Europe..?

[lord667]

patriotism

n : love of country and willingness to sacrifice for it [syn: nationalism]

nationalism

n 1: love of country and willingness to sacrifice for it [syn: patriotism] 2: the conviction that the culture and interests of your nation are superior to those of any other nation

Basically, nationalism is patriotism with with an added nuance of superiority.

 

[TB666]

Well that is not the defintion here.

 

[lord667]

Well that is not the defintion here.

The definition where?

This could be quite funny. People arguing semantics over words that even professional lexicographers can't agree on.

 

[ginkgothian]

TB666, it's the other way round. lord667 pointed it out very well.

THAT IS THE COMMON DEFINITION... E V E R Y W H E R E ...(yep, that includes sweden )

good night

 

[TB666]

The definition where?

Sweden(even tho even here that is split about the meaning too)

 

[Sonnenritter]

Being proud of what imaginary border you were born within or what political system your government utilizes seems a bit ridiculous. Culture and heritage is where I place my pride.

 

[ginkgothian]

Sweden(even tho even here that is split about the meaning too)

Lol

 

[Taliesin]

Being proud of what imaginary border you were born within or what political system your government utilizes seems a bit ridiculous. Culture and heritage is where I place my pride.

Eh? Cant Democracy be seen as sort of a heritage also? So again, only because you were born in a country that's lead by a democracy, you have more reason to be proud than someone from a country where people are still struggling for it?
And are you also saying that as a German, I should feel shame and guilt for what happened in the Third Reich? Or am I totally messing up here?

How do you define pride then?
For myself, I know pride only as a feeling of comfort after having succesfully tackled a difficult situation, a test or anything comparable.
The other "pride" Ive come to know is this feeling of superiority because of your nationality, which I dont get at all. How is anything done in your countrie's name anything you could be proud of, how is it in any way related to you? You happen to have the same nationality as a great writer or whoever.. big deal.
Or the other way round. Im german, one of my grandfathers was anti-aircraft cannon assistant and carried ammunition to the guns, both of my grandfathers were in the Hitlerjugend, should I feel shame now, what I think is the opposite of pride?
Or would it be reasonable when I felt proud because Goethe was german?

Or could it be that pride is used to describe a feeling of confidence about who and where you are?

And where is my thread going?

 

[Sonnenritter]

Sorry for the delayed response. Just got home from Massachusetts. By pride in heritage, I mean simply to support tradition, bloodlines, and such. I really don't need to explain my use of pride since you already explained it for me. "Or could it be that pride is used to describe a feeling of confidence about who and where you are?" No superiority involved, just content with what you are.

I don't view politics of any form to be part of my heritage. Democracy, socialism, communism, etc. They're all methods of control put into use by a central government. The Third Reich is part of what I deem politics. Even if you feel differently, shame should not be a part of anything. It's similar to some of the black folk in the US expecting me to feel shame and guilt because my great, great, great grandfather might have owned a slave. Minor Threat's song "Guilty of Being White" makes a good point. Anyway,

 

[Taliesin]

Then your definition matches what I feel.. Im glad to be german, to live in one of the world's richest societies. I wouldnt call it "pride" though.

 

[FlatteningOfEmotions]

Could we just agree that the US should accept the United Nations, the Geneva Conventions and other basic Human Rights agreements, and maybe the Kyoto Protocol before playing the White Knight running for the world's rescue again?

Agreed. The only way that will happen though is if Bush is out of the White House. I think I read today that the 49% would vote for Kerry and 47% would vote for Bush if the election were held today.

I understand how Bush thinks. I'm from Oklahoma; a stone's throw from Texas. Most of the people from both states are very much like Bush: very nationalistic, couldn't care less about what Europe or the rest of the world thinks about us, and believe that the American government is always correct. You'd be blown away at the ignorance of the common citizen in this area. They don't research anything. Whatever Fox News tells them, must be true.

Another big problem with this area is partisan voting. Since Oklahoma is the buckle of the bible belt, most people vote Republican because they've got "the strongest moral convictions" and "lead our country with Christian values in mind." Most people here don't care that Bush has destroyed every bit of foreign policy we had, toppled our economy which created 20 million jobs under President Clinton, slashed military pay by 33%, etc., etc.

And what really blows my mind is the fact that all of these people are lower to middle-class. They get practically nothing, as far as tax breaks go, with Bush in office. The rich get the most money in that regard. But they still stick by Bush because he is good at "fighting the terrorist threat" which barely exists.


My point: The only way the United States will get back involved with the United Nations, is if Bush and his administration leave the White House. I, personally, am sick of the United States being the military force of the world, fighting wars with no purpose, and I think the rest of the country is slowly beginning to feel the same way.

 

[Lord SteveO]

The one thing that really pisses me off about the whole war on terror is that not once have i ever heard a government or anyone in power bring up the subject of WHY ARE THERE TERRORISTS WHO HATE THE US/WESTERN CIVILIZATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There's so much talk of fighting what many believe is an invisible enemy and such, and you can invade every country in the world looking for the bad guys. But terrorism is a RESPONSE to the actions of someone/a country. In the case of Mr Bin Laden's buddies it's because they don't like how the US etc treats the middle east. Surely someone has the sense to to try to investigate why they want to kill us and maybe stop doing what we are doing to piss them off?
With regards to what the guy above said, there's people here thaty are just the same as in the US, the general public are dumb idiots a lot of the time. They just read some crappy newspaper article and thing it will all be true, not even considering the fact that alot of strries are exagerated and made to look worse than they are.
Of course having such a dodgy government that lies a deceives is not good either, most people don't have a clue what is really going on in the world!