I am a fourteenth generation American. This is my country. It is special to me, but no more special to me that I imagine Saudi Arabia is to many Saudis, or Canada is to many Canadians.
The United States is more special to more people than any place in the world because more people immigrate to the United States than any place in the world.
I await your response of excuses as to why this reality exists....and why we are not special....and it's just an "accident" or circumstance as to why more want to come here than any other place on the planet.
I do not believe in the worship of countries. I am an American because I was born here.
Worship? That is reserved for God.
But Presidents throughout history speak about American exceptional-ism and it is backed up with facts.
Other countries are clearly better at some things than we are
Jimmy Page is clearly a better guitar player than Bill Gates....so what?
A janitor may be a better taxi driver than Einstein...so what?
Obama's butler may be a better cook than Obama is....so what?
Does that in any way mean they have the same "impact" in the world?
Some people's...some country's....exceptional-ism has a much larger impact on mankind.
We should have learned this as well, but we didn't and made fools of ourselves in Vietnam, Iran and Iraq.
Did we learn that lesson in Japan, South Korea, and Germany?
See again.. there you go..you only list the negative and fail to mention success.
You first gut reaction is to lessen America, highlight the negative....
Name another example where a conquered country or postwar situation that has prospered
to the level of Japan, South Korea, and Japan after the United States took the driver's seat?
Where are the examples that have produced those kinds of economic powerhouses?
But XO only mentions Vietnam and Iraq....what a skewed warped sense of guilt driven bullshit.
Cuba is a more comfortable place for the Cubans than the US would be, just as the US is a more comfortable place for Americans to live in.
But reality is not as you state....there are not tons of Americans that have tried to flee to Cuba.
There are tons of Cubans that have fled Cuba risking their lives!
This is a big time ONE WAY STREET situation.
The US does not need barriers to keep people from fleeing,
Just the opposite we need barriers to keep people out.
So you implying one is about the same satisfaction level as the other is total fantasy.
Patriotism often blinds people to their faults.
Leftism often blinds people to reality.