@AmericanButterfly That's the issue though. What countries is this being compared to? Because it's not hard or is considered bare minimum to a impoverished corrupted government that is 50 years technologically behind or struggles to feed it's citizens. It's not hard to be better than North Korea, or a small unknown country in Africa. That's not a bar to set at all. It's the equivalent of "well, at least I'm not HItler or something" not a standard to be proud of.
America has literal states that don't have clean water, people who starve on the street and die, even in the more wealthy states, people who die of preventable diseases and struggle to put food on the table even though they work 2 jobs. Just because it's not the majority doesn't mean it's not happening to millions of people. It's the same in many 3rd world countries too, not all of them are starving and dying all the time, it's a big misconception that allows countries like the USA to feel better about themselves when in reality they are much like the countries they admonish and pity.
The other thing too is, you're not your country. Not one of us here is solely responsible for everything our country does and is. When I say the USA has a buttload of work to do to actually call itself a great nation, that isn't a judgement on the individuals that live there, especially since country is rarely a choice for most people.
Having pride in something you have little or no control over seems more like a defense mechanism to feeling attacked, which I get, but it doesn't help matters. It's like how impoverished cultures in the USA and other places end up having this pride notion to it, because we view our country as a intrinsic identifier to our personhood.
I came from the USA, I didn't leave till I was an adult. I now live in Europe. I don't view either country as "my country" I view them as places I existed in. It is vastly better where I am now, but that doesn't mean that it also couldn't use some work too. Take the good, condemn the bad. People have a tendency to go ham on dismissing the bad because the good exists at all. Good does not outweigh the bad for many many people living in the USA. I used to say it's great if you are wealthy, but even wealthy people routinely get screwed over by company policy and the protection/safety is so precarious vs other countries system set ups.
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@AmericanButterfly That's the issue though. What countries is this being compared to? Because it's not hard or is considered bare minimum to a impoverished corrupted government that is 50 years technologically behind or struggles to feed it's citizens. It's not hard to be better than North Korea, or a small unknown country in Africa. That's not a bar to set at all. It's the equivalent of "well, at least I'm not HItler or something" not a standard to be proud of.
America has literal states that don't have clean water, people who starve on the street and die, even in the more wealthy states, people who die of preventable diseases and struggle to put food on the table even though they work 2 jobs. Just because it's not the majority doesn't mean it's not happening to millions of people. It's the same in many 3rd world countries too, not all of them are starving and dying all the time, it's a big misconception that allows countries like the USA to feel better about themselves when in reality they are much like the countries they admonish and pity.
The other thing too is, you're not your country. Not one of us here is solely responsible for everything our country does and is. When I say the USA has a buttload of work to do to actually call itself a great nation, that isn't a judgement on the individuals that live there, especially since country is rarely a choice for most people.
Having pride in something you have little or no control over seems more like a defense mechanism to feeling attacked, which I get, but it doesn't help matters. It's like how impoverished cultures in the USA and other places end up having this pride notion to it, because we view our country as a intrinsic identifier to our personhood.
I came from the USA, I didn't leave till I was an adult. I now live in Europe. I don't view either country as "my country" I view them as places I existed in. It is vastly better where I am now, but that doesn't mean that it also couldn't use some work too. Take the good, condemn the bad. People have a tendency to go ham on dismissing the bad because the good exists at all. Good does not outweigh the bad for many many people living in the USA. I used to say it's great if you are wealthy, but even wealthy people routinely get screwed over by company policy and the protection/safety is so precarious vs other countries system set ups.