The USA

[demaw1]

Chairboy,
     You made my point we are in a civil war,you fool is that all u got out of that.I dont give a rats bellybutton if u are atheist,hedonist, or any other religion like it or not this countrywas founded on those principles .Because of those principles this is the only country ever that tolerated all religions,Freedom of religion, Freedom of no religion......but not freedom from religion there fore if I want to read a bible at a bus stop and u dont like it....you can go take a flying f**k at a rolling donut

[Chairboy]

I didn't quite get that, something about donuts?

[-dead-]

Everybody repeat after me:

I'm proud to be a citizen of [insert your country here].

It's the best country in the world. Full of the best and kindest people in the world.

Naturally, [insert your country here] being the best country in the world has nothing to do with the fact that I am a citizen of [insert your country here], but is an objective and self evident truth, and everyone else in their heart of hearts wishes they were just like me.

[GRUNHERZ]

No doubt about it  China is the best country on earth eh dead...  Democracy? What, when?

Enjoy the right to protest in your little enclave while you still can..

[beet1e]

Morning Dago! Hehe, we're keeping it civil. I'll condense what I was trying to say.

Lada asked how do you know when your country is the best: Do two people walk up to and congratulate each other? - LOL

And as Furball pointed out, for Americans to be claiming that theirs is the "best" country in the world rings a bit hollow, when most of 'em haven't been anywhere else. So then the tired old argument gets trotted out: "We don't *need* to go anywhere else; we have everything we *need* here" - by which is meant that "we" have WalMart, MacDonalds, Burger King, gas at ~$2 a gallon, drive in movies, freeways, guns, muscle cars, popcorn, shopping malls with 10,000 parking spaces, Sears, JC Penny, air conditioners and the "World" Series...

...all of which misses the point. I would like to see some places of historical interest, perhaps some of the seven wonders of the world (none of which is in the USA) even though I don't *NEED* to do this.

By the way, did I tell you that my house is the best house in the street? I know this even though I haven't lived in any of the others. I don't need to - I have everything I need here!

Kev367 - yep, Britain owned at least 25% of the world back in the 18th century - and possibly more like 33%, and had the most powerful Navy in the world. And as little as 50 years ago, we had a car industry which was the biggest car exporter in the world.



Simaril - interesting post. No aristocracy indeed. One of the things that PM Margaret Thatcher tried to do was to create a Meritocracy by creating the conditions under which Entrepreneurialism could succeed. That involved cuttings taxes (top rate by more than half) and educating people to understand that "Profit" is not a dirty word, as it was deemd to be in the socialist 1970s Britain.

We still have an Aristocracy of course. What happened was that in the Middle Ages, someone might get created an Earl for services to the King - perhaps in battles - it was all about money and power. The new Earl would have a stately home built for him, servants, a large parcel of land - the works. He would be set up for life. But of course, when he died, the Earldom would need to pass down to a male heir. The heirs need have done nothing at all to deserve it, but what else could they do? They could hardly hand the earldom back to the King. So even now in the present day, we have for example the 17th Earl of Pembroke residing at Wilton House near Salisbury - a property that has simply passed down 17 generations of the family. Story here.

Of course this is a nonsense in some cases. The whole farce was packaged into a 1972 movie called "The Ruling Class", in which the 13th Earl of Gurney accidentally hanged himself with a ligature, and the earldom passed to his son who became the 14th Earl - a deranged man who had spent 7 years in a mental institution, thought he was God, managed to convince bystanders that he was in fact sane as he inherited the earldom, and went on to take his seat in the House of Lords - LOL.

[Slash27]

as an atheist, I can't be a proud american?

Atheist? Kill'em, he's diffrant than us!

[-tronski-]

Originally posted by cpxxx
Martlet it doesn't bother me. I'm just curious. I never have to assert my pride in being Irish. I just am what I am. It's an American thing I think. Australians do it to sometimes. Maybe it's a new(ish) country thing?

Why do YOU think it might bother me?

Actually most Australians scornfully find gratuitous flag waving, and patting yourself on the back activites what we like to call in Aus:

Being a bit of a banana

Australians usually only indulge in such silly things mostly overseas....only when pissed and when some kind of sport (usually rugby or cricket) is involved.

Or playing England in said sports at home...

Originally posted by Bluedog
You're just jealous of their cash and our climate

The similarities between Aussies and Yanks are far far more than our differances too, so it isnt all that much of a suprise to find the people are alike in our pride.
It's just that both countries originated as penal colonies, and both now enjoy an equal, if not better quality of life than the countries from which our ancestors came.

In a sense it could be you are right about it being a 'new' country thing, we don't have thousand year old grudges against our neighbours. Allso, as someone mentioned, our cultures (American and Australian) arent singular, we have a huge mix of peoples from all over the globe, each of whom bring the best aspects of their heritage and culture with them, usually leaving behind the things that cause thousand year grudges.

Funnily enough, we happen to have strong military alliances and economic/trade agreements with each other too.

In short, it's because just like the good ol' US of A, we too rock

BTW, who is this 'sometimes' we are apparently doing it to?

Oh yeah   Yanks, not everyone hates ya
Wouldn't swap for the world, but I would be proud too, were I you.

Well...not everyone can be tops mate...

 Tronsky

[mipoikel]

Beet1e, dont kill me!  Found this...

Crossing practise ( PDF-file)

[beet1e]

LOL Mipoikel! Do you know Mechanic/Batfink?  There's one of those right in the middle of his town. I will have to drive around it on Tuesday night.

[-dead-]

Originally posted by GRUNHERZ
No doubt about it  China is the best country on earth eh dead...  Democracy? What, when?

Enjoy the right to protest in your little enclave while you still can..

