travelr712's tags:
travelr712's most popular posts:
travelr712 reads (123):
Who's reading travelr712 (167):

Is there still American pride?

travelr712 posted on Aug 08, 2008 | views: 101 | Tags: phylosophy, patriotism
I turned on the olympic opening cerimony a bit ago. I am faced with some tough questions while I watch the people featured on my screen.
 
 
As I watch the premier, I see a man of resolve. A man like George Washington, or Harry Trueman. One who would see his nation become great. And great, it is becoming. And I wonder, what has happened to American resolve?
 
Did we squander it on a war with terrorism? Did we count our personal safety higher than the goal of being a great nation?
 
China has twice the area and three times the people that America has. We made our country strong because of our people, and all it will take is for a few of the Chinese leaders to instill that same pride in their people, and they will be what we once strived for.
 
I lived through the cold war, mostly as an adult. I remember the rhetoric of how evil the Chinese, and the Russians, and the North Koreans and North Vietnamese were. But when I see their people, I see the same things in their faces that I see in the people I work with, the people I see at the grocery store, I see they are just people. They are not evil, just because they have a different political ideology, or religious ideology, or whatever ideology. What makes our way more right than any other way? Haven't we brought our share of pain and misery to the world? And haven't those other countries brought their own goodness to the world? Can it really be summed up in a black and white view of political, or religious, or social viewpoint?
 
And while I'm at it, what's up with the latest presidential race? It's like a bad episode of American Idol! Let's all get on our phones and vote for the most popular person, whether they can perform or not doesn't matter! And don't each and every one of us know someone personally who is more tallented, better suited, but will never be offered the chance?
 
Have we spent the greatness of our country on a frivolous pursuit of a small band of fanatics? Have we let the great goal slip from our fingers because we lost our focus? In the next decade, will Bejing be the greatest city in the world?
 
These are questions I ask myself.


send to a friend del.icio.us Digg reddit StumbleUpon

Comments

  • TinSoldier said on Aug 08, 2008....
    I don't have many answers for you bud.

    I don't think the rest of the world is evil, although they are occasionally controlled by evil (or at least misguided) leaders.

    I do think that certain aspects of other cultures are inferior to ours, and that other aspects may be superior. Or at least on the same level.

    I think there is still plenty of American pride, the good kind, and I foresee more in the near future.

    I hope that other countries can create a sense of pride in themselves and will become great in their own right.

    As for the presidential election? Well, there's the popular candidate and then there's the other one. Is either one ready to lead? I don't think we'll truly know until the end of January at the earliest but I certainly placing my hopes that one of them will be.

    Aside: I don't watch either the Olympics or American Idol, myself.
  • Sunshine_Mariah said on Aug 09, 2008....

    Very interesting post!

    I'm going to agree with the tinman on a few things. One being that I don't think the rest of the world is evil, rather there are a number of people or groups that are. Perhaps not completely evil in all ways, but definitely misguided.

    It's hard for me to comment on things with respect to the American culture/country because I am not from the US; but I can say that I find that many things are similiar here in Canada as well. Sometimes I feel like their is lack of pride, but I think it is just being shown in different ways that may not be as noticable to me.

    Also, to comment on the presidential election; I'll say what I am sure many people have said before. May the best person for your country win. Though, I don't think it should be in terms of "winning" the title but rather, gaining the responsibility to serve and represent the country, and make a positive difference in the world.

    Hehe... also an aside: I watch BOTH the Olympics and American Idol! :-P

  • wombat said on Aug 09, 2008....
    I won't even begin to claim that I know alot about politics, but when you live in a country where the late night humor just after the news consists of slamming the leadership and the country, well.....I have always felt that was  rather "off."  Maybe some of our sense of pride got washed down the stream with the flood of free speech....
     
    I don't mean to be so glib, but gee.....would you view a sick joke about a foreign president or premier, or whatever on their national entertainment shows?  I don't know...I am not there to watch them...but I am guessing not so much......
     
    Just my uneducated observation.......and hopefully someone will set me straight here.
    .
  • TinSoldier said on Aug 09, 2008....
    Well, I'm not one to set anyone straight necessarily, but being able to laugh at one's leaders without being imprisoned and/or executed is pretty awesome in my view.

    I'd be a lot more worried if the late night guys (who I don't really watch) weren't making fun of our leaders.
  • wombat said on Aug 09, 2008....
    TinSoildier:  I can certainly appreciate that!  10 times over!  I just felt I had to comment on the oddness of it, that's all.  I will respectively bow out of this one---as I said, I don't understand.  But I will read the comments posted here.  Thanks for reading my inane comment and responding.
  • Eilan said on Aug 09, 2008....
    In the 80's, we were asking the same questions about Japan.  Twenty years from now, it'll be [insert name of country here].

    Sorry, I can't find too many positive things to say about a country that's been so blatant about aborting female fetuses and killing female newborns--I hope it bites them in the ass.  And that's not to mention the other human rights abuses and the poisoned pet food and toothpaste and the lead paint on toys that come to the US, etc.   That's certainly not the greatness that we should aspire to.

    Oh, and I watch the Olympics but not American Idol.  ;)
  • travelr712 said on Aug 09, 2008....
    tin - yeah, that's what i was getting at. other countries, their cultures, their traditions, are not necessarily better, and not necessarily worse than ours.
     
    sunshine - yeah, that too. one country's leaders villify an entire society of another for the actions of a small segment of that society. sorta like what's been happening with iran for the last few years.
     
    wombie - valid point. i agree with tin about the free speech, but when all we do is laugh and ridicule our leaders, it creates an impression that they are incompetent. please don't bow out, your thoughts are just as valid and important as anyone else's.
     
    eilan - and now, 20 years later, japan's economy is second only to our own, with 1/3 the population. china has 3 times our population, and can create a national economy that would be hard to equil. imo, it has always been the strongest economies that make the most powerful countries. and i agree with you about the abortion, but keep in mind, we do our fair share of that here too.
     
    and i don't watch the olympics or american idol either, but they were relevant references :-)
  • wombat said on Aug 09, 2008....
    Took me too long to say that my 2 cents worth was only worth 2 cents worth..........
  • travelr712 said on Aug 10, 2008....
    you're still at the top of my list of favorite sc'ers wombie :)
  • silverwhisper said on Aug 13, 2008....
    honestly, i'm right there with TS on this one, myself.

    ed

Comment on "Is there still American pride?"

phylosophy patriotism (Click to add tags below)

(Separate tags using commas, for example: New York, dating, vegetarian)