Are you proud to be an American?

Question

Could someone tell me if you are proud of your country inspite of the politics?
I am tired of hearing people bash our president.
Should we not have some sort of respect?

This is for Andrea. No where did I say anything about liking Bush.
My question was do you feel we should have SOME RESPECT for our president?
People like me is very tired of all the America bashing.
I wanted to hear something good for a change and thank all of you that understood my question.
I said in spite of politics.

There is no wrong or right answer to this question.
Everyone has a right to their opinions.
That was not my question, but thank you to those that felt the need to elobrate.

Elaborate. LOL.
Sorry about the spelling .

I want to thank the people who made assumptions as th what the meaning was of my question. I respect your freedom of speech and thank you for answering my question.
To those who actually answered my question, I thank you for your views. I respect everyone for those views.
To the Military who answered my question. I "SALUTE" you guys. Thank you for serving our country to make sure that our rights are kept intact.
I can only pick one best answer. I would give you all 10 points if I could.
Thank you for your honest answers.

Answer 1

Hi C.C.,

Yes... yes... god yes, I am proud to be an American. I am a dual citizen of the USA and the Kingdom of Spain. My heritage is very important to me and I love both Spain and the United States of America. While I love to visit my relatives in Spain and visit my other country, the USA is where I call home. Always have and always will.

I may not agree with everything our government does, but I still can't think of any place else better, warts and all (Vietnam Conflict, slavery, segregation, Patriot Act). How many other places in the world can you disagree with so much and publicly protest without fear of being imprisoned or executed?

The reason we are hated by so many is because we can protest, rise to any level that our God given talents will take us, and do the things that most can only dream of. The terrorists and countries that hate us do so mostly because of envy. They only wish they could have what we have. Instead of trying to rise to our level, it is easier in their mind to bring everyone down to their level.

I support my president on most things (the major exceptions, gay rights and the Patriot Act). He says what he means and he means what he says. Since he took the War on Terrorism to the terrorists, we have not been attacked since and Afghanistan and Iraq are now free nations.

C.C. I could go on and on about what is great about our nation, but I think the country music star Lee Greenwood said it best in his song 'God Bless the USA' and a Canadian gentleman named Gordon Sinclair did a radio narrative in the mid 1970s called 'The Americans'. His narrative could be just as valid today if you think about September 11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Wars we are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. I think these two songs say it all. Also an old comedian named Red Skelton many years ago did a reading of the Pledge of Allegiance to some school children back in 1969; he explained what I think many of us have forgotten.

I hope this answered your question as to why I, a 24 yr old lesbian, am proud to be an American, an American who had and still has a choice to call another Kingdom her home.

C.C. I hope you are too.

Please go to the links I have sourced; they explain what being a proud American is all about way better than I ever could.

Answer 2

I may not agree with everything going on today but I could never speak out against America, my home, my whole life. How can people be so critical of such a great history. Even her own citizens have fallen into the "Evil America" stereotype by believing everything they hear and forgetting about the good our country has done for the rest of the world. Whenever disaster strikes anywhere, the U.S. is there helping no matter which country it is in. The media and the stories they preach are ruining this country. They take advantage of the freedom they have by broadcasting only the bad and none of the good. What happened to the glory of America? Today the U.S. completed a brand new school in central Baghdad that will house and educate 3,000 children but that good deed was not even broadcast on any news I saw. Good deeds just don't make money, I guess.

Answer 3

cheeky chick, I empathize with your confusion, you have asked some good questions and I am sorry if you are getting bashed for it. I think we can all agree that's not fair, you deserve some good answers.

I for one do love my country the United States. Is it perfect? No, but then nothing is. My ancestors have been here since the beginning, they have fought, argued, worked hard and sometimes died for it. This is still a great country, full of opportunity, promise, creativity and yes, lively political debate.