That's right, Grunny, keep telling yourself everyone in their heart of hearts wishes they were just like you.

[Naso]

Originally posted by FUNKED1
Naso, good post.

Thanks

Patriotism here is less these days than in the past.  It's just that the world gets to see it more on TV and the Intardnet.  So I don't think you should worry about any extreme changes.  If anything, people are more and more skeptical of the government, and are better informed.

I know little about the people that is around your actual president, but what I heard wo far was scaring.
I have studyed my own nation's history, even the part that in some way, being a shame, it's someway... forgotten (at least the historians and analysts seem to try).
Last time something similar of the ???? manifesto (Cheney and others, or is lieber-something?) has been said here, my people has awaken wearing black shirts, gassing Lybians and Ethiopians to "bring them civilization" , and siding another black wearing people in a bloody try to subjugate and conquer the entire world.

And has been a tough and painfull awakening.

So, try to understand why I am so... well, scared it's the right word, when I fear (and I hope to be absolutely wrong) a similar awakening for you.

Also, for a lot of us, the patriotic feeling is not for the government, but for the people and culture.

Yep, I understand and agree, maybe I was'nt clear in my post about it.

We solve problems together and help each other and "stick up" for each other when bad things happen.  This would happen even without the government.  It's like being part of the world's biggest and toughest family (or gang).

And this is one of the thing that I like more of the people of USA.

[Naso]

Originally posted by Crumpp
\


What is the implication?  Bush is Hitler??

If the American People reelect him then we are headed down the road to Facism?!?!?


WTF...........

Is there something in the water in Europe?  Did the genepool get thinned that bad 60 years ago?



Crumpp

I have tryied to explain that it's a fear, not a convinction.

I have tryied to explain that this fear is an experience that my people have lived in the worst way.

I have tryied to keep this exchange civil and constructive.

Maybe this is not your aim, ok, fine.

But, willing or unwilling, our respective peoples, USA, Italy, and the rest of Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, in short, the western world, have to walk a common road for a while, or for ever, and will be better to learn from each other, and not to fight useless battles between us.

And the "november" sentence was a joke.

[Naso]

oh, a last thing:

Yes, the genepool in Europe has been thinned, in WWI and WW2, and during the very bad periods following both of the wars, periods that have forced a lot of people to move to another place.

In fact, being humans, we share the same genepool, have you forgot it?

[Naso]

Originally posted by Steve
Dear non-American:
Hehehe, love your country, wherever you are from.  Post it here on the boards how much you love your country.  Tell the BBS readers why you think it's the best.

If you love your country, think it's the best place to live in the world, great!  I promise not to disagree.
 

I love my country.

Our constitution has been writed in 1946.

Our flag has been invented in 1848.

Our official language is one of the dialects that have become common starting from 1861.

Our nation, as a new entity, has been founded in 1861.

But my people, my people's culture share common roots and has become a people since more than 2.000 years, being descendant of the Romans, the first force that unifyed the people, used a common language that last in part, or traces, in the languages most spoken in the world (with the exception of chineese), and estabilished the time count that almost the entire world use now.

Not bad, uh?

[Naso]

Originally posted by demaw1
Naso and others.
    It is not that we are missing a people like connective tissue, we never wanted one.That is why the founding fathers gave us an idea based on Judeo/Christian principles.The [force] for americans is not symbolism associated with state or nation, that is why you dont hear father/mother land much.

A people-like tissue, at the moment, will be a danger for your state.
Give it time, and you will develope a tissue more deep than the social pact, common language, and economic rules, and become a complete Nation.
And there are already signs of this change to come.
(disclaimer: this is said without intent to bash or harm, I may go so far to say that is said with love)

Although it is being attacked what holds us together is the idea,1.GOD 2.constitution/bill of rights 3. liberty.America believes in liberty, Europe believes in equality.We have a strong patriotism not to the father/mother land,but to the constitution/bill of rights and liberty.Each of us are a living part of the constitution/bill of rights.

Well, reason 1. is a danger, state and religion are better to be separate, look at the mess that mixing it has made in the muslim countries.

We are not loyal to a father/mother land,king or the name of a country,but to liberty and each other.

It's not the name, it's not the king (gosh, we kicked them out in '46), and it's something more deep than the simple father/mother land.

Have we done wrong ,you bet your life we have and we have at times dearly paid for it.It wasnt patriotism that led Europe to give the world nazism, fascism, communism and imperialism.Rather it was the inability to identify evil and take action against it.

I disagree, the perception of wrong and right, good and evil, it's based on the moral values, theese values change over time, and from people to people.
Your actual moral values, very similar to mines, I bet, are not absolute, ence not absolutely correct, but at the moment they seem the most evoluted available, and they will keep evolving.

Some of Europe still have that problem hence the hate and bash America crowd. Therefore Europe over time has been able to kill millions upon millions of it's own citizens even in the last hundred years.

 

Europe it's not yet a single entity, even if the efforts are big to become it, the problem to kill each other in the numbers of millions it's still a problem of the entire humankind.
Hate seem the preferred sport of this strange, sublime being that is called Homo Sapiens Sapiens

George Washington wrote if America allows itself to be entangled in the affairs of Europe, America over time will cease to exist.  40% to maybe 45% of America has embraced European values.  

America is founded on the European values, how can you not see this?
From where the culture of your founding fathers come from, mate?

We now are in a bloodless civil war for the hearts and minds of America.  Unfortunately I think we will lose.  

No comment.

That is sad because next time Europe cries out for help there will be no America to help save them.

Uh, oh, not this, please, not this trap again.
The "we saved your ass" card has been played a lot here, I have hoped we can fly higher than this.