Quote:
Originally posted by Rudey
Many people understand that this country is not perfect, but right now I challenge you to present a country that is better than us overall.
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Oh, I never said I could -- that's why I said some countries probably handle
some things better. That's an important qualification. Though I think that parts of our political and legal system have problems, I prefer the sum total to anything anyone else has to offer.
Quote:
Originally posted by KillarneyRose
And that is taking into consideration the fact that I'm a rah rah, yea America flagwaver. If I were one of those flag-burning, Osama rules; we deserved it types, I'd leave and find a place that was more suited to my needs and ideology.
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There's an entire political and ideological spectrum between believing that the United States can do no wrong and believing that it can do no right. Even a "spectrum" is an inadequate metaphor because there are so many ideological nuances even in mainstream U.S. society, but I think you get the idea. While it does not make sense for people who truly loathe the country to stay here, it is possible to disagree with what happens here a great deal and still to know that the country provides the most opportunities to build a life (the most material opportunities, at least).
If you are talking only about the absolute extreme, who hate everything about this country, then I agree; it's silly to stay somewhere that makes you miserable. But if you're saying that I should go somewhere else, say, because I firmly oppose certain aspects of the U.S. executive branch's new international military doctrine (which you can find at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nssall.html), I think that's a little off-kilter.
I guess this raises the question of what patriotism really is. There was lots of discussion about the notion of "patriotism" well before last year (see e.g., Nussbaum et al.,
For Love of Country (Joshua Cohen, ed.; Beacon 1996)). For my part, I do not think that patriotism involves agreeing with what the government does in a given moment, and you will never, ever see me endorsing "my country right or wrong" ideas of patriotism. I'm in the line of thought that holds that patriotism has a lot to do with making a social commitment to do something to take how far we've come as a country and make it better. I say that recognizing that the entire country will never agree on what legal and political changes are ideal.