Proud to be

The politicians these days, of course, have to include some kind of national pride talking point in their discourse.  How can you get elected if you're not proud to be an American?

But let's stop and think about that for a moment.  

Usually, we take pride in an accomplishment.  I'm proud of the job I did.  I'm proud of my daughters (although it's arguable to consider how much of what I've done resulted in the persons they are as adults).  I'm proud of  a song I wrote or an essay I composed.  Those are all examples of the pride that results from doing.

But what about those instances when we have pride from being?  I'm proud to be an Episcopalian.  I'm proud to be from Alabama (sort of).  I'm proud of the Alabama football team because I am a fan.  And, of course, with apologies to Lee Greenwood, I'm proud to be an American.

What is it that causes that pride?  I'm an American, not because of anything I've done.  I simply was born in America.  In many respects, it's a matter of luck.  What causes national pride?  Are the accomplishments of the country the source of the pride?  I didn't win World War II.  Other Americans did.  I didn't land on the moon.  Other Americans did.  I inherited the benefits of our revolution and constitution.  I've played no role in defending my country.  Just what is the source of that pride?

I think we should take a different path.  I think we should turn away from pride.  Pride in one's country eventually leads to an ugly nationalism.   I think we've seen that for some time.

At one point we proclaimed that it was our "Manifest Destiny" to conquer the continent.  Who decided that it was God's will that we should subjugate the native peoples and take the land that was their home?  Was it God's will that we should wrest Texas from Mexico?   When we made the "Louisiana Purchase", weren't we really buying land that France had claimed for its own, but in fact, again, was the home of the native peoples?

Because of the place of my birth and rearing, at another time, I suppose I could have boasted of my role in the South's failure in the Civil War.  But wait, we usually don't boast of failure.