Every class session the question of patriotism comes up. I don't think patriotism is a terrible thing. I think it is good to be proud of where you come from. Even as children in America we are taught to be proud of where we come from by celebrating our Independence Day. Everyone should be proud of what they come from because every person, although are born in the same place, has a different story and a different future set up for them. If they hate their country then what is going to want to make them work harder for what they want?
The only time patriotism is bad is when it crosses the line to becoming extreme. This is bad because this is when things go down hill for all parties involved. This is when mass murders from other countries occur and even things as small as putting down another country. Wars can start because another country sees the other as a threat and wants to weaken them. They only time that patriotism should be seen as a horrible thing is when people use it in all the wrong ways, which is to harm people around them.
Patriotism is bad when it prevents you from progressing forward because you are so caught up on your country being the best. Also, I do not think you can be proud of being an American. What can you be proud of? Can you be proud that your heart beats? Can you be proud that you can breathe? Can you be proud of the fact that you worked for years to create something or to save up money for something? I think you can only be proud of the last one; you can only be proud of something that you accomplished with varying degrees of work. You, therefore, cannot be proud of the mere chance of your birth location; nor can you be proud of ethnicity, skin colour, or hair colour - you did not work for those things.
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