I'm basically stealing this from one of Chuck Klosterman's essays in his fan-favorite book Sex, Drugs, & Cocoa Puffs. He's already articulated everything I can posibly say on the subject, but with the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony today, I think it's a point worth discussing:
Why does patriotism for the U.S. carry a decidedly negative connotation?
For many of us Americans, a gushing and effusive pride for this country is generally frowned upon. At its best, patriotism is seen as lame and old-fashioned and naive. Loving one's country is considered an odd hobby, in the same way that stamp collecting and taxidermy are considered odd hobbies. It may not be offensively repulsive, but it's enough to elicit raised eyebrows and cursory looks. Wearing an American flag pin on your lapel is likely to evoke comments of mild disbelief, such as "Oh, so you're that way? How...interesting." It just isn't preferable.
But at its worst -- and this mostly applies to the specific demographic of vaguely-intellectual, artistically-inclined, free-spirited, relatively-liberal 18-24 year olds -- patriotism is considered to be uneducated and narrow-minded and bigoted. Somehow, patriotism has become synonymous with ignorance. It's become this colossal, amorphous inanimate thing (if you need an example, think of Ticketmaster, or the media, or dog-fighting) that people can rally against and project all of their anger and disdain towards; it's become an entirely bad thing. More than anything, I think patriotism can most closely be compared to organized religion, perceived as an opiate for the masses (I've always wanted to use that phrase), something that dumb people fall for because they're too stupid to think for themselves or to know any better.
But I don't really join in on that sentiment. Yeah, "God Bless the USA" is one of the worst songs ever, apple pie is vastly overrated, and wearing t-shirts with big bald eagles emblazoned on them are extremely not chic, but those are very minor complaints. Otherwise, I love America. I'm proud to be an American. I've been outside our borders, have traveled around the globe, have visited foreign nations, and I can honestly say that nothing quite measures up. I enjoy having the freedom to speak my mind without being locked in a dungeon, drinking the tap water without catching explosive dysentery, and going to sleep without fear of being abducted from my bed by extremists toting AK-47's. This is a good place to live. Sure, if I ever felt compelled enough, there are places abroad that I could see myself temporarily relocating to -- Toronto, Manila, Tokyo, London -- but none of those would be permanent moves, and certainly none of them would replace the U.S. as my home.
Interestingly, some minorities think seeing other fellow minorities acting overly-patriotic is hokey and cheesy, going as far as accusing them of being white-washed. Not me, though. I think that's ridiculous. Those miniature novelty American flags aren't meant for just John and Jane Johnson; Khalid, Jamal, Chen, Esteban, and Saeko are just as entitled to wave them. And I really love seeing that kind of thing, that kind of enthusiasm. It's so uplifting. You can tell how genuinely happy they are to be here and not anywhere else.
And let's examine our Independence Day, the 4th of July. It's great, and it doesn't suffer at all from the fact that, by definition, it's an inherently patriotic holiday. There's so much to like: hamburgers, fireworks, swimming, potato chips, walking around shirtless. After the Big Three (Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween), you can easily argue that it's the next best holiday. I like New Year's Eve, but at it's core, it's still just an annual reminder that you're one year older...and that's sort of a downer. Easter sucks if you're more than 8-years-old, because by then, you've outgrown the age where bunnies and tie-dyed eggs are cool. Asians (especially Asians that don't drink, like me) have no need for St. Patrick's Day. Valentine's Day is whack, I couldn't advise anyone to honor a genocidal monster like Christopher Columbus, and April Fool's Day is barely even a holiday. So the 4th of July, in all of its star-spangled glory, definitely ranks high up there.
And the Olympics' opening ceremony was awesome.
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