Sooo, why do you love your country? Or don't you?

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people answered that love is too strong a word for how they feel about the country in which they live. Nationalism or patriotism are simply emotions. It is easier to love individual people than to love an abstract notion such as "nation."

Twinkies, where else in the world would someone even think of something like Twinkies, and THEN take em ,bread em, and deep fry em.
Is that a great country or what?

Who else could have invented the STudebaker?

How about 3D movies, skateboards, snowboarding, extreme bowling, drag racing, noodling for catfish, Corn on the cob, whoopie pies. Nobody could accuse the GErmans or the TAiwanese of being "fun" people.

I love my country, first of all, because it is the country I am most attached to, to the different land forms, the differing people, and a lot of the ideas that all the differing people have made work over centuries. I'm full of serious gripes, but at base I pull for us and how we work things out. I'm viscerally connected to some of my home areas in the US; it makes me just plumb happy to be in them. Where I live now, not quite so much, but I care about right here too, except when I am swearing in my mind. I like the spunk of many americans over the years, the adverturesomeness, the inventiveness, the hard work, the vast amount of humor that floats in conversations, some of that humor from the mix, as well as rancor from the mix, and humor about the rancor. I also don't like some places the adventure tendency has taken us. I don't think we are the only people on the planet with the good attributes.

I'm very interested in the wider world and a lot of my reading over the years has something to do with that, if not all that much in a scholarly way. I'm joyful about the internet (however that development spawned from early beginnings) for its reach and substantial data. I miss my old university research library, where I could spend hours pulling books out of shelves and poring over them, back when I was trying to write, before the divorce and moving four times. Not to whine, I learned a lot from all of it. Both the internet and great research libraries are ways of world exploration besides by feet or airplanes; I hope they would both keep going. I posit research libraries may suddenly turn more precious.

As most here know, I have crazy love for Italy, but much of that is a fascination with their culture (however wild and foolish the virgins are) from the minute I stood exhausted outside a subway station in the eighties. I'm not and never will be italian. If my ship would ever show up, I'd find a way to live there part of the time.

Part of me is from Ireland, as that's where my family emigrated from in times of trouble. Part of me is from Lithuania, as that is where Harvey Goldstein's family was from, a place where whatever synagogues that are left are desolate. Part of me, just a bit, is from west Africa, a family matter. A huge amount of me is alive via Mexico, but I would be just another visitor if I showed up now. Part of me is from Japan, from mentors and friends. Part of me is from a2k, people like J_B, Spidergal, the fellow from Israel (his name started with S), and once from Argentina (a painter I answered one question on abuzz to, and we kept in contact for years. He happened to be a rome enthusiast.) Part of me is from Australia, which I'll never get to, but the australian people on a2k are boundlessly interesting bounders and some of their land is like mine.

So, what... I don't think I count as patriotic. And earthiotic sounds too much like bad shoes.

Of all the peoples of the earth, only the AMericans, Canadians (ALthough they sometimes have a rod up their asses), Australians, most Indians can be considered "fun" people. The Irish could be considered fun people but they were too busy being seriously drunk.

Now wait a ******* minute! (I have trouble enough figuring out irish music, not sure how they say it, if ever.)

Of my family, those I know best are on my mother's side. Lessee, two sisters, three brothers. The two sisters, teetotalers, one brother near so, one brother something of a salt of the family sot but famously successful, and that booziness was from my mother's point of view anyway, and the other brother died fairly young, from what I, in my later wisdom, would say was too much food.

On my father's side, there was my father and his brother. My father's aberrations were mild and derided by my mother. Long story, but she controlled him. The brother was the bad boy. Well, he was about to be disbarred and was in the thirties irish coterie in hollywood, he was a Harvard grad and I remember the name of the firm. He tossed all that and went to sea, became a Matson captain. I get his voice mixed up with Andy Devine or someone like that with a croaky voice. What I'd give to talk with him now. (Parents wouldn't let me sail on his cargo ship to hawaii when I was seventeen. They did let me go with my father and three guys on a trip to film stockyards, a story I've told before.)

Anyway, a lot of those folks in my family were funny.

I love the Brits' sense of humour. They are quite an irreverent and independent bunch.

