Because we're not so blind as to pretend as if there's nothing wrong with our country. The first step to a solution is to admit that there's a problem.

They do? Who's that?

Good question, and I have no idea. I do know that a lot of Americans have no patriotism at all anymore. It could be due to the way the country has been run as of late.... but I'm just going by what I've heard on another Q & A site.

Many of these questions are intended to insite an uproar. They usually come from the same direction. Some folks have elected to ignore it. I don't understand the + points though.

I think it boils down to that persons own opinion on the US. Some people have proved that they are so patriotic they think the country is formed out of angels and that everyone is perfect. These are the people that give negative marks to any answer that criticises the US in any way. Other people are patriotic but not in such a blind way, they are willing to admit that the US does have some serious problems and like to support those that point out the problems. Others just dont care about the country. I think it all depends on the answer, the way it was worded and the question it was answering. I have never seen, on here, some accuse ALL Americans of being one thing or second(except ofc being American), feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

I think it's because right now it's not seen as politically correct to say your patriotic towards America. It's the fashion to only look at the bad stuff and ignore the good stuff. Even for Americans. I also think quite a few of them feel that if they do stand up they'll be attacked. To me that's disrespectfull and cowardly. You live here and they're including you in their statements now stand up for yourself.

I dislike a great many things about America (about American people, to be specific), however I'm not really one to stand there and take it when someone goes all out cutthroat on the country. Yes, we have some problems, we've made mistakes. As Eli said, we have to admit that these are present to make things better. But, that doesn't mean we're all bad, and it really pisses me off when people go out of their way to post things that are not even REMOTELY true about this country. I'm not sure why people who do it get so many points. Apathy is akin to Evil, I suppose.

We have the right to disagree with other people opinions without taking it personally. There are plenty of stupid people every were. However I kind of wish I knew were you were from so I could make a little jabb at your county in fun!

Since the early 90s, our children have been taught to be global citizens. Pride in the U.S. goes against that school of thought. You'll notice that it's mainly under 30 crowd that does what you've pointed out.

When I have stood up , I got bashed - When I flagged for that purpose I got bashed - So it feels like ' damn if you do ' damn if you don't - If you get my drift , so I have learned to stay away from those categories + 5

Serious answer: Personally, I think people who really love their country want it to be better. Ignoring the things that are wrong and some of the awful things that people do in its name is not a sign of loyalty. When you are loyal to someone, you don't sit by and watch them do stupid things. You try to stand by them and help steer them in the right direction. It's tough love, basically. Sometimes it's tempting to just throw up your hands and say, it's hopeless, I'm moving somewhere else. Sometimes it's VERY tempting, really. But if you have hope for a better future, then you stick with the situation and keep raising your voice no matter how uncomfortable it makes some people. Better that then just giving up. And you support other people who are interested in that same future, in the face of so much opposition. It's important for us to remind each other that we're not alone, that other people feel as we do. It's *not* important for many people whether such comments come from Americans or from our neighbors, because we should be able to work together towards that future. I love the way the internet enables us to reach out to people from around the world and find like-minded souls everywhere. We can learn so much from how other people live, from their history and from their outside perspective on how our particular country affects the world. Ignoring the rest of the world has not been good for our national character. That is why you see the phenomenon you describe, and you're going to see it more and more.

Probably because we have that freedom of speech clause in our consitution....

Because we don't buy the party line of "America=right all others=wrong" I don't believe we are infallible, I KNOW that the Iraq war is unjust and illegal. I know that America has a huge ego problem, and I know that the politicians that run this country are owned and payed for by special interest groups and lobbyists, where the only point is to make money, not to help people or run a just government. Just to make it clear, I don't give a rats ass what people say about american politicians, what I will object to are the giant mass generalizations made about the american people (or all people for that matter), examples of which are "all americans are fat, all americans own guns and shoot people, all americans are racist, ect ect." I am willing to raise my concerns over statements like that, but not about politicians or our government.

Honestly? I think it's because it's popular. Oh, here come the negatives! Seriously, though. I know that many people have legitimate issues with the way things are being run right now, and I'm not trying to belittle those people's feelings. If that's you, then I'm not talking about you. What I'm talking about is the same attitude that drove everybody to love and then hate The Blair Witch Project or Titanic or the local sports team. That swing of popularity that determines whether we are fanatically in favor of something or violently opposed to it, without knowing much about it to begin with. In short, it's a trend like any other. Patriotism was the trend a few years ago, and there were the "real" patriots (those who had been so long before 9/11) and those who were patriots because they got swept up in the mood. I think this is the same thing. There are those who have had these complaints from the beginning, and those who are getting caught up in the wave. Fortunately, as LadyLuck pointed out, we have the freedom to agree or disagree in pretty much any way we like in this country.

Maybe that's because not every single American is blindly patriotic. (I'm not saying YOU are, so please don't think that I was trying to offend you.)

Bash my country in my presence, and you'll hear from me. I would much rather it be in person, so we can find out exactly how far you want to take it. Wanna dance? I'll feed the jukebox.

Just because I live here doesn't mean I support or approve of the political framework. I answer to a higher authority.

I've noticed a lot of them attacking their PRESIDENT, but I have seen very few attacking their country and good for them - they use their right of free speech, yet still remain patriotic.