Reply #23: You bring up some good points, Michael.

[Aristus]

During the Roman Republic, the Romans prided themselves on not being ruled by kings; after the Emperors took over, the Romans prided themselves on being able to kick anyone else's ass. (Sound frighteningly familiar?) After the fall of the Western Empire, the Romans prided themselves on...shoot, I don't know.
I used to be proud to be an American because of our diversity, our distaste for war, and our desire to be a force for good in the world. That's all gone up the chimney, of course. The Greek word 'ethnos' means 'nation', and if there is an American ethnicity, I want to believe that it is of a people who are kind, generous, open-hearted, tolerant, forgiving and merciful.
Hmm. I can tell I'm rambling. I guess what I'm driving at is, there is no need for national pride to be a symptom of "otherness". I personally, and many here at DU believe that America can be a nation among nations, promoting brotherhood and peace. We don't have to live in an "us-against-everybody" state of mind. The people currently in charge in the U.S. are frightened, insecure little human beings who DO live in an "us-against-everybody" mentality. To quote the movie 'Superman', their "only means of expression are wanton violence and destruction". Maybe someday, we'll have again the type of leader who reaches out to other nations with hope; who can be proud of his country without belittling (Freedom Fries, anyone?) or bombing someone else's.

I used to consider myself an American. Now I consider myself a human being who lives in America, and wants what's best not only for America, but also my fellow human beings. As you said earlier: from orbit, there are no national boundaries. In the big picture, all we have is each other.

Peace.