Do you love your country?

[Anonymous]

[N192K001]

I'm a dual-citizen Filipino-American, and I love both my birthplace of the Philippines & my adopted homeland of the U. S.

Of course, love of country ≠ love of government.

Given that Washington started in 2016 to fund anti-government foreign-propaganda (and is now trying to influence the PH 9 May 2022 Presidential Election); to erroneously consider the PH a dictatorship under a blood-thirsty butcher; and to get in the way of balancing our relations with it & its rivals, Moscow & Beijing, plus given their worsening shenanigans of here inside the Union's borders… nope. Washington needs to learn to respect the will of the masses voted-in by the citizenry of fellow-democracies and mind its own business WITHIN its borders, as well as needs massive reform, even overhauling.

As for Manila, it's done well, given the limitations. The decades' old blood-ridden civil-wars (with Maoist- & Muslim-militias) are nearly over. The people finally feel safe, with crime-rates plunging by 74% since Pres. Duterte's 1st sat in office. The economy was booming (until the lockdowns), and now, we're getting back. If the expected-winner of the 2022 Election does win, the much-needed reforms may finally get done. Can the Republic of the Philippines become like prosperous Singapore or Hong Kong within our lifetime? Only time will tell.

That said, my opinion of Manila is higher than that of mine for Washington. Would I trust the politicians & bureaucrats of either side? lol 🤣 Nonetheless, I do love the Union & the Republic, their cultures & subcultures, sites, cuisines, and people. Hopefully, both peoples will continue to live peacefully & harmoniously, and the governments learn from our non-hostile dynamics.

[ChrisMaster69]

Yeah I do, I accept not perfect and have made some serious fuck ups, however on the whole yes I love it enough to have joined their military.

there is also the fact I love where I am from in my country.

This is fairly common here, here were people actually love where they are from but may not fully love their country.

[Apulu_Imback]

Not really. My country still have to improve so much and it's time when people of my country stop being proud of the independence for which they even didn't fought and start developing. Japan developed a lot after that bombing situation in less time. Over here my country is 'still developing'. Politicians and most of the common people are just ignoring about development being blind in extreme patriotic nature. Like they will say "Our country is the best in its own way". We can still improve a lot! No one wants that. They all are too blind in being patriotic. Such ego can't take us anywhere. I hope that in my time at least youngsters (I'm not saying that elder people don't have the knowledge. Some do have. But you can't neglect that most teenagers and youngsters now know how much our country is behind because they are shown to the modern world and how the world is outside the country) like me who understand this situation will try to develop the country.

[skyeee_]

just facts

[Cubus]

Japan had a lot of financial support from Americans after the war (the same with South Korea and Taiwan). It was to build a shield against communist China.

That's why these countries are richer than India.

[Apulu_Imback]

@Cubus We do also have a high rate of taxes and financial support from many many countries to develop. Actually we have all the resources needed. We can develop like Dubai and all these rich countries. But the problem is that people don't want to work for the country, they just need a job which can feed their families. Politicians need taxes for personal use. If anyone goes against the politician or does something good then there are politicians who throw them in the prison. Being a person who develops the country is really difficult here. That's the harsh reality.

[Apulu_Imback]

You see after independence, Britishers stole $45 TRILLIONS from India! You imagine that! It's straight away Trillion not Billion. Yet the Prime Minister and President who were there that time encouraged people for Green Revolution. There was barely any food in India. After Green Revolution, there was so much food that almost the whole country slept with full tummies. So much harvest that they couldn't be completely consumed and were exported to other countries. Democracy went really well with these people. Common people that time were also hardworking. The generation after it were just proud people who thought they live in heaven if they are Indians as their ancestors are brave people. They didn't worked on the country. Patriotism became a religion and here goes the downfall. The country which was once called a Golden Bird is now... The country which faced days where people found it difficult to consume all the harvest now faces days to import half of the food from foreign. India didn't have financial support are just things to say. There are places in India which are as developed as USA and Japan. The place where I stay looks just like a Colony of US. The place where my school is looks like Australia. It is because people are educated. People like my School's Chairman, my dad, my neighbor uncle and all were educated properly and hence could develop so much. But whole 70% is a rural area and not developed. It's time we go tough and start developing. The stereotypical mentality of centuries back are still present, think how slow it is actually going on. We can never develop with this pace. The key importance is to become educated, not only literate.

