Disclaimer: I'm French too.<p>I think Marc nails it. Being born here rather than in the US means that one will have a different view of pride. French aren't proud of being french, French don't hang flags in their yard nor do they sing the national anthem each morning in school. Heck, we even allow (or rather <i>do not disapprove of</i>) some of our footballers to <i>not</i> sing the anthem at the start of the matches (mind the double negative). We like our country and we wish great things for it, but we are not proud of it. We were born and raised in a country that has seen some serious shit and done some terrible things, things that we learn of at school.<p>Final point: the US (as a country) are young and "innocent". France is an old dinosaur in comparison.
This guy gets it. Being proud of one's nationality makes no sense. You have no right to take pride in something you didn't have a part in. Likewise, you have no obligation to feel shame for something you didn't take part in, like a country's wars or human rights abuses.<p>Attaching your sense of pride and self worth on something you can't control is a weakness. It doesn't matter what it is, it could be a nation, a political ideology, a religion or a football team. As long as you don't control it, you're subject to its inevitable changes whether good or bad - your sense of pride or shame is outside of your control.<p>To be independent is to be strong. Your country maintains secret torture facilities or spies on its citizens? Not your fault; you didn't approve of it and that's as far as your obligation goes. You can be proud of your work to oppose it, but the shame belongs to the perpetrators.
I'm American, and I agree completely. One should reserve pride for things they had control over achieving, not that which is a coincidence of birth.
Would say I'm proud of seing a fellow french citizen nail the "nationality pride" idiocy, but I'm scared of creating a paradox that could swallow the universe and make deloreans apear in my living room.<p>Nationality pride is a refuge, an ego booster, and a few psychologists/sociologists/philosophers have tackled the subject with great insight.<p>And I believe it is sound to outgrow it, as OP did.<p>But still, we've got the best cheese, don't we? ;)
Humanism trumps nationalism. This is a good creed, that can keep us out of many wars. I still think the author should be proud of French food and French culture.
I totally agree. I'm not proud to be Italian either, but I find myself to be happy as an Italian when Italians excel in music, food or science for example..
This sort of opinion hinges in the assumption that people are completely independent from whatever environment they've lived in. Is it also absurd for a graduate to be proud of his alma mater or a son to be proud of his parent? Pride from both of these stems from how their influence added to you as a person, not just because you happened to be around them.