Is being proud of your heritage dumb? It's just an accident of birth; not an accomplishment! If everyone is proud of theirs is that a good thing?

[DrPepper12]

George Carlin's thoughts:

"I saw a slogan on a guy’s car that said “Proud to be an American.” And I thought, well, what the fuck does that mean? Proud to be an American. You see, I’ve never understood national pride. I’ve never understood ethnic pride. Because I’m Irish, and all four of my grandparents were born in Ireland, so I’m fully Irish. And when I was a kid, I would go to the St. Patrick’s Day parade, and I noticed that they sold a button that said “Proud to be Irish.” And I could never understand that because I knew that on Columbus Day, they sold a different button that said “Proud to be Italian.” Then came black pride and Puerto Rican pride. And I could never understand ethnic or national pride because, to me, pride should be reserved for something you achieve or attain on your own, not something that happens by accident of birth. Being Irish isn’t a skill. It’s a fucking genetic accident. You wouldn’t say, “I’m proud to be 5’11”. I’m proud to have a predisposition for colon cancer. So, why the fuck would you be proud to be Irish or proud to be Italian or American or anything? Hey, if you’re happy with it, that’s fine. Do that. Put that on your car. “Happy to be an American.” Be happy. Don’t be proud. Too much pride as it is. Pride goeth before a fall."

Pride in your birth lottery IS just DUMB

Pride in your birth lottery is fine IF you OWN the shame too

Pride in your birth lottery is perfectly fine!

[Amy10223]

George Carlin was right, to a degree. Yes, we all have no control over where we are from or are born, so to be proud of the fact that you are a certain nationality or from a country, is in my view kind of "dumb". However, there is more to it than just begin born there. There is the cultural heritage that people are proud of, the accomplishments of that group, and whatever they have contributed to their world.

On the other hand, people have a need since they very young to have an identity. Some still struggle with it as they get older. So it is somewhat more comforting to people to belong to a certain group, in this case, a nationality (or even a race) where you feel you part of them, wanted, and welcomed. You share a lot in common; the language, the culture, the food, the religion.

So that, I would want to believe, is why people say they are proud to be ---.

This reminds me of something that happened in my teen years. I am of Puerto Rican descent, born in the states and none of my siblings were born in PR. My sister at that time (this was the 70's) used to wear a button that said, "Kiss Me, I'm Puerto Rican". We got into a conversation about wearing buttons (she wore all kinds on her knapsack (book bag) and I remember her telling me very snobbily, "You're not Puerto Rican enough", because I wasn't wearing a button like hers. And I replied, I don't have to wear a button to show I'm proud tone PR. And what matters is what a person is like inside, not his nationality. She didn't know what to say and stayed quiet! And that, is what I still believe today.

[monorprise]

@Amy10223 While George Carlin is right that you don't get much choice in your genes or really where your born & how your raised. That hardly matters in that what was chosen for you in the long history choices, and cultures through which your family came. Is the single most defining influence upon who you are, and how you will make all future choices in carrying forward that same family line. Adding to that heritage for your children as your ancestors have done for you.

Heritage as such is the core of whom you are to the point it is shard with your family and children.
You should be proud of whom you are for you came from it and are further shaping it for your children.

George Carlin as such is missing the point entirely if he doesn't regard Heritage as being the most defining aspect of your identity.

That said @Amy10223 As indicated, your heritage is not simply 1 part of your family history but rather all of it together. The fact that you were born and raised in theses united States to parents who came form Puerto Rico does not mean that you heritage is exclusively Puerto Rican. For by you parents choice it now include American for you and even more so for your children.

[Amy10223]

@monorprise I did not say that I am not American, nor that I felt heritage is not important. What I agree with Carlin is, we are born where ever we are born— you can’t control that — and so being proud of it does not matter, because I could have been born in an African jungle or somewhere in Fiji. People born there are proud of who they are, proud of their culture and so on. If you are born in the states, of parents with a different culture, you embrace both cultures and you can’t just choose one or the other. To me, it’s not a matter of pride. It’s more a sense of belonging to one kind of culture. And being an American here, with people so divided in their ways and being with those who discriminate against others, certainly does not make me be proud.
Hope you understand.

