National pride

I'm more proud of my cultural background, LATIN - spiced, sometimes heavily, here and there with Amerindian (Native) and African influences.

Holland is a wealthy, pleasant and tolerant country to live but "feeling any national pride", not really  : we became rich by plundering and using slaves in South - and Central America, we suffered from underpression in World War II bur directly after this war we did terrible things in Indonesia in order to keep our multinational interest (oil company Shell, our royal family owns many stocks  ) and at this moment we are a puppet on the strings of the right wing hawks in the USA government. More and more we look like an oversea state of the USA: money rules and everybody is focussed on material things  ...

But I am proud of musicans like Finch, Trace, Focus, Earth & Fire and Ayreon, painters like Vincent Van Gogh and Rembrandt and football players like Johan Cruijff, Marco Van Basten and Ruud Van Nistelrooij because our small nation has created so many creative and inventive individuals, that has something to do with the special atmosphere in Holland.

Well Tristan, I hope to be proud on the national team during the World Championship in Germany this summer ..  !

king of Siam wrote: stonebeard wrote: I see no reason for you not to be proud. Since when has Canada (or Quebec for that matter) started a war and lied to its people about it? In any case, I don't think there should be nations at all, but rather one unified world. It's laughable, I know, but I feel more of a duty to protect and serve the world than to protect and serve the United States in specific. That notion seems incredibly selfish and isolationist. That's also why the concept of treason baffles me. If my country is doing something I consider wrong, and I join the the other side, one I consider doing the right thing, what gives my country the right to say I'm committing treason. In a globalist point of view, there is no such thing as treason I believe, unless some aliens start attacking Earth and I join them. wow thats what my  ex-marine,vietnam vet,Biology teacher used to say

FYI - Marines never consider themselves to be "ex" ("One a Marine always a Marine", you know). I served twelve years in the Corps myself, but I also know that not many of the things this country has fought to 'defend' were particularly honorable or noble ventures.

At the risk of sounding very mushy, I will say that I am proud to be in a place that is (or at least used to be) a symbol of the promise of freedom and possibilities. If only we can figure out the right way to act as responsible members of the human race, our country has a lot to offer.

The two most amazing experiences I've ever had in my life (other than when my kids were born) were

1 - Riding the Staten Island ferry across New York Bay and seeing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I looked around in every direction and was humbled by the hundreds of buildings, bridges, boats, and construction, nearly all of it built in the past hundred years or so. This was all built by tens of thousands people of all races, creeds, colors, nationalities, and backgrounds. I can't describe it justly, you really just have to see it in person - it's absolutely stunning!

2 - Standing in front of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC on Memorial Day. Again, can't be described - has to be experienced to fully appreciate. But the point here is that one can never forget that for anything any nation does right, it also does many things wrong, and we must guard against becoming so nationalistic that we blindly assume we (Americans or anyone else) are somehow better than anyone else. You can't stand at that place and witness the total despair that so many visitors are expressing who lost pieces of their lives in that place (both Vietnamese and soldiers and their families), and ever again believe that our nation is somehow superior. I believe that any nation of people who believe that are destined to not only ultimate failure, but also destined to cause the human race as a whole to take another in a generation of steps backwards.

erik neuteboom wrote: Well Tristan, I hope to be proud on the national team during the World Championship in Germany this summer ..  !

I hope to be proud of them too... without Kalou

I love my country, i like the roots of the history, i like our customs and traditions, we have beautiful zones when we can stay and enjoy the landscape, we have a very special and delicious kind of food, music.. maybe not the best, but is ok...

memowakeman wrote: I love my country, i like the roots of the history, i like our customs and traditions, we have beautiful zones when we can stay and enjoy the landscape, we have a very special and delicious kind of food, music.. maybe not the best, but is ok...   Like any country Mexico has awful things... insecurity, stress ,smog, bad poiticians, etc.. at least in Mexico City (where i live) , we have a mix of all that good and bad things... my city is not the best and most beautiful of my country, is so crowded and sometimes looks horrible, but one of the best poinst is our culture.   Anyway, im proud to be Mexican, because we are special and unique people!

avestin wrote: I'm very proud of the Neutral Zone. The best place to be.

Switzerland? Lucky.

^ I read 80%

Vompatti wrote: Why should I feel national pride? I just happened to be born here.

Why should you be proud of your own achievements? You just happened to be born in your body, in your environment and with your genes