Usually it’s considered pretty stupid to be proud of things you didn’t have a hand in. Why be proud of where you were born, when it was just random chance? I can see being happy or feeling privileged to be an American - that at least suggests what you’re appreciating is that it benefits you. Saying you’re proud implies that being from the USA is some sort of moral success and it’s just not.
I don’t know if you want to call it something other than pride, but I’ve never learned another word for what I would feel if John Brown had been my grandfather. It’s not my achievement, nor would I feel entitled to it in any way, but it would make me feel warm and grounded. My actual grandfather was a wife beating alcoholic, and I feel shame about him, even though he died before I was born and I had nothing to do with this.
I think that’s pretty common, even if it’s not logical, which happens a lot with feelings. I know several people whose parent(s) died when they were teenagers and in a period of tension with each other. All agree that the others shouldn’t feel any guilt for being normal teenagers when their parents died, and that the other parents knew they were loved, but most of them still feel as though they themselves had wronged their parents because of their teenagedom.
TractorDuffy@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
You don’t think there are any good reasons to be proud of being an American? Why not?
atomicorange@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
Usually it’s considered pretty stupid to be proud of things you didn’t have a hand in. Why be proud of where you were born, when it was just random chance? I can see being happy or feeling privileged to be an American - that at least suggests what you’re appreciating is that it benefits you. Saying you’re proud implies that being from the USA is some sort of moral success and it’s just not.
idiomaddict@lemmy.world 3 hours ago
I don’t know if you want to call it something other than pride, but I’ve never learned another word for what I would feel if John Brown had been my grandfather. It’s not my achievement, nor would I feel entitled to it in any way, but it would make me feel warm and grounded. My actual grandfather was a wife beating alcoholic, and I feel shame about him, even though he died before I was born and I had nothing to do with this.
I think that’s pretty common, even if it’s not logical, which happens a lot with feelings. I know several people whose parent(s) died when they were teenagers and in a period of tension with each other. All agree that the others shouldn’t feel any guilt for being normal teenagers when their parents died, and that the other parents knew they were loved, but most of them still feel as though they themselves had wronged their parents because of their teenagedom.