[PeachyPie93]

I think it is fine to have pride in your heritage.. but not to the point you think you are better than others.

[Anonymous]

It's not having pride in yourself for their achievements, it's acknowledging the achievements of those who came before you so you have what you have.

My grandfather was born a farmer, a son of 6 in a fascist country recently destroyed by civil war, now they're long retired millionaires, their children are millionaires and while still growing up as farmers in a fascist country when they came to the USA they got the education my grandparents didn't, and now their grandchildren (me and my siblings) lived a life so different, and comfortable from them that they still probably can't fathom (they still basically live in the 80s).

Me being a history lover I take it a step further, I connect it to the context of my great grandfather and those before then, generations before my ancestors were likely great lords in their region and partition dwindled it to the dying narrow farm region it became. I think that's all interesting, and all the wars fought and survived, all the migration, all the stories that lead to my birth.

So yes, I take pride in heritage but it's from the position of an admirer, it's no accomplishment.

Would Churchill be famous if he didn't enlist in WW1 then stayed out of politics in WW2 just because of the achievement that he was the descendant of the Duke of Marlborough?

[Joshydavid25]

I agree.. Being born a certain way is nothing to be proud of.. It just is.. Humans just gotta find a way for some type of tribal mentality.. That's the way I see it.. I'm grateful to be American is more my slogan..

[Joshydavid25]

Thanks for MHO!

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

Pride in my Scots heritage, I'm proud.

[DrPepper12]

But you didn't achieve or accomplish it. Is it by association?

[blueonblack22]

Interesting you are Irish. Not what I expected.

Anyway the question can you be “proud” of your heritage when it is not societally popular? Do you have the guts to do that?

I’m a 4th generation German/Lithuanian straight white guy. Virtually saying I am “proud” of any of my heritage would be scoffed at best (Lithuanian pride would likely get confused for “Russian” pride) or automatically labeled racist/bigoted at worst (white pride, straight pride…yeah I won’t be too popular if I went around saying that).

But it’s easy and “celebrated” for intersectional people (combination black, gay, etc.) to say they have “black/brown pride” or “gay pride”. Seriously how risky is it for someone to proudly proclaim that in 2024?

People are motivated by social incentives. That’s why the say “they have pride in their heritage”. If they expected more backlash then praise they would never do that.

[BadApple69]

The pride doesn’t come from the dirt below your feet… it comes from the people who came before us. It’s our founding fathers, who were smart enough to give us the constitution and the bill of rights.
Yes I was lucky to be born in the United States BUT…. My grand father fought in WWI, my father and uncle in WWII. Before them there were others in my family that fought in the revolutionary war and civil war. I fought in places that most wouldn’t know and my son fought in Afghanistan.
The pride comes from the long history of Americans that defended this great nation and my whole family who also put their necks on the line for everyone here. We all believe in our country, the constitution and the great people willing to give everything for it.


Yes politicians suck and try to destroy everything…. Not proud of them. But that’s a different story.

[RavVid]

I think ancestral & heritage pride is a good thing.

I take pride in my forebears coming to 'this hostile land' and building a nation. They all achieved something. More generally I feel respect for all the Australian pioneers and in fact, by extension, for the pioneers of other countries such as US, Canada & New Zealand. Most of all for getting stuck in and making a difference instead of lobbying gov't.

Pride in heritage is inevitably accompanied by a why. It is not vacuous. It is a recognition of what is good in your culture and adoption of it.

There are obvious limits! Mostly I would see it as beneficial.

[jshm2]

You and Carlin were both just wrong and stupid as fuck. The difference being Carlin was getting paid for his plausible but odious diatribes. He made his money peddling his close to the bone opinions.

It's not an "accident" to be born, and your "heritage" is something you can only really claim if it's something you have contributed to. Just like your military service. Not everyone is proud of their military service or heritage, as not everyone has contributed positively to it.

[DrPepper12]

Ooooooooookkkkkkkkkkkkkaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy... So you agree with me that it's something you have to have a positive contribution towards and if you read REALLY CAREFULLY you'll see accