How patriotic to your country are you? Options

Every time I see this flag, I salute it, and then I give it the Rock On sign:

And I think to myself: God I love this country.



What about all of you? Do you all do the same when you see your national flags, or symbols that represent your country?

This post has been edited by Rex: May 29 2007, 02:22 PM

I never salute my flag...i love my country..but i love my relegion more.
if my country is in war i will help them...only if they fight for the sake of Allah(swt).
if they just bomb some major cities i will not help them.

( btw i am from Afghanistan and not from The Netherlands, i live in The Netherlands. )

Nationality does not matter to me.

And technically Rex your not American!


This post has been edited by The Majnoon: May 29 2007, 08:45 AM

How is he not american?

How is he not american?

He isnt native American...well he doesnt look it!

He isnt native American...well he doesnt look it!

Thats Native American. And anyways, Native Americans didn't originate in America either. They immigrated from Asia and went to the Americas through the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska.

The Western Hemisphere is an area of immigrants.

America is a country of immigrants.

What is an American? That is one of the hardest questions to answer in this world and there are countless books about it.

To some people, anyone that works hard is an American.
To others, people who pay taxes are Americans.
To a few, only born white people are Americans (this is rare though)

Point being, American is such a complex term that it just can't be defined.

So let me put it this way:

Do I support the 2007 US Government: No
Do I support the Constitution: Yes
Do I support the American Belief System: Yes
Do I support the American Dream: Hell Yes.
Do I salute the flag: Depends on what I'm saluting. When you salute other flags, you are saluting their country. When you salute the American flag, you could be saluting hard work, democracy, the American Dream, freedom, etc.

This post has been edited by Simba: May 29 2007, 02:01 PM

Thats a fairly close to my views also Simba.

BTW, since I'm "technically not American", might as well just break down my heritage as far as I know, which ain't much.


1/4 Puerto Rican
3/4 White with possible Native American blood.

He isnt native American...well he doesnt look it!

Thats Native American. And anyways, Native Americans didn't originate in America either. They immigrated from Asia and went to the Americas through the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska.

The Western Hemisphere is an area of immigrants.

America is a country of immigrants.

What is an American? That is one of the hardest questions to answer in this world and there are countless books about it.

To some people, anyone that works hard is an American.
To others, people who pay taxes are Americans.
To a few, only born white people are Americans (this is rare though)

Point being, American is such a complex term that it just can't be defined.

So let me put it this way:

Do I support the 2007 US Government: No
Do I support the Constitution: Yes
Do I support the American Belief System: Yes
Do I support the American Dream: Hell Yes.
Do I salute the flag: Depends on what I'm saluting. When you salute other flags, you are saluting their country. When you salute the American flag, you could be saluting hard work, democracy, the American Dream, freedom, etc.

Yeah, my views too (though I support the government a wee bit more than you do, but it's starting to wane. Then again, Americans have never truly supported our government in the entire history of our nation. Seriously, check it out. Hating the government (to a degree) is very American too. lol)

He isnt native American...well he doesnt look it!

Thats Native American. And anyways, Native Americans didn't originate in America either. They immigrated from Asia and went to the Americas through the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska.

The Western Hemisphere is an area of immigrants.

America is a country of immigrants.

What is an American? That is one of the hardest questions to answer in this world and there are countless books about it.

To some people, anyone that works hard is an American.
To others, people who pay taxes are Americans.
To a few, only born white people are Americans (this is rare though)

Point being, American is such a complex term that it just can't be defined.

So let me put it this way:

Do I support the 2007 US Government: No
Do I support the Constitution: Yes
Do I support the American Belief System: Yes
Do I support the American Dream: Hell Yes.
Do I salute the flag: Depends on what I'm saluting. When you salute other flags, you are saluting their country. When you salute the American flag, you could be saluting hard work, democracy, the American Dream, freedom, etc.

Yeah, my views too (though I support the government a wee bit more than you do, but it's starting to wane. Then again, Americans have never truly supported our government in the entire history of our nation. Seriously, check it out. Hating the government (to a degree) is very American too. lol)

I think hating your government and speaking your mind about it is something we can afford to do in the West.......people who live under dictators cannot afford that.

