goldenstate31

i dont think 5 months is nearly enough time
(although, if you dont like whats meant to be the 'honeymoon stage' maybe the U.S isn't for you)

g1ant

I have to admit my most recurring thought since I've been here (5+ years) is, how did these people ever get the idea that this is the greatest country in the world?

but of course, the answer is that most of them have never been anywhere else.

avanutria

That's definitely part of the answer. The rest is childhood indoctrination. Kids in US schools are taught (not blatantly, usually; more often in subtle ways) that the US is the most desired place to be and therefore the best. We're taught that millions of people risked their futures, families and lives to immigrate by slow boat in hazardous conditions, just for a chance at "the American dream" amid "streets paved with gold". We're shown flags waving proudly on the Fourth of July (and most of the rest of the year) and told the stories of people arriving with nothing and making fortunes for themselves. A college kid forming Dell computers in his dorm room. A high school dropout who creates a successful fast-food chain and names it after his daughter. Even right now in my local news they're talking about a couple of journalism students who are starting a successful peanut butter business, sort of by accident. (We conveniently ignore the stories of the millions who didn't make it big, because we are raised to believe that anyone can if they try hard enough, so the conclusion is those people just didn't try hard enough. And of course we won't be like them!)

Get twenty years of that sort of thinking under your belt, coupled with 3.7 million square miles of land to explore without even thinking about a passport, and nearly all of the types of terrain that there are, and it's very hard to shift most Americans out of the "Greatest Country" mindset.

celticgrid

It isn't just schools. My daughter had her first communion thing last weekend and during the obligatory sermon the priest talked about the various gifts the children should remember, and included "the gift of citizenship of this great country".

I mentioned to my wife that the next gift she gets from me is, based on that assumption and the N400 price, going to cost her $680.

Englishman43

Yes ! My wife and her family are all educated, reasonable people but to hear them talk about the US in the manner they do you know they all have an unquestioning belief in everything that's been drilled in to them. It is extremely alarming.

Trixie_b

errrm see post #3.... America is very good at self-marketing

The land of the free
The leader of the free world
The land of opportunity
etc.

There are great things about America. But the self-hype is not one of them in my opinion.

One American asked me which place was best from all the places I've visited / lived, I said "best / better is subjective" they're all different.

She said, America's gotta be the best. America is "da bomb" (I didn't know what "da bomb" meant).

I asked where she had been to make her comparassons. Nowhere. I don't need to she replied.

Englishman43

Yup , England needs a marketing department !

HumphreyC

Why do Brits seem to hate patriotism so much ?

I mean I see this exact same discussion on the Canada and Australia part of this site - 'the Canadians/Australians/Kiwis/(Insert country here) think their country is so great - they must all be a bunch of unsophisticated morons who have been brainwashed and haven't left the country'.

meauxna

$1 to the first coherent answer to this question.. I just had the same thought as I'm catching up.

Trixie_b

If you think thats what I said, you're mistaken.

I think patriotism is a good thing, I feel that particularly America are so confident that they are the best that they forget to try and improve.

Let me give you an example. The cell network in america over overpriced, and I've owned cell phones in UK, Spain, Australia and America on pay as you go plans. America is the only place that has ever charged me for incoming calls or texts. Something I can't control. Do Americans jump up and down and say this stinks? No, and the reason for this is because they don't compare what they have with other countries. or if they do, it's never considered that someone else could do it better.

I Love the fact that people are allowed to suceed in the US. You can start a business and people will love you. You can even fail in one business and restart over and still get supported. Not something I found would happen easily in Europe.

But, I really feel loving your country and patriotism is great, disparaging other countries because you believe your own hype is a completely other story.

I love Britian, but don't feel it's better than everywhere else, I can compare it to Australia, Thailand, Spain, some parts of America, Cuba, The caribean etc, because I've travelled and spent substancial time in these places.

Oh and I love America too! (and Aus, And Thailand, and Spain etc....)

Trixie_b

Of course, I'm generalizing, but I truely feel America is great, but could be so much better if it were to learn from other countries

Englishman43

I find it very hard to accept such patriotic fervour from any person who has never set foot on other shores and so has nothing to compare their home country to.

It just doesn't make any logical sense to me. If all I'd ever done was eat apples I can't rightly say that apples are the best fruit in the world and rule....

But that's just me .......

Anian

It's not that Brits hate patriotism, it's that most people seem to hate the patriotism of another country.

The smarter and/or well-travelled people know that excessive patriotism is like being proud of the bed your mum gave birth in. It doesn't quite make sense. Meanwhile, the rest of the population is waving their British/American/Canadian/French/etc flags and complaining about immigrants.

meauxna

But patriotism doesn't *require* comparison, that's the point. It's not meant to be an intellectual measuring, weighing, accounting of history and then ta-da, decision!
Patriotism is something more akin to faith (as in religion). You has it or you doesn't.

Englishman43

Ah well that's where I'm going wrong then !

I must say I have become more patriotic having lived away from the UK in both OZ & US. I now feel very proud to be British and feel very, very lucky to have been born & brought up in England.

Do I qualify for a sub category ?? Not blind patriotism but logical patriotism