Senses of humor is only part of some civilizations being considered "fun" (not funny" people. Fun is defined as abunch of people standing around looking at some **** laying on the ground and one guy says
"I wonder what would happen if we..."

Then someone else follows with "COOOL"

Ya never hears Germans doing that. They, and several other civilizations, would be too busy telling you why that will certainly blow your head off, and that would be that.


Blowing **** up with the little bit of left over explaosive and caps was never something wed have to explain to the AMericans (or the ARgentinians where we were at the tyime).

We put the charges under an old truck and launched it. We had a German surveying party that wanted to report me to the client.
So the client said"Next time call me, Ive got an old beat up plane I wanted to launch".
The client was an Australian with several partners who were SIkhs , In their dialect , Sid-har'-jee(spelled siddharghia) means PARTY ANIMAL and they were.

I agree that Brit humor is great ,and many Brits have great senses of humor. However that doies not make them a "fun" civilization. Mostly becasuse they believe their own farts smell good and they still havent gotten over the "Empire" thing.
Brits take themselves so seriously and attempt to compare their accomplishments to other civilizations , especially US. Most AMericans dont really give a **** unless theres food and entertainment involved, then we will kiss anyones ass. (Except for the conservatives who similarly think their farts dont stink but everyone elses are toxic).

Who else would spend all fuckin day at Coney Island watching some bunch of asholes Hoovering hot dogs.

Seems like farmer is talking irish and not aware of it.

The funny thing was that first South Park parodied the country of Germany as being the least funniest country in the world then in an international poll much later on, Germany actually was voted the least funny country in the world.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1395052/Germans-voted-funny-nationality-international-poll.html

I think love for a country is a really dumb idea. Love is for people. A country can't love you back.

On the other hand I do love pizza.

I see that I am the only one who even talks about loving country.

So it goes.

No Osso, you are far from the only one.

so cute.

Do you figure no one anywhere givs a **** about the land they were raised in?

I'm interested in land and all that land is about. So sorry you don't care.

Giving a ****? Of course I give a ****. But, there is a big difference between giving a **** and love.

Seriously, I have a problem with the idea of loving a country. It leads to very bad things. There is nothing that has been behind more or greater acts of evil then the love of country.

I love my family.

ok, I admit I did not read yet another borat thing.

Rude of me.

I love my country - my home country- because of the level of individuality and variation of custom and attitude that is not only accepted but expected.

For instance, in England there is only one 'proper' way to make a cup of tea. And if you're in a room with English people, they will all agree, and in fact, INSIST that there is only one 'PROPER' way to make a cup of tea....they love the word 'PROPER'.
The other day I was making a cup of tea and someone said, 'Oh wait - you didn't allow the kettle to boil long enough and then let it sit long enough and you put the milk in the cup before you poured in the water, and, and, and....' in other words getting all crazy upset that I was about to drink something that though I might like it, and it was my cup of tea - wasn't a PROPERLY made cup of tea.

And I'm like, 'How the hell are you gonna tell me how I have to make and drink MY tea?!'

They replied, 'But it's not a PROPER cup of tea- bloody colonists - always have to do things their own way.'

And I replied, 'Bloody Imperialists - always think there's only one way to do things and that's THEIR way.'

I've come to hate the word PROPER. If you think about it, in America, we don't use that word that much and when we do, it's almost an insult - as in 'She's so prim and proper.'

I like that we celebrate and allow innovation. I also like Cajun and Creole (food, music, culture) the Blues (music) and our scenery.
I love living in England in a lot of ways - but I THANK GOD I was born and raised in America. As far as I'm concerned anyone can make his or her tea any way he or she likes it and it's none of my business or concern. I think that's an American instilled attitude, and I LOVE that.

I don't know that I'd use the word "love" to describe my feelings to my country, tsar.
But I'm certainly grateful that my family came to Australia, as refugees.
And I'm enormously thankful for the opportunities this country has given me & so many others who were/are in similar circumstances.

As a result of living where I live I've had opportunities that years & years of my ancestors would never have dreamed of ... a free education & the opportunity to speak freely & openly about the things that really matter to me, for starters.
The older & the more aware I've become, the more humbled I am for being given the opportunities I was given, so freely.
That is something close to love, I guess.

But I would never be a "My country. Love it or leave it" type of person.
That is just blindness & intolerance.