[Apulu_Imback]

*But whole 70% of the country

[Cubus]

Every stick has two ends - richer and more educated people are usually less moral. The case is to balance it.

[Apulu_Imback]

@Cubus Educated people don't have less moral. Literate people may have less moral. People who grew rich don't have less moral. People who are rich from birth may have.

[Cubus]

They have. At least from my experience.

[Apulu_Imback]

@Cubus Oh okay.

[Cubus]

It's because when people have a lot of money (so they don't have to think carefully what to spend money on) they want comfort and entertainment. So they want f. e. drugs legalised, because they want to experiment with them (as they have a lot of free time, as they don't have to work double shifts to feed the family) and similar stuff.

[Apulu_Imback]

@Cubus Well I mentioned being rich from birth is different than growing rich. When you grow rich you know how hard it was to achieve it all. When you are rich from start you don't know about that hard work. Educated is different from literate too. Being literate means that you know the bookish things taught in schools but being educated means you are really intelligent.

[Cubus]

People can change. We have a saying in Poland "soda water hit inside of his head" which means "someone became arrogant and selfish after achieving some success". You can see it in young footballers. He used to be very poor, and after he achieves success he buys 3 Lamborghini, even if he doesn't have a driving license yet.

The surge of new possibilities is tempting.

[Apulu_Imback]

@Cubus Yeah but people with true morals aren't determined with their status. They will be the same no matter how up they are in the sky. at least this is what my dad used to say when he didn't had any bedtime stories haha. A person with true good qualities will maintain himself always if the person is really a good person.

[Cubus]

There are few people with true morals sadly. Only the most headstrong.

[Apulu_Imback]

@Cubus yes that's true though.

[Julie4]

Yes without a doubt. as Marcel Bloch said " "France, the homeland from which I cannot uproot my heart. I was born there, I drank from the sources of its culture. I have made her past mine, I only breathe well under her sky, and I have tried, in my turn, to defend her as best I can.” That is exactly my thought.

[DuskEmbrace_X]

Yes, I do. I love being a Canuck and I feel blessed to have been born and raised here. It does get as cold as the surface of the moon during winter, Tim Horton's coffee sucks compared to McDonald's, and we currently have a spoiled brat for a prime minister, but all-in-all Canada is a great country to live in.

[Kristy7di88ddd]

Yup. For all the issues America has; I still love it and think its extremely unique. Its a true melting pot of cultures. It has an awesome history. And it is home to some of the most iconic celebrities/historical figures of all time. :)

[rohitbiruli008]

I love my country but I'm not proud of it because of corruption. Put that aside, my country has different cultures, beautiful girls, smart talents and I think my country has the youngest innovaters. And in next 10 years, we can do better. Jai hind🇮🇳

[Mrsposh]

Yes I do! I Love the Caribbean 🥰 im Dominican 🇩🇲 and we live where people vacation 🥰🥰🥰🇭🇹🇬🇩🇰🇳🇱🇨🇻🇮🇦🇬🇻🇨🇬🇺🇧🇧🇧🇸🇬🇾🇹🇹💕💕💕💕

[sheikalana]

I absolutely love where I live it was really the best decision I've ever made in life. I also love the country where I was born but work wise it doesn't have many opportunities.

[Anonymous]

No I don't have an have patriotic feelings for the piece of land I was born and raised in. I love my language, the food, my family, and to me home is where the people I love are..

[Snsl153]

Not really. Should I? I really like this image, an image that someone else here posted somewhere.

[Tyrael]

That's a pretty simplistic understanding of nationalism. It's not about your dirt being better, it's about your country being worthy of pride. Your education and health systems, the crime rate, the overall happiness of the people, the economic success of your country and so on. There's lots of things to love aside from dirt.

[Snsl153]

@Tyrael You've taken it too literally. The image points out the absurdity of loving a tribe simply because you happen to be a member of it, and that's what nationalism/patriotism basically is.

[Tyrael]

@Snsl153 yes and I've stated several reasons why you would do such a thing.

[Zealconsumesme]

@Tyrael women are simplistic.

[jennifer_bloom]

I have positive feelings about Canada but Canada is so big, I’m not able to come up with only one opinion about it.

