Another one of those Power of Pride bumper stickers (given out free at Lowes last year) grabbed my attention on the way home from work yesterday. And yet again, I was left thinking, "I wonder specifically what that dude has accomplished has instilled such self love in himself." And this naturally led to the thought of, "Why brag about self-love anyway?" Wasn't the bible pretty clear on that count? And yet, if you ask the average American, moreso IMO than any other citizen on earth, "pride" is seen as a positive and natural emotion, to be celebrated and advertised. And as we head into the stretch run of a major election cycle, I think we all know we're about to yet again be saturated with this bogus, jingoistic "pride" masquerading under the name "Patriotism." The only good thing to come out of this asinine uber-patriotic era is that its given us yet one more reason to hate the Yankees: They keep playing that moronic song every game during the 7th inning. I was going to go on about this at more length, but in googling for an example, I came across this op/ed from an Episcopalian minister, Rev. Chuck Kramer, in a local NY state paper last summer that says it all pretty well. http://users.bestweb.net/~stjames/TownandChurch05082003.html "Pride always compares the self with others. Pride is ego centric, that is, the self comes first. By both dictionary and biblical definition, pride is the state of trying to prove one's worth by showing how much better one is than any other."
I cannot agree. If you getting a B in Biology and that is the best you can do because the concepts are too difficult for you, then couldn't you take pride in doing your best, even if it is not the best in the class? I don't understand this idea of false pride as used in relation to 9/11 and the terror war. When would you consider it a great time to create some spontaneous show of pride? By your thinking, it would be cliche and bogus to jump on the bandwagon to cheer for the USA if they make the finals of the World Cup. This is the thinking the PC police have given us. I am tired of needing to explain to anyone or worse have an excuse to show pride in myself, others, and my nation of birth. I mean, have you ever given your wife flowers...just because you loved her and not because you were in the dog house or it was a special day? Maybe we are on the same page here, but don't really get at your qualification of "this asinine uber-patriotic era" when compared to what? Do we need reasons to be?
"Proud to be an American" basically means the following: 1) We are the number one in the whole freaking world on everything; 2) the UN can go to Hell 3) We'll kick your arse! 4) My dick is longer than yours; my pickup truck is heavier than yours; 5) Don't mess with me, or I'll nuke you! Full stop.
Again, I cannot agree. 5 reasons to be a proud American 1) Our children is learning 2) Mission Accomplished, sort of 3) Evildoers are not really Americans anyway 4) God elected our president 5) Hillary will shave, and yell...NO MORE BUSH!!!
Ah, but Garcia, don't you see this difference between this list and your hypothetical hard-working B student? What did "you" do to accomplish any of these things, or anything else for which America is called "great?" Nothing. You won the cosmic lottery upon being born. All odds had you as ending up a crippled beggar in Calcutta, but the geographic roulette wheel happened to land on 00, and you got dropped in the USA.
I could be a teacher who was called to duty to kill evildoers finishing my mission because I prayed to God to elect Bush and...and...well, I'll leave Hillary to you. I was playing with vdog. Sorry, but, did you want to elaborate on your original point?
I'm with you on this one. I realize you (and most Americans) don't understand. That's why we need to deconstruct it over and over again: to unmask how harmful it really is. As for the WC or any sporting team, I happily admit that I allow myself the indulgence of being rabidly patriotic during most international sporting events. Of course, it IS cliched and bogus to be that way, but I chalk it up as harmless fun. For the rest of the time, though, true democracy demands that we put away our cliches and unexamined biases, and become rational decision makers. There is simply nothing rational about feeling proud of the fact that you happened to have been born in a given place--or shame for that matter. Hell, my great (x6) grandfather was decorated during the revolution for running guns for the continental army. Should I feel "pride" for that? What of my other 255 great (x6) grandparents? I'm betting that some were total losers and crooks. Should I feel shame about that? The point is that you shouldn't feel the pride in the first place. "Pride" is inherently anti-democratic, and thus anti-American.
yeah the bumper sticker is lame, but there is a difference between pride and conceit - i know of many people who could use a healthy dose of self esteem - let's face it, behind every wife beater, behind every girl developing an eating disorder, behind every girl who gives it up to the nearest lowlife, behind every businessman willing to step on people to get to the top... is a person who simply doesn't respect themselves... and if you can't respect yourself, not much of a chance you'll respect anyone else
Exactly, blue. There's a huge difference beween self-esteem and pride. As the good reverend noted in his op/ed, pride is mentioned 69 times in the bible: 9 times with neutral connotations, 60 times with negative ones. Perhaps its also significant that a minister has to be the one to point this out to people, for its sad to note that many of the most superficially religious among us, are also the ones singing loudest when anti-Christian crap like "God Bless America" comes on. Is there ANY way to interpret the Bible as condoning the use of God's name in such a partisan manor? Take a look back at our founding fathers, whom the religious right love to point to as their spiritual forebears: the Declaration is amazing in how it emphasizes the utter normalcy of what they were doing. Indeed, the idea that God has such a direct hand in the governing of human affairs (as in blessing specific rulers or nations) is PRECISELY the idea they were trying to escape!
As far as God Bless America, I think that's only a partisan use if the individual allows it to be. I can sing God Bless America and it not be in vain, because of my heart. Conversely, I can sing a hymn in church, it not be sincere, and, in effect, be taking God's name in Vain. I don't think the founders were trying to escape that idea at all. Why would Franklin say "If a sparrow can fall to the ground without his notice, how can we build an empire without him" or something to that affect. The Declaration my say that they were normal in what they were doing (and they may have been, considering the burgeoning French Revolution and the enlightenment), however, I think the Declaration shows why they were doing it.