There are a couple things that I think are important to remember. First, while respect for politics is important, so is a healthy disrespect. Benjamin Franklin said that dissent was patriotic and he really meant it. He felt, as lots of Americans do, that it is important to always be questioning our leaders and he was willing to die for that right. It's one of the things that keeps this country great, not only do we have the right to speak our mind but the obligation, it helps keep us free. Remember, the President is a civil servant, he works for all of us not the other way around. That's the way the founding fathers wanted it, they didn't want a king or a leader that couldn't be held accountable.

All of our presidents have been bashed and it hasn't hurt our country one bit, believe me. George Washington said he was bashed so badly that he would throw up when he read what the newspapers were saying about him every day. Our right to free speech is so important that the founding fathers included it first in our Bill of Rights along with our freedom of religion. It has served as a model for other countries and is the envy of other nations that aren't as free as others. Be glad for it and most importantly excercise your right, speak your mind and join the debate.

Answer 4

I am an American but the problems and the erosion of America are getting too far out of hand. We have allowed Japan to dominate our economy, We spend a billion dollars a day in Japan...where do we make TVs, where do we buy computer parts, who owns Honolulu, or Los Angeles, or Universal studios or Fairchild, and what is the number one car in America...you got it...HONDA. Japan spends $400,000,000 a year to influence our Senators and Representatives...and we focus on outsourcing...a joke. We have lost our work ethics. We have a declining economy, and an educational system that produces inferior results (oh yeah...Japan owns 10 Universities in the US and controls many more through 'donations'). We have an escalating health care cost, a SS system in is going down, squabbles over stupid things like the WTC site...and long after the fact, there are still headaches with Katrina....how long now? We have meddled in many countries affairs, rattled sabres at North Korea, threatened nuclear response to China over Taiwan, allowed 11 million illegals to enter America (wait a minute!....did they all arrive in one day or has someone not been doing their job...and how did we count them.....So much for Homeland Security and the Border Patrols!)...It is not Bush alone, but the whole system that frustrates me and I can see no efforts on the part of the people to change it. Oh Yeah, I live in China.

Answer 5

I'm proud to be an American. I'm proud to be in a country where you can bash the president if you want to. You can say what you want about anyone. Any country that forbids this, in spite of the ills, is inherently leading itself to destruction.

We don't have to have respect if we don't want to. It's our right. We don't have to be proud. It's our right.

I personally don't agree with lacking respect, bashing the president, and having no pride in your country though if you're not willing to provide constructed, educated criticism and also to do something about what you see is wrong.

Answer 6

I am proud to be an American. While I do believe in free speech, I agree with you that most Bush-bashing is getting old. People should show a little creativity in their criticisms rather than just repeating liberal propaganda from 2 years ago.

Answer 7

I don't like our president, but I am most proud of being an American because I have the freedom to bash him if I want to. I have the freedom to think and say whatever I feel about my government and I really value that and think that this country is great because of it.

Answer 8

Great nation? That is laughable. Truly.
No, I'm not proud to be an American, and I have a question posed here to tell you more about that. Nope, non, no. I'm very ashamed to be an American.
Respect? Do you usually respect prevaricators and crooks? I don't, so why should I respect one just because he got appointed to an office?

The US only helps other countries when there is something in it for them, mostly. No one helped the million who died in Rwanda. What about Sudan?

Answer 9

I love America with all my heart and soul, I volunteered to serve in the military knowing full well that I might have to give my life in defense of my fellow citizens and my country.
Now having said that I truly believe that you can respect the office of the president without respecting the president in that office.

Answer 10

No, I try to avoid pride completely in my life. I think pride is what has goten our country where it is at. Our responce to 9/11 was so arrogant and pride-filled that we have polarized all the extremists out there to hate us more.

You bring up an interisting point as far as respecting the president. We may have an obligation to respect his position, but it is the duty of the people to keep their government in check. The nature of government is to grow and usurp power and the people have the duty of curtailing that through a number of different means. We have every right to bash the president and inform the establishment of our position.

BTW, I'm writing from Kabul Afghanistan as an American soldier.