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How patriotic are you?


Notte stellata

  

1 member has voted

  1. 1. Generally speaking, are you proud to be a citizen of your country of birth?

    • Yes
      110
    • No
      133
  2. 2. Do you root for your country in Olympics or other sport events?

    • Yes, of course
      61
    • No, I root for my country's opponents
      3
    • I root for whichever team/player I like regardless of the country
      61
    • I don't watch sports
      95
    • I just watch the sports without rooting for anyone
      23
  3. 3. Do you care about how many medals your country wins in Olympics?

    • Yes, it matters a lot to me
      26
    • I follow the news, but the number of medals doesn't make me very happy or sad
      85
    • No, I don't care at all
      132
  4. 4. Would you change your citizenship?

    • Yes, definitely / I already did
      52
    • Maybe, depends on the circumstances
      115
    • Only if I can keep my original citizenship (i.e. dual citizenship)
      103
    • No way!
      23
  5. 5. Would you be upset when foreigners criticize your country (suppose it's genuine criticism, not insulting)?

    • Yes
      15
    • Maybe
      49
    • No
      179
  6. 6. Overall, how patriotic are you? (1 = not at all, 5 = very much)

    • 1
      83
    • 2
      61
    • 3
      50
    • 4
      41
    • 5
      8
  7. 7. Do you agree with Samuel Johnson's saying "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel"?

    • Yes
      69
    • No
      34
    • Not sure
      138

This poll is closed to new votes


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Notte stellata

I'm interested to see how patriotic AVENites are. The questions are pretty self-explanatory. If you think there should be more options, feel free to suggest them.

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So, yeah I'm proud to be a Canadian (as proud as one can be of something they didn't choose I suppose). I don't watch sports and don't care about the medals we win in the Olympics. Even when the Olympics were in Vancouver a few years back (which is only an hour and a half ferry ride away for me) I didn't care.

I used to be very vocal about wanting to be an American so I would be willing to change my citizenship technically. I've since given up on this hope (we have some good things going for us up here like health care), but would still prefer to live in the USA for various reasons.

I wouldn't be upset if people insulted Canada. I mean, we did elect Harper after all :P we're clearly not all that amazing. As for being patriotic, no, not really. In fact my friends often say I'm more patriotic to America than Canada despite what my passport says should be the case.

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I'm not patriotic at all. It would feel arbitrary to me to have any particular pride or loyalty toward a country just because I happened to be born there. I wouldn't say I hate my country of birth either, although I think there are others which could potentially be an equal or better fit for me.

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I've been wanting to move to Europe since I knew it existed, and the only thing that's changed repeatedly is which country.

I'm not sold on America. I think it served its purpose for my ancestors, but I think that, as they're watching me struggle, they're guiding me back to where we came from. It didn't work for them, but maybe it can for me.

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WhenSummersGone

I'm mentally halfway between Canada and America. I want to move to the California one day. I respect Canada and how nice things are here, also with the free medical care, but it's boring where I live and I hate the weather where it's cold 9 months out of the year. I guess I'm proud but I don't really care, and I've never really felt Canadian much. I'm not interested in the government really and I'm a free spirit. My issues are with life itself really.

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Patriotism?

VOpD6gP.gif

I wouldn't dislike it so much if it weren't so overplayed... But for now me and patriotism aren't on the same pages

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I think it's a big difference between patriotism and nationalism. Patriotism only means love for your country, so you can critize your country to improve it. I do that a lot, I would think of myself as a patriot, but in no way do I believe that my country is the best in the world or that it's perfect. As I said I critize it quite often, but then I critize the government and want changes so the country as a whole will benefit from it. I don't think patriotism is negative, however aggressive nationalism (both demo/ideas-ideals and ethno/culture) can be very destructive - which we have seen many times in the world.

And for olympics etc, I then feel a sort of community with the country as a whole and take pride in "our" sports- men and women's achievements.

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I have no nations pride...All though when I hear nations pride it reminds me of the film from Inglorious Bastards. Which was an awesome movie.