While at times we don't agree 100% with what our goverments do, at times they do ugly things, that we as individuals would never do, to keep us free.

Goverments all do bad things at times, but I count myself lucky to live in the West & free.....the lesser of two evils.

Yeah, my views too (though I support the government a wee bit more than you do, but it's starting to wane. Then again, Americans have never truly supported our government in the entire history of our nation. Seriously, check it out. Hating the government (to a degree) is very American too. lol)

Yea, hating the government is pretty American. haha.

I think hating your government and speaking your mind about it is something we can afford to do in the West.......people who live under dictators cannot afford that.

I wouldn't say its completely true in the US either. the US Gov't tried to shut up Martin Luther King, and they try to shut up a lot of people in America through the Patriot Act.

That is a little different. I am talking about your average man today......not a national leader who was fighting for equal rights for blacks when racism was very bad in USA.

That is a little different. I am talking about your average man today......not a national leader who was fighting for equal rights for blacks when racism was very bad in USA.

True, but MLK was THE voice of the minority people.

Point is, freedom of speech isn't totally true in America, but we have come a long way since the 1700s.

But overall, US is fine. Hate and Love is Legal here.

Europe on the other hand, is a bit different. Europe sucks. They try to remove freedom or religion and speech so much.

For example, the French Hijab controversy, Making it illegal to deny the Holocaust (thought crime?), and more recently, making Minarets of Mosques illegal in Switzerland.

This post has been edited by Simba: May 29 2007, 03:57 PM

Tell you guys what though; I keep seeing these articles online of all the British folks complaining about our "Extreme Blind Patriotism" (their words, not mine), and they think we're brainwashed because we love our country. So does my english friend Peter who moved here last year from said country. So I guess europeans think love of country is something Bush made us do, or something to that effect. Idiots.

I AM NOT PATRIOTIC TO USA NOR WILL I EVER BE UNLESS IT CHANGES ITS WAYS.

i am tired of USA thinking that they are responsible for the world's democracy and survival.

Amnesty International published a list of the countries which did not commit major human rights abuses, and USA was NOT on that list (implying it had commited major abuses).

however, Costa Rica was on the human rights list. (implying it was respectful to human rights).

perhaps i should move there and make a masjed on the beach!

I AM NOT PATRIOTIC TO USA NOR WILL I EVER BE UNLESS IT CHANGES ITS WAYS.

i am tired of USA thinking that they are responsible for the world's democracy and survival.

Amnesty International published a list of the countries which did not commit major human rights abuses, and USA was NOT on that list (implying it had commited major abuses).

however, Costa Rica was on the human rights list. (implying it was respectful to human rights).

perhaps i should move there and make a masjed on the beach!

Please do. You obviously hate being an American citizen, so why do you need us?

Apparently, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" does not apply to you, so I doubt anyone would much miss ya.

I don't believe in the concept of amnesty in the context of forgiving everyone this side of earth. I believe in earning respect, and having to work to deserve to be forgiven for something.

well from ur response u obviously believe its okay for USA to NOT be on the list of countries which are respectful of basic human rights.

i actually used to love this country and still do now (about 2% of the time ) to an extent.

i started hating it furiously about 4 months ago. it used to be the standard for human rights.

now its not on the list of countries respectful of human rights???

if i'm missing something about the meaning of america please tell me.

Of course I care that we're not on the list. I just don't believe in the list. I think it's not even worth of wiping my ***. I am willing to bet that some of the countries on the list have commited for more terrifying crimes against humanity. Right now the world hates us, but you know what? Screw them.


And the amnesty thing, anyone who is here illegally does not deserve to be a citizen legally. There's no reason for them to become citizens that way, regardless of how desperate conditions are. I know it's bad in Mexico, but it is not an excuse. This is not Europe, and the American People will not tolerate wide open borders. Immigration is a process integrating people into their new country, not just a way to make more money fast. Things don't work like that in the real world. Life isn't fair, so you just have to bite the bullet and make life work for you.

yep i love iraq and im very patriotic