What of America is there to be proud of?

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RachelsAlumni said:
I know people from Canada who don’t call the US America, they call us “The States”. I think alot of Europeans also refer to America as The States. Latin Americans refer to us as Estadaunideans or something like that.
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“The States” is basically a slang term. I have worked for British-owned, Dutch-owned, German-owned and Japanese-owned companies, and I have traveled to and spent time in all of those countries. All of my co-workers and customers in all of those countries refer to the people of the United States as “Americans.” When they are planning a trip, they will interchangably use the terms “the States” and America. If they are going to Brazil, they say Brazil and Brazilians. If they are going to Mexico, they say Mexico and Mexicans. If they are going to Canada, they say Canada and Canadians. 🤷

By the way, some Americans call Canada “America’s Hat.” This has no bearing whatsoever on the actual name for the area called Canada. 😉
 
Oh, there’s so much to be proud of. Yes, there are a great many things that we have to work on as a nation, but I think we too often forget that ours is a truly blessed nation. And I don’t mean that in some conceited “we’re the best, screw the rest” way… I just mean that I consider myself fortunate to be a citizen of this country.

One, our lives are relatively peaceful. There are problems with crime particularly in bigger cities, but for the most part it’s under control, and we really don’t have to worry too much about fighting wars on our own turf either.

Two, we’ve got a lot of freedoms. The bill of rights is a wonderful thing, but we tend to take it for granted. I mean, what would this country be without freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, et cetera? We’d be much worse off. And, consider those freedoms that are not part of the bill of rights but we still enjoy them. I for one appreciate the ability to vote for (more or less) whomever I choose, and not have to worry about elections like in Zimbabwe.

Three, ours is a nation of fabulous wealth. Greed is certainly a bad thing, but wealth is more than just money… it’s having intellectual wealth and human wealth as well. There are so many talents and innovations in this country, it’s astounding. And for the most part, the economic climate of our country allows us to make the most of the technologies and innovations so that we can help others. We have come SO far over the last fifty years in medicine and communications that it’s almost unfathomable!

Then, there’s the nature. I think God was really in His stride when he was working on North America… it’s AMAZING. We’ve got tropical rainforests (Olympic peninsula), canyons, caves, mountains, grasslands, some of THE most fertile farmland in the world, waterfalls, the Great Lakes… oh, I could go on forever! We’ve got so many different natural resources in such great supply that it boggles the mind.

There’s more, too, but I don’t want this post to become ridiculously long. The point is, every country has its shortcomings, but I think that we Americans are often too hard on ourselves. With time and dedication, we can do great things as we have done before.
 
rlg94086 said:
I found this more recent book very enjoyable - A Patriot’s History of the United States* …*much better than the uber-socialist, America-hating “history” book by Howard Zinn that some else recommended. Don’t waste your time with that one.
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I clicked on the link you provided and read some of the readers’ reviews.

All I can say is “WOW!”

Looks like I have a new most favorite author:

amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Larry%20Schweikart
 
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY
AMERICA, 1780-1843

THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER[1]

O say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming–
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the clouds of the fight
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming!
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O! say, does the star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?

On that shore dimly see through the mists of the deep
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream;
'Tis the star-spangled banner; O long may it wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto–“In God is our trust:”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
[Footnote:1. The song is taken as it appears in Stedman and Hutchinson’s
Library of American Literature, vol. iv. p. 419. The text, slightly
different from the common one, corresponds to the facsimile of
a copy made by Mr. Key in 1840.]
 
Kaninchen said:
Yes, an unsingable anthem is certainly something to be proud of. 😛
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A true American wears his underwear tight enough to reach the high notes. 😃

Seriously, I always sing the National Anthem, even if I am the only one around.
 
When we lived in the US I was terribly impressed by the sheer bravery of its singers!
 
RachelsAlumni said:
I’ve heard or read this before. I think the issue over the use of the term American is offensive when it’s used in a manner intended to exclude other non-US citizens in the Americas i.e. South America, Central America. The exclusionary use of the term is seen as arrogant, from what I’ve heard.

I know people from Canada who don’t call the US America, they call us “The States”. I think alot of Europeans also refer to America as The States. Latin Americans refer to us as Estadaunideans or something like that.
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Do you think the term Georgian refering to someone in a state in the the southern part of the US is offensive, because it could mean someone in a nation that was once apart of the Soviet Union?

The term “American” is not exclusionary, it depends upon the context of it being used. Everyone has numerous groups of which they can belong, and sometimes terms can mean more than one thing.
 
RachelsAlumni said:
… I think alot of Europeans also refer to America as The States. …
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When I lived in Europe everyone I knew referred to us as “you Americans”. The newspapers called our nation the United States but referred to its citizen as Americans.
 
RWMorris said:
When I lived in Europe everyone I knew referred to us as “you Americans”. The newspapers called our nation the United States but referred to its citizen as Americans.
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When I lived in Peru, they called us “Norte Americanos,” which sort of ignores Mexico and Canada.
 
vern_humphrey said:
When I lived in Peru, they called us “Norte Americanos,” which sort of ignores Mexico and Canada.
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Some girl named Juliet once said, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” I’m sure that some folk would substitute other words in place of “rose” and “sweet”. :bigyikes:
 
Kaninchen said:
Yes, an unsingable anthem is certainly something to be proud of. 😛
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They were singing it as they went ashore is Normandy-for some it was the last song they ever sung. They sang it as they freed France, Belgium,Holland, Luxemborg et al. and they were singnig it as they freed Euopean jews from the death camps.

One would think Europeans would revere that song no mtter how hard it may be to sing.
 
RachelsAlumni said:
I’ve heard or read this before. I think the issue over the use of the term American is offensive when it’s used in a manner intended to exclude other non-US citizens in the Americas i.e. South America, Central America. The exclusionary use of the term is seen as arrogant, from what I’ve heard.

I know people from Canada who don’t call the US America, they call us “The States”. I think alot of Europeans also refer to America as The States. Latin Americans refer to us as Estadaunideans or something like that.
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I’ve also heard us referred to as Norteamericanos (North Americans).
 
RWMorris said:
Some girl named Juliet once said, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” I’m sure that some folk would substitute other words in place of “rose” and “sweet”. :bigyikes:
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“Some thought that he
A king might be
Beneath his tail a rose
So every dog drew near to him
And sniffed him with his nose.”

– “The Piddlin’ Pup”
 
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