:D

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Patriotism is a pretty useful tool, but it is a misleading one. We are of one race on one planet, creating divides only results in conflict.

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I'm a halfling and I'm proud of both my national heritages simply because it's a sense of cultural belonging. A way to feel culturally connected to my family and my ancestors.

During the Olympic Games I root for whichever team I like regardless of country and I don't care for medals at all.

If I moved to another country I would change my citizenship mainly because I think that If I make a life for myself somewhere else I should honour my move. But I want to keep the one I already got.

Mostly No... but I depends on the type of criticism. There's constructive criticism which is very good and something all nations should listen to... and then there's Ad Hominem: Bashing for the sake of bashing and that I dislike no matter which country is on the receiving end.

I don't call myself a patriot, I would never die for my nations.

"Patriotism is your conviction that your country is superior to all others because you were born in it." - George Bernard Shaw. I like that quote, I always found it funny.


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The fact that I really like a sizeable part of my home country's legal, and its social welfare system (and that my entire livelihood depends on the latter) is pretty much the only reason why I voted "2" instead of "1"... and why I'd give a lot of other nationalities to change to an immediate "no, thanks". It's pure pragmatism more than any feeling of "yay, go Germany!".

For obvious historical reasons, it's rather uncommon and often frowned upon for Germans to display any degree of patriotism outside of sports, anyway... and sports bores me to death, so there goes that for me. :P

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I'm dying to leave, so that's pretty much the polar opposite of patriotic. If Italy were a gender, I wouldn't be Italian, regardless of my birth certificate. I also don't watch sports.

However, I don't agree with the last sentence. Some people really believe in patriotism, and if they're patriotic about a country that grants them well-being, then there's no reason why I would call them scoundrels.

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"Patriotism is your conviction that your country is superior to all others because you were born in it." - George Bernard Shaw. I like that quote, I always found it funny.

It's not :P It's just love for your country.

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No, I don't watch sports, no, no, no, 1, no. I think something of a more fitting "refuge" for a scoundrel is the inability to accept responsibility for their actions.

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I am seriously a European who was born into an American family. I have no love of this culture whatsoever and would be much less introverted and happy being someplace else. Especially since I'm from a very boring conservative let's get to church and have babies type of state. Maybe it doesn't suck as bad on the coasts!

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I know that I could have been born in a much worse country, but I really don't like to be French, in a country with a traditionally conservative, racist and homophobic mentality, where I've been bullied for not being sexual, and where even being just vegetarian like me isn't tolerated (and is illegal at school). I wish it could be easier to acquire Canadian citizenship, but my disability prevents me to do so (as Canadian citizenship is usually not given to disabled people for economical reasons).

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Born in Taiwan, and freaking proud of it. I love my country too much to not be patriotic.

Am I the only one who voted 5?

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Meh. I don't totally hate being Canadian, but what I do hate is that we're still a freakin' monarchy! (Constitutional monarchy, but monarchy nonetheless). Rather, for me, it's living in Ontario that I can't stand due to the provincial govt screwing the province into the ground over the past 10 years.

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Waist of Thyme

Generally speaking, are you proud to be a citizen of your country of birth?

There are some things I like and dislike about the country, but I'm not proud or ashamed of it. I just happened to be born in this specific land mass. I also don't feel any cultural connection.

Do you root for your country in Olympics or other sporting events?

I don't watch sports.

Do you care about how many medals your country wins in the Olympics?

No, and I also think that when athletes from a certain country win a medal, it's not the country's victory, it's a victory for the athletes since they're the ones that actually participated in the events.

Would you change your citizenship?

There are some circumstances under which I would, provided I had the money and other necessary resources.

Would you be upset when foreigners criticize your country (suppose it's genuine criticism, not insulting)?

I wouldn't be upset. My country isn't perfect or inherently better than every other place, and this applies to all other countries as well.

Overall, how patriotic are you?

1

Do you agree with Samuel Johnson's saying "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel?

No, it seems like it's making an assumption about everyone that's patriotic and their reason for being so.

