotism.

I didn't ask if you are proud to be an American.  I asked what you mean if you say you are proud to be an American.

Definition of Proud-  feeling deep pleasure or satisfaction as a result of one's own achievements, qualities, or possessions or those of someone with whom one is closely associated.

Definition of Patriotism- love for or devotion to one's country.  

I am patriotic.  I love the United States.  But I don't know that I should be proud to be an American, because being an American is not an achievement of mine.  It was luck.  Should I be proud that I am lucky?   I think I should be grateful.  I think I should be very happy about it.  But I don't think I should puff out my chest about it, because being born here is not an achievement of mine.  

  

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1: the quality or state of being proud: such as
a: inordinate self-esteem : CONCEIT
b: a reasonable or justifiable self-respect
c: delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship
parental pride

A. Some Americans have this type of pride. I don't get it. These are the guys who unabashedly support anything the US does. They look down on other nations. They find superiority in being an American. I don't have this type of pride.

B. This pride is conditional. It relies on circumstances. I'm proud of the foundational principles that built the United States. I believe those ideals should be protected. It's what makes America and Americans great. I'm not proud when we abandon those ideals for the sake of convenience. I'm not proud when we leave citizens translators stranded in Afghanistan, because our government doesn't care about keeping it's word. I'm not proud of government overreach. I'm not proud of the corporatism that is overtaking this country.

C. This pride is relational. This is the driving force behind patriotism. On the whole, I delight in being a US citizen. I'm grateful that the ideals that built the US provided me with more opportunity and freedom than most people have known in history.

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