Both sides of my family are immigrants to the United States. On my father's side, my grandparents were born in Germany. On my mother's side, my grandparents were born in Holland and Finland.
I don't consider myself a "German American" or a "Dutch American" or a "Finnish American". I am just an American, with an immense amount of pride partly due to what my grandparents accomplished by coming here.
Lately, I've heard a bunch of country bashing going back and forth, and admittedly, I've bought into it once or twice myself. However, I try to make educated decisions for the most part, and don't hate one person or another because of where they're from, even if I disagree with their country's politics.
At any rate, here is one reason I'm proud of where I'm from.
My great uncle immigrated to the United States from Germany with his sister (my grandmother) and his parents when he was 12. He joined the United States Army Air Corps and became a B-17 pilot during WWII. His first mission was to bomb the town in which he was born in Germany. Although I still feel that this was too much to ask of any human being, he did his duty without fail or reservation because in his own words: "Hitler had to be stopped at all costs". He told me later in life it was much harder for him than he let on, and he prayed for forgivness after the bombardier called "bombs away". Although I believe in God, I'm not overly religious. But I believe I would have done the same thing if I was in his shoes.
At any rate, he was shot down while returning from a bombing run near Bastogne during the Battle of the Buldge on his 12th mission. He lost three crewmembers and was severely injured himself, ending his tour as a bomber pilot.
He died about 12 years ago, but I still consider him a hero and share his beliefs that the United States was engaged in a just cause. Still having relatives in Germany, I don't believe my viewpoint of the United States is overly tainted. I love this country, and am insulted anytime anyone bashes it's citizens.
Living here, I can tell you that the vast majority of Americans are not war mongers. We just can't stand the thought of the helpless being preyed upon, and we are strong enough to do something about it. This is mostly due to the fact that ALL Americans have family ties to other countries (unless they're American Indian). Some of which have been opressed by totalitarian dictatorships in the past.
I don't always agree with my President, but I firmly believe in the American ideology. No one will ever convince me otherwise.