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In the last Olympics, Ireland medals went to a guy who had previously drugged his horses previously and boxers. things i don't like so i didn't get excited by them. although it would be different for cycling as i really love any Irish victory in it.

i don't hold Ireland in the same esteem as many many others. it is not that i dislike Ireland but that i do not hold it above elsewhere.

sometimes my posts don't appear if too big.

there is the reverse of not liking your countries neighbours in sport. a work colleague has this for British athletes like mark cavendish, Andy Murray. i told him Murray would properly hit him if he said he was British to his face but it makes no difference.

reversely in cycling i like British success as long as roche or Dan Martin aren't second :d

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Technically, I'm not proud to be a citizen of the United States since I had no choice over that and even if I did, I'm not sure why I'd be proud of it. That said, there are a lot of things I like about my country (like that First Amendment), I suppose, I could live in a much worse place; I feel the U.S. does a fairly good job of respecting civil and human rights overall. We've still got racists of course, but I don't feel we have racist laws (some people would argue about voter ID, which I'm not necessarily in favor of anyway...); we still don't have marriage equality everywhere, but we're moving in the right direction....

So yeah, there's probably plenty wrong with the country and I may disagree with different individuals in the country and I may prefer to live elsewhere some day, but it could be a whole lot worse.

I don't much watch sports, I might watch a little of the Olympics, but I just root for whoever's winning.

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Already have dual citizenship.

Ten years in Israel and still freaking love this freaky country, even after missing several good opportunities to die for it :P

In the same time I don't think my country is the best one, and accept people who decide to leave it for whatever reason.

I criticize my country a lot, if it's about political and economical issues, too close relationship between the religion and the political system, etc.

Criticism from foreigners can be constructive and helpful, if they try to learn a bit about the subject of their criticism before. I'm always glad to talk to people who not only suggest answers but also ask questions.

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I used to be patriotic when I was a kid but I think that was because I never had a strong family structure I could identify with. These days I'm more likely to identify with a place, a certain town or even a district.

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I don't identify at all with America's values, even though I acknowledge that it's generally a good place to live. I would probably be more patriotic if I was from a country that was more alligned with my personal values and had a much different kind of "image" in the world (i.e. Canada, France, even England..). Patriotism is a good deal about image I think, more so than a frank appraisal of a country's worth.

Also, frankly, America is just boring from my perspective. But I guess I think that mostly because I live there.

More generally, though, I am opposed to the whole idea of patriotism (though if you have a good reason to be so, I won't judge you...). I think we should allign ourselves more to being proud of humanity and the earth in general rather than one particular country, especially because of how much we are all connected.

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I lived in too many countries to be patriotic. I belong both nowhere and everywhere... a bit like my feeling on gender really ;-) It's both comforting and unsettling. I don't understand nationalism nor patriotism. I feel countries are socio-historical constructs with little foundation, apart from in politics (in the broadest sense). But that's just my personal view...

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I have no pride in my country because I only understand pride in one's accomplishments. I personally have made no accomplishments to impact a change in my country. I am, however, proud when my country makes a major decision that I agree with - I am not proud of my country but proud to say that I am from here.

I don't think I've ever rooted for an American team or athlete in the Olympics. I don't really root anyway. I have had favorite competitors, but other than that, I really could not care less who ends up winning. I'm not into sports or competition.

I want to change my citizenship! Or rather, become a dual citizen. I've always wanted to move to England.

There's a lot about the United States that I don't like. There's also a lot about other countries I think need changing. It would be hypocritical of me if I believed people from other countries could not criticize America.

I am the least patriotic person I've ever met. I think patriotism is silly. We are a bunch of people in a geographical region. That's how I view countries. I find patriots seem to personify countries. I just don't see that. I think the US is a great country compared to most, but it's not "the best!!1!1!" It's all just really excessive to me. Kind of like publically fangirling over America.

I said not sure about the quote. I didn't understand quite what it meant, so I looked it up. Apparently there's no real context to it, but allegedly refers to "false patriots." I don't know how to apply that to modern day, so I'm not really sure how to take it.

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Kitty Spoon Train

Generally speaking, are you proud to be a citizen of your country of birth?

My country of birth has changed a lot since I was born and grew up there. It used to be an Eastern Bloc communist country and now it's a "New Europe" country. It has an interesting history and I have some very mild sense of solidarity with it, but I wouldn't really say its patriotic pride as such.

Do you root for your country in Olympics or other sporting events?

I don't watch sports.

Do you care about how many medals your country wins in the Olympics?

Not really. In fact, I don't think I've even looked it up since Barcelona 1992 (I really don't watch sports at all - or the news lately :P).

Would you change your citizenship?

I already have dual citizenship (my old country + Australia).

Would you be upset when foreigners criticize your country (suppose it's genuine criticism, not insulting)?

Outsiders criticising something is almost always bad form. Usually because there's an element of impressioned ignorance to it.

eg. "The US is a violent country with rampant gun crime" is something even those Americans who agree there is a problem with guns and violent crime in the US don't like hearing from outsiders. Since it's usually based on certain popular stereotypes and not the full picture.

My old country (both during it's communist regime in the past as well as now) has a few stereotypes to it like that which I hate hearing from outsiders, because I know they're based on superficial impressions and not the full picture at all.

Overall, how patriotic are you?

2. I mostly didn't put 1 because of what I said in question 1. But I'm not sure that actually even counts as patriotism.

Do you agree with Samuel Johnson's saying "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel?

I think that saying could be applied to pretty much any blindly-followed ideology really.

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Notte stellata

Interesting responses so far. I guess it's time to share mine.

I'm not patriotic at all and not proud to be a citizen of my country. Patriotism is especially bad in my country because it's often conflated with blind loyalty to the regime, and it's a brainwashing tool used by the government. I used to be somewhat brainwashed when I was young, but deep inside I've always been pretty nonchalant about patriotism.

I only watch a few events in Olympics, and I support whoever I like regardless of the country. The number of medals doesn't matter much to me. If anything, I hope my country doesn't win so many medals, because I'm so sick of the whole country's obsession with Olympics as an ego boost. Plus, the government pays for the training of the athletes, which is a huge waste of money.

I have no attachment to my citizenship. Even though my country doesn't allow dual citizenship, I won't hesitate to change it. I often feel like I was born in the wrong country. I don't like either its political system or its social values.

As for "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel", although it's sort of a blanket statement, it rings very true for me, because evil acts in the name of patriotism happen too often in my country. For example, people smash Japanese cars and vandalize Sushi restaurants as a protest against Japan's "anti-China" policy, but all they actually do is destroying their countrymen's property.

"Patriotism is your conviction that your country is superior to all others because you were born in it." - George Bernard Shaw. I like that quote, I always found it funny.

I like it too!

If Italy were a gender, I wouldn't be Italian, regardless of my birth certificate.

Change Italy to China and that would be me. In fact, this is the most intuitive way for me to understand having a gender that doesn't match one's sex. :P

Born in Taiwan, and freaking proud of it. I love my country too much to not be patriotic.

Am I the only one who voted 5?

Congrats on winning the "most patriotic AVENite" medal! :D

Outsiders criticising something is almost always bad form. Usually because there's an element of impressioned ignorance to it.

eg. "The US is a violent country with rampant gun crime" is something even those Americans who agree there is a problem with guns and violent crime in the US don't like hearing from outsiders. Since it's usually based on certain popular stereotypes and not the full picture.

Haha, I'll probably be more unhappy to hear THAT than to hear criticism towards my country. :P
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Kitty Spoon Train

Outsiders criticising something is almost always bad form. Usually because there's an element of impressioned ignorance to it.

eg. "The US is a violent country with rampant gun crime" is something even those Americans who agree there is a problem with guns and violent crime in the US don't like hearing from outsiders. Since it's usually based on certain popular stereotypes and not the full picture.

Haha, I'll probably be more unhappy to hear THAT than to hear criticism towards my country. :P

Heh, but it's true!!! Isn't it??? :P

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