My Patriotic Blog
Well, tis the season for some patriotism, so I thought I'd write about some national pride. I've already written some stuff about why I'm proud to be Chinese, but I'm "Chinese-American" so I should be proud to be American as well (which I am, of course).
Even though this country is currently dominating the world as the lone economic and political superpower, Americans are generally thought of by other people as having little culture. Basically, Europeans think of fat, ill-mannered slobs when it comes to Americans, and Asians think all we have is Michael Jordan and crappy cars. When it comes to history and tradition, the United States and its 226 years of existence is of course no match compared to other civilizations that have been around for thousands of years. But, I personally find that it is just as rich in culture as any other country, if not more. There's a lot more to be proud of as an American than hot dogs and TV.
While the US has a relatively short history, it's a great and unique story which alone should make Americans proud to be Americans. It started with a few settlers that came to this land and start a new life, do some farming and trading, but grew to overcome its oppressive rulers and become an international giant that now dominates the rest of the world with the strongest military, economy, and Olympic Basketball team. Endless monuments have been built, books been written, and movies been made about our history because it is so unlikely and inspiring. We all appreciate the underdog story because if it hadn't been for the underdog colonists that were brave enough to fight the high and mighty British, none of us would be here.
One thing that I think is great about America is that it is pretty good at just about everything it does, and simply the best at anything else. Look at the Olympics, for example. We blow away the competition in many events, but in the others, our athletes are almost always competitive. Like the Russians are always awesome in gymnastics, Canada at Hockey and Curling, Kenya good at track and field, but Team USA is up there in all of those. It's not just sports, though. People (like me) joke about how domestic cars suck so much, but the fact of the matter is that people buy Fords all over the world. Japanese make more reliable cars that cost less, and Germans make the coolest and most finely engineered cars, but American makers are still respectable in their own way, and this is typical of Americans across the board.
It's also interesting to me that while other countries like to rip on the US for having no culture, they like to watch American movies, listen to American music, and follow the NBA more than anything. The extent of culture is not limited to popular entertainment, but Americans should be appreciated for being today's trendsetters, even if it's "just" Britney Spears and Mel Gibson.
Politically, the US has a lot to be proud of as well. It hasn't always been pretty, but despite the fact that the US military is by far the most powerful in the world, we've never had the urge to take over other countries and expand our own empire. With the Romans, the British, the Nazis, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, their goal was to rule the world and use their power to get more power. When we get involved in international affairs, it's almost always to "protect our interests." It hasn't always been pretty, and as with anything else, there are exceptions, but for the most part, Americans use their military strength to defend ourselves and our allies, not to attack (it's like the dark side vs. the light side of the Force... haha).
I don't know why it is that everything I write turns into a long drawn out essay, but I am trying to become a more disciplined writer. Anyways, to make things short, happy late 4th of July, we should all be proud to be a part of the greatest nation in the world.
