What it would be like to have pride in my country?

[Audie]

Are there Americans?

If you ask someone in the US what they are, you usually hear about their genetic roots.

The only person I've ever heard say they were American was my ex, and the context of the sentence was "I'm an American; I like donuts."

Is that all there is to this culture? Not that donuts are a bad thing, I suppose...

Have someone else explain svp.

 

[Sunstone]

Don't hope for good Samaritan in China.
Not happening.

Yeah, I heard about China and the absence
of Good Samaritan behavior. I actually thought
it made some sense as it was explained.

 

[Audie]

Yeah, I heard about China and the absence
of Good Samaritan behavior. I actually thought
it made some sense as it was explained.

There are reasons for it.

 

[Sunstone]

Yeah, I can't say I've ever felt the urge to move to China.

Last I know of having lived in China was about 11
reincarnations back. @Audie, who was at the time the
Emperor, was passing by borne in a liter, when I
embarrassed myself by uncontrollably belching due
to having lacked the wisdom to avoid eating my own
cooking earlier in the day. Next thing I knew, she
had cursed me to be reborn as an RF Administrator
living in interesting times.

I thought I had it bad enough as it was, and it couldn't
get any worse. Then she registered, and logged on
the Forum.

Been eating nothing but carry-out ever since.

True story, by the way.

 

[Sunstone]

There are reasons for it.

I heard of a couple of reasons. If you
have a moment, could run them by as bullets
for me? Either here or in a PM?

 

[Sunstone]

The drone strikes are not a physical reality? Lack of healthcare isn't a reality? COVID deaths aren't a reality? Must be nice wherever your reality exists.

Listen up, Quetzal! If what you just said means you have even a tiny hope of seizing Alternative Reality from me, you had best bear in mind I got here first and have had time to fortify the place. Just sayin', Quetzal.

Um... or am I correctly understanding you?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

You can run but not hide/ lie about
where you're from. Everyone knows an
American accent.

Even me, in Europe they called me an American.

I have what is basically "dictionary English," having developed it after I put the effort into losing my rural Hoosier accent. Going by videos and info of regional dialects here it seems to fit with New England.
People from all over America and the world think the way I talk sounds like I'm from Texas. Many have though "somewhere north/Canada." A few have thought somewhere European.
Doesn't matter where I am here, that's how it goes.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

The drone strikes are not a physical reality? Lack of healthcare isn't a reality? COVID deaths aren't a reality? Must be nice wherever your reality exists.

We can only put our efforts and concerns in so many places before we are stretched thin. Starving children around the world is, of course, a horrible and terrible thing. But I won't lose any sleep over it because I'm human and I have no direct connection to it and my own problems to worry about. Those kids are real kids, but it wouldn't be healthy or a functional life I thought of those deaths as being like a death in my family.
Kind of like when you work in healthcare. You can't get attached to your clients. You leave them at work. They are people, people you work with, people you even help and offer support and encouragement to, but you will go mad if they are more than work. Care and concern is necessary to be good at it. Just as is being able to leave them at work.

 

[Cooky]

You can run but not hide/ lie about
where you're from. Everyone knows an
American accent.

Even me, in Europe they called me an American.

You might as well just join is Audie... We'll take you in as one of our own.

 

[Martin]

I wouldn't want to live in America. Too many nutters with guns.

 

[Heyo]

Why does anyone need to have pride in their country? What value is there in that?

It (should) makes you care what happens in your country.

 

[Sunstone]

No coup de Jarnac needed.

Why would I mind people knowing I was
resident in the USA.

Its not perfect, its not like anyone experts
when they first arrive.

For one -

Some mighty spoilt and neurotic
people there, spitting on a place so
many millions of less fortunate people
would do anything to get any chance at
all to be there.
Hiiigh class freaking problems those
Americans have!

Put up the vid of willy singing "promised land".

No need for Willy to teach me love of country. See post
#52 above if you're crazy enough to want details. But ain't
no one going to teach me love of American politics these days.

 

[Sunstone]

I wouldn't want to live in America. Too many nutters with guns.

Please! Get your stats right! It's too many guns with nutters, my friend.
The number of guns passed the number of nutters in America circa 1820.
Although, in your defense, the nutters been busting butt to catch up ever since.

 

[Heyo]

This place sucks.

I often think that about my country. And then I look around. There are a few places to look up to. New Zealand, Norway, Iceland. But from a global perspective there are more places it would be worse.

 

[exchemist]

What's worse is Germany. Haven't met a German I like yet.

(well except for one)

That's strange. I struggle to think of a single German I have known that I did not like. I used to visit Hamburg regularly as part of my work and found them polite, hospitable and, on the whole, intelligent and thoughtful. Also very calm people, with little BS about them.

 

[Martin]

The UK is generally an OK place to live, though I found the whole Brexit fiasco unfortunate and embarrassing.
I have an Irish passport too, so I still think of myself as European.

 

[exchemist]

I often think that about my country. And then I look around. There are a few places to look up to. New Zealand, Norway, Iceland. But from a global perspective there are more places it would be worse.

But the food's pretty terrible in Norway. Lutefisk? And the national drink is aquavit, which is fairly ho-hum, too.

 

[ChristineM]

What's worse is Germany. Haven't met a German I like yet.

(well except for one)

Odd, i have several German friends who are really nice people, been to Germany a few times and never met anyone i didn't like. I honestly cannot say the same for all Americans i have met. But perhaps that is my own discomfort at feeling threatened for being atheist in some god damn crazy funnymentalist areas

 

[Secret Chief]

I am watching a UFC event tonight and it is common to hear fighters talk about their country and are proud to be where they are from. I like to fantasize about what that would be like because my country (the US) is a real piece of ****. A place where the likes of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and Lauren Boebert get elected on purpose.

If I traveled abroad, I would lie about where I came from if asked. I do not see any justifiable reason to be proud of being from here. We have no identity, our politicians pander to the lowest common denominator, we terrorize nations from half a world away via drone strikes, we let legislation be bought by the highest bidder, we allow our school kids to get shot up multiple times a year, we watched as a pandemic ripped our population apart, we let our countrymen go into insurmountable debt for basic medical treatment, etc etc etc.

If I could, I could leave and never come back. This place sucks.

Pride I associate with being a patriot. Not all patriots are racists, but all racists certainly call themselves patriots. So personally I wouldn't touch the last refuge of the scoundrel with a bargepole. But I would say it would be good to feel at ease in the country in which one lives. This is more likely the more unified in outlook its inhabitants are. It seems to me from the outside the US is quite fractured, as if two peoples are living on the same landmass, begrudgingly. I can only empathise, I find myself in a similar scenario - it becomes more likely by the day the UK is going to break up - Scotland (at least) seems to be moving in that direction at pace.

 

[ChristineM]

The UK is generally an OK place to live, though I found the whole Brexit fiasco unfortunate and embarrassing.
I have an Irish passport too, so I still think of myself as European.

I see myself as European ahead of British, so had been looking to leave the UK behind for some time, the political situation was not a big influence but did have a little weight. What did initially drive us to start looking was, the weather. The culture that was leaning more and more to America, we wanted a more relaxed lifestyle. The
food which althought improvement in the last couple of decades is still something of a laughing stock. And yes, the political writing on the wall.

We got out before Brexit, thank goodness because i now add the little Britain attitude, the longing to return to the days of empire, increased xenophobia and racism. And the effects of that stupidity are only just beginning to be felt.