Well, for yesterday, really. Bravo Romeo Delta (writing at Protein Wisdom) echoes some of my thoughts, but adds a talent for writing:
I am very much of the opinion that the United States of America is a singular entity. I know of no other nation that is derived solely from a set of ideas and principles, rather than a long cultural and ethnic history, perhaps save Vatican City. One can argue the case for American exceptionalism, but the concepts upon which our nation was founded and has grown are so key to the American identity that it is remarkably hard for most people born in the US to really conceive of a national identity being something much closer to self-identification of Texans or New Yorkers. For that matter, it is equally difficult for many foreigners to understand that flying the flag, or the fits of patriotic fervor that occasionally sweep the nation are not the harbingers of some chauvinist nationalism, bearing the seeds of latent militarism or racism.
It is a unique and strange situation that being a foreigner - an outsider - in the US is not reason to be looked down upon or excluded. A Martian could arrive in the US and would be regarded as being American as soon as they became a citizen. Compare this to many other countries in which being a citizen for generations may not be sufficient to make one a “true” member of that nation. We like to believe that our assessments about people are based not “by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”. It does say something that a person like Martin Luther King, who was jailed for his protests less than fifty years ago is now hailed as a Great American who embodied many of our best traits. In fact, it is even a bit more interesting that in most nations, such a change in perspective about someone viewed at the time as a trouble-maker would have almost only come about as a result of a coup or revolution.
I believe that we have done well for ourselves and have shown respect for the ideals on which this nation was founded, complaints from the left and right about the country’s slide into the abyss, notwithstanding. Rather, I tend to regard the complaints from the extreme wings of political discourse about the direction the country is heading to quite often be equivalent to the self-image of an anorexic supermodel. Those who complain aren’t trying to tear down the nation, but they lack a fair appraisal of how good things really are, and are possessed with an uncompromising desire for even further perfection. Granted, things are never perfect here, but they’re pretty damn good.
Read the whole darned thing, would ya?
His point about America -- uniquely -- being founded on principles and ideals (rather than geography, race, religion, etc.) resonates strongly with me. This fact truly does seem to separate America from the rest of the world that I have observed, and I'm a reasonably well-traveled man. The closest thing I've seen is Australia, but even there it isn't quite the same thing (although they seem to do a pretty good job of assimilating immigrants). Europe and Asia are quite radically different than us, though, in these foundations. I've had a few conversation with Europeans (English, Germans, Estonians, and Finns) about the notion of patriotism, and just as Romeo Delta says, it's a very alien concept for them ... and I think Bravo Romeo Delta is spot-on about the reasons...