[genericname85]

No. I feel like I live in a society following a completely incompetent and idiotic government even though their blunders are so damn obvious.

[Zealconsumesme]

I love my people, not my country's people, my ethnic group

[LepardLashes]

naaaaa they trying to take my right to chose wtf I want to do with my body and it's 2022

[Zealconsumesme]

Just another ten years you won't have to worry, there won't be a baby coming out of that

[GMANN56]

IF they overturn RoeVWade it just means that it will be up to the states to decide.
There will always be states where a woman can get an abortion if she needs to.

[Anonymous]

Patriotism is irrational and illogical. It only leads to hatred and arguments.

I take pride in myself as a person and my achievements, not the country I was born in.

I find a lot of people here annoying and the government is shit

[Cubus]

You must have grudge. I can convince you it doesn't only lead to hatred.

And - government is not the same as country. All governments are shit, so that would mean all countries ae shit. Pretty pesimistic way of thinking.

[Opinion Owner]

@Cubus I'm not sure if "grudge" is an apt word in this case.

Think about this, why in the world would I have a grudge on my own country? The government, probably, but government =/= country.

How can you be proud of an accident of birth? I did not choose to be born here. I love the culture and the country, but the government? It can fuck off. Even same sex marriage is not recognized by law here. Trans people are looked down upon. It is largely unsafe for women. And the same goes for half of the citizens. They can fuck off too. A vast majority of them are racist. If you endorse racist ideologies, sure.

So, nope, I definitely do NOT take pride in my country. I'm critiquing the shitty government which is good.

[Opinion Owner]

It's just a difference in opinions is all. I definitely do not agree with you, and you need not agree with me. I respect your opinion though. It's your choice if you want to respect mine. If not, be my guest. I don't care either way because people have different opinions and politics is crazy af

[skyeee_]

you forgot to list out the shit edu system

[Opinion Owner]

@skyeee_ ah, yes, thank you for adding that as well, skyeee

@cubus See, the list goes on! Please try to hear out the other side before making assumptions

[Cubus]

I listen. I just disagree with you.

[Cubus]

I may agree, may not agree but I respect.

How can you be proud of an accident of birth - You misinterpret it. You don't like "accident of birth". You are proud of all your country achieved through history, inventions, people of science, not being crushed by others ( my country was occupied for 120 years, after that WW2 and after that communism - I can be proud for the people who were fighting for the country not to vanish from maps)

I can see you just don't support political views of your current government. It's ok. If I moved to UK or Sweden I would also be upset with them. It's subjectal.

But again - government doesn't mean country. There are regular people in the country, landmarks, historical places etc.

[Cubus]

And - in my country everyone complains about education, too. Still, it's only one factor that doesn't stop me from loving the country.

[Opinion Owner]

@Cubus My point exactly. Thank you for being civil with your reply, not many people are that way :)

However, half of these regular people are racists. You know what today's news was? A politician was seen in a nightclub with a woman of another race. This is a SCANDAL here. You have got to see people bashing Christians and Muslims. It's awful out here. Dark skin is frowned upon. I've never faced racism because my family is Hindu (it's the majority here; but I'm Agnostic) and I'm relatively pale as compared to most of the population, but I cannot seem to digest the fact that many of the people are openly racist towards minorities. Many Muslims are getting killed here because Hindus are getting killed in Pakistan and so it's justified like wtf. And please do not even get me started on Hindi imposition (about 40% of the population speaks Hindi) but other 60% speak other regional languages. This piece of shit Modi government is trying to impose Hindi on South Indian states. I'm South Indian (I speak both Telugu and Tamil; India has hundreds of languages, but the Scheduled languages recognized by the government is 22). A celebrity (a MORONIC) one at that, said Hindi was the "national" language of India COMPLETELY disregarding other languages. Hindi is NOT the national language!! Many Indians are uninformed and remain ignorant. They fail to realize the difference between national and official languages.

I'm sorry for the rant, but I think my reasons are justified, I get where you're coming from, but I can't even be proud of a famous freedom fighter who's regarded as the "Father Of The Nation" when he was a fucking pervert/pedophile/racist.

[skyeee_]

this is nothing but a powerhouse of facts

[Opinion Owner]

Misogyny runs rampant here, women are not safe at all

[skyeee_]

frr-

[Opinion Owner]

@skyeee_ and let's not forget about this year's 10th grade 1st semester final paper where misogyny was blatantly encouraged.. (my cousin is in 10th and was furious)

[skyeee_]

damn- this country is a mess

[Opinion Owner]

@skyeee_ right? i fucking hate it here

my friends call me an anti-national lmao (teasingly), and if me critiquing the government is me being an anti-national, i'm very glad to be one!

[skyeee_]

i dont like india either ngl. there's always some heated shit going on about religion, education system is outdated, misogyny at it's finest, asking for mental help taken as stigma.

[Cubus]

It's a common problem for multicultural, multiethnical and multireligion countries. They will always be tensions in such situations, because of conflict of interests.

I know something about it. Between WW1 and WW2 1/3 of my country's population were national minorities (and even more when it comes to religion). They were tensions, they were fights. Even one of our prime ministers was assasinated because minorities wanted their own country. But then Stalin changed borders and bah - my country is homoethnic, pretty much first time ever.

Such countries have extra difficulties. It's only how you handle them. There are few options that work.

[Opinion Owner]

@skyeee_ you're the only other relatable Indian around my age group I've met here 😭

[skyeee_]

@wonderbell99 aww, well it feels great that someone feels the same way as me about india. usually it's hard to open up as people here just don't see whats being done to it. they just blindly call themselves a proud indian and then get butthurt when someone criticizes it

[Opinion Owner]

@skyeee_ ikr? and especially in yt comment sections, for like one sec something about India will be mention and they go "proud to be an Indian!!" sometimes, the video won't even be related to india and they be commenting stuff like that. its annoying tbh. i lost my cool and asked: "uh the video doesn't even mention india, not even once, what are you proud of?" 😂

[skyeee_]

lmaoo ifkr, youtube is where i get most of these from. its honestly frustrating lol

[Opinion Owner]

@skyeee_ frr 😭😂

[yucychan]

Of course I love my country, I just hate the people in it.

[Anonymous]

Fuck yes I do. Signed my life away and took an oath to defend the nation and the Constitution. That’s how much I love my country.

[Tyrael]

Yes I'd say so. Overall we're very lucky and I'm grateful to have grown up here.

[Anonymous]

I ended up hating the country I was born in, so I moved to another country, and life has been great ever since.

[Birbman]

I like my country, but I despise what the ones governing usually do to it.

[exitseven]

I do love my country. I was born here and I have gotten many opportunities because of it.

[Anonymous]

Fuck No if i could burn it to the ground i would and if i could leave and move to Russia I would

[DWornock]

Although I wish they were not so ignorant, I love the people but I hate the government and the psychopaths that rule and murder millions.

[Hispanic-Cool-Guy]

Yes, but my Dominican Republic is a total disaster right now. We have to get rid of all those illegal Haitians in our territory. It's a must.

[Beerluvr]

I do very much. But I absolutely hate our Government! They are destroying this Country.

[Anonymous]

Not anymore. America has turned into a neo-fascist state of minority rule.

[lofii]

I love America and anyone who lives here and says they hate it should leave

[call_me_scar]

Nope it's impossible to love a country that's government doesn't care for you

[Katya98]

Complicated relationship :)

[Anonymous]

Yes, but I hate our president.

[MTC29]

I do, despite its faults.

[EssenceOfLight]

Not my country, the nation.

[TrueConfection]

Absolutely! 🇺🇸

[Razp_Sorbet]

Sure do

[LilyByte]

its... ok

[moonpie89]

It's okay 🇨🇦

[Iron_Man]

Why of course I do the USA

[skyeee_]

tbh no-

[andreasderjuengere]

Nope.
I love my home, though.

[TuxTheAstronaut]

sometimes

[Vendela]

🤔🤔

[Cubus]

I love my country.

[SmokinAces2000]

Nope

[HeartFullOfGlue]

Not really

[LivingExample]

Yes I Love America!

[Fuentes]

Yes i do

[Passing_by]

Not really

[User_69]

Absolutly not !

[Anonymous]

Of course. American is the greatest country

[caitycat21]

I don’t

[SolitarySolace]

Absolutely

[RosegoldLorenzo]

Not one bit.

[In_Trance]

Nope