defending a position

Thanks to Shamash who wrote a comment on my last post. I do love lively conversations and this looks like it could be a great one to discuss. I value her opinion and want to take this opportunity to answer the questions that she raised and also provide some clarification to ideas I previously posted. Her reply is in italics, my response is below that.

Hi, Expat.

I'm not sure of the qualities that the USA has for being, as you say, "the greatest nation on earth." Do you mean because we are powerful, and have more military might? How IS the USA "better" than, let's say, Canada? Or Denmark? Or Switzerland?

What I use as a premise to make the claim that the US is the "greatest nation on the Earth" comes from a few different markers.

One - economic strength. Despite the current weakness of the US dollar recently, the US economy is still the world's largest (the EU isn't a nation) and what happens to the US economy has immediate global effects. When the US markets tank, so do the Japanese, Korean, British, German, etc.

Two - military strength. In the arena of executing war, the US has no equal currently. While our exit strategies are less than optimal, the brute force of the US military is unmatched by any single nation on the planet.

Three - political strength. While there is the odd country that enjoys being the antagonist to US politicians, most of the world recognizes that having the US as an ally and maintaining good diplomatic relations with the country means that there is the possibility for good things to happen. When the US gets behind a certain political agenda, it is hard to win the counter argument, no matter how rational or legitimate that argument might be. Case in point, the Iraq War - it might not have been right and people around the world protested it (including many Americans), but the plan was still implemented.

To be clear, I didn't state that the US was any better than any other country although that is implied by my statement of being the greatest nation on Earth. I do not think that the US is better than any other place, every place has its appeal and disgrace. If I didn't believe that, I would have never left my native country to seek out the pleasure of living and enjoying other countries.



I know that being an American is important to you, and that your identity is deeply connected to your nationality.

I think everyone has some degree of nationalism in their blood. The Olympics are based nationalism (and commercialism) and the prospect of finding a common ground for people to come together - sport. In this day and age, we all belong to a country and are identified by the culture that is prevalent in that nation. I am proud of who I am - as an American, educator, and human being. Everyone's outward identity is connected to their nationality, I'm just not ashamed of mine like those whom I was criticizing in my post.


I'm of a different breed, I guess. When I look at a person, I don't see a nationality: I see a face. There are many people I know from different countries who, like you, think that THEIR country is the "greatest nation on earth", and their truth is no less valid than yours.

No arguments there. You are indeed a different breed because no one in their right mind would go for another master's degree after the perfection we shared at MSU. ;-)

Seriously, my opinion of the US being the greatest nation currently is up for debate and I gladly welcome it. I would like to hear from someone who does think that their country is the greatest nation currently and why they think so. As Shamash can attest, I am indeed open to all ideas, even if it means that I have to admit that I'm wrong.


Jingoism, though important for the armed forces and the enlisted, is actually the root for fundamentalist regimes who use the "we are better than them" ideal to rouse citizens to rally around a cause.

Once again, I couldn't agree with you more. When people start thinking that they are better than others, bad things happen. The Armed Forces do need to have that mentality for the main reason of staying alive. When you start to doubt yourself, your equipment, and your fellow soldier - the espirit d'corps goes to shit and before you know it, a lesser force rolls over your position and you're dead. If you don't believe your are the better trained fighting force, then you won't be.

To reiterate without beating a dead horse, I don't claim or believe Americans are better than anyone else - just different. Any regime that preaches they are better than another is only preaching one thing - discrimination.


Under the guise of "fighting for freedom", the war in Iraq has been about oil. Otherwise, the same military might would have helped Burma to free a leader who was elected by 80% of the vote and who, as a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has spent most of the past 20 years under house arrest. As thousands of of peaceful demonstrators, many of them monks, were teargassed and shot at, where was the USA?

Point #3 that I agree with Shamash. The Persian Gulf War and subsequent Iraq War were nothing more than a father and son team ensuring that America had oil in its immediate future. Despite the attempts of the Carter Administration to get American weened off oil with its energy policy back in the late 70's (and its idiotic repeal by the Reagan Administration), Americans are using an INSANE amount of oil. Regardless of how I think about W, I imagine that he will be viewed as the President who secured an oil source for our energy needs and America's future. The house of Saud will fall sooner or later and America is going to need another oil source if the country becomes less than friendly to the US. Until Americans stop being the energy gluttons that we are, there is going to be a high demand for oil and having Iraq and Saudi Arabia (and who could forget Kuwait!) as suppliers is necessary to keep the country running.

But what about Burma? Why aren't we there bringing democracy to a country that desperately wants it so? They have elections and still the military junta is in control, where is the US? You said it earlier - there are no resources that the US wants in Burma in the moment and as a result, it is easier to ignore such a travesty. I'm not saying its right; in fact, its completely wrong and off platform for Bush. If he really wants to show the wonders of democracy and what it can do, then he would have committed troops to Myanmar soil and returned it back to the Burmese. But no natural resources means no attention. I hate to admit it but that's what is happening with our inaction.


The government of the US, has, as "the greatest nation on earth" detained suspects without trial, tortured suspects, invaded a country under the pretenses that there were "weapons of mass distruction", and killed thousands of citizens of Iraq. Rather than spending billions on education and developing better energy sources, the US has raged an illegal war which has broken international law, and awakened anti-American sentiment across the world.

The United States of America is highly flawed at this moment in time, there is no doubting that. I feel that this comes from a lack of credible leadership in the White House and thank goodness there is an upcoming "regime change". The pendulum swung WAY to the right when Clinton (Bill) left office and the radicals have been in the driving seat too long. The Constitution implies that there is to be a separation of church and state (the First Amendment states there is to be no state religion), it has not been a practiced method for as long as I can remember. Since when did a person's ability to lead come from the fact that s/he has a relationship with God? I get scared when W says that God told him to do certain things - it makes me wonder if he truly has a brain or is a mindless cretin (enter your own "W being an idiot" joke here). I can't wait to be a part of an election where religion has no bearing on who gets elected - rather the debate on personal politics and leadership ability is the main focus.

America isn't being the moral compass that the world is looking for, we are massively underwhelming the world with how we conduct our business and I do hope that this comes from the current administration. I can't believe that the Bush Administration didn't make torture illegal (even though it is by the Geneva Convention, which we subscribe to) and still continue to do it. Its deplorable and the Administration should be held accountable for such. Clinton lied about getting his wiener polished by Monica and he almost got impeached. Bush commits the multitudes of violations of moral and ethical treatment of humans and nothing happens? I'm surprised no one hasn't tried to haul his ass off to The Hague to stand trial at the International Criminal Court. Its not genocide but it certainly is a crime against humanity.

As I said, America has a generous number of flaws at the moment but as the eternal optimist, I feel like the country can right itself and change to become the beacon we once were to the world.


Right now, I am NOT proud to be an American, and I do NOT believe that the US is the "greatest nation on earth." Instead, I believe it is the "greatest bully on earth".

I appreciate your opinion and respect it. You have reason to not be proud to be an American and even more reason to think that the Administration that runs the country is indeed a great bully. However my post pertained to the idea of not shirking your responsibility as an American and owning up to being one. Every though we are expats, we are still Americans and we enjoy the benefits of having that passport. Imagine this scenario - the 3rd world country you live is going through massive turmoil, something goes horribly wrong and you are abducted by radicals. Who do you want to come pull you out of the wreckage? I mean no ill-will towards any person, armed force, or creed when I say this - I'd want to have the passport of being an American citizen so I would know that they would do whatever it would take to get me out. If you are a captor with gringos sitting in front of you as hostages, who are you going to fear more - the Swiss, Danish, or Americans? And I don't just mean military options because we know that a lot of situations like that are resolved in diplomatic means. The eagle on our passport is clutching two items in its talons, olive branches and arrows; the head is facing the olive branches but when that doesn't work, there is a bunch of whoop-ass ready to fly. Personally, I'd want to be an American at that point in time but then again, I'm a little biased.

To wrap it up, you can be an American who has a beef with the country and a fed up with the way the country is being run or you can be an American who has a tattoo of an flag covering your entire back or you can be an American who is complacent and hasn't done anything to help the country out but just don't be an American who claims to be a Canadian, or Dane, or Swiss when its convenient. You are who you are and if you are embarrassed to be something, then change it. Whether its a personal trait or nationality, you have the choice to be whatever you want - don't be ashamed of who you are.

national pride?

While on vacation this summer (that would be North American winter), my travel partner Tim and I had a lot of entertaining and spirited conversations. One that comes to mind is how poorly America treats its veterans and how there should be some way that they are compensated for putting their lives on the line. As a veteran, I completely agree with Tim and wish that there was something that could be done to recognize my service (aside from being a member of the American Legion) to my country but I'll live without it. But this isn't the topic I wanted to deal with, at least not directly. What I really wanted to write about is the lack of pride in being an American, especially amongst travelers.

We saw a lady wearing a hat with the Canadian flag on it while hiking in Torres del Paine in southern Chile. We listened to her and tried to determine where she was from in Canada by her accent but it was to no avail. It wasn't until days later that we overheard her say that she was from Ontario and then her accent became relatively apparent. But for a few days, we suspected that she might be an American incognito and was hiding behind the Canadian flag to avoid confrontations. Being an American outside of America at this moment in time can be rather tricky and many have taken to pretending that they are Canadian to avoid any problems. Spots on CNBC have even highlighted Americans buying Canadian flags to put on to their luggage to mask their nationality.

Tim and I both find this appalling. Tim's perspective was this - being an American comes with certain rights and responsibilities. If you are an American than you get the benefit of being an American just by your birth and believe me, there are plenty of benefits to being an American. So don't enjoy the benefits of being an American just when it suits you, live up to it all the time. When a President is unpopular, deal with the burden of being part of the society that elected him but don't pretend that you are something you are not.

I served in the US Navy from 1991-1995, making me officially a Gulf War veteran. Technically I didn't serve in the Gulf when we were "reclaiming" Kuwait from Saddam Hussein but I did have a part in making sure that things didn't go pear-shaped after the ground war was over. I didn't enlist in the military for some noble reason like defending the country or something like that, I joined for the same reason as a lot of others along side me - we were kinda lost and needed some direction, the military being it. People from the ghettos of Atlanta, the farms of Decatur (IL), the fishing towns of Kodiak (AK), and everywhere in between are the ones that sign up for duty. Those who don't have very much defending the rights and freedoms of those who do have a lot. The poor defending the rich, it sounds almost like modern-day serfdom.

People who don't ask for much and get paid even less, they are the ones who put their ass on the line for us and we repay them with being ashamed to be an American? When one person believes enough in an something to die for it, that is worthy of my respect. And while I do not think that the radicals of the Muslim faith are correct in their ideas about the West, I do respect their belief that they need to die for that faith. Now as for their gullibility...

As if on cue, Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" popped up on my iPod shuffled its way through the 4000+ songs that are on it and is playing in the background as I write. The lyrics are poignant as Lee sings them while I write...

I'm proud to be an American
Where at least I know I'm free.
I won't forget the men who died
Who gave that right to me.
I'd gladly stand up
Next to you
And defend her still today.
Cuz there ain't no doubt I love this land
God bless the USA.

So please, for all of those Americans who travel near and far, don't do yourself and those who died for your liberty any dishonor by claiming to be something that you aren't. You're not Canadian, or British, or whatever - you're from the greatest nation on the Earth and don't be ashamed to admit that. You're lucky enough to be from a country where questioning your leaders is not only allowed, its required. You are from a place that the world thinks is the promised land and that anything is possible. We are the example that the world looks to and sometimes we fall quite short of those lofty expectations. Even so, being an American is not easy and being a citizen can be trying at times but that's what makes being an American worth while. I'm not saying that you should be waiving the flag all the time and being an "ugly American" (which I must say there is a double standard for us, but I'll save that one for another post) when you are abroad, just live up to your birth rite.

The next time you are asked where you are from, hold your head up right and proudly (not arrogantly) state, "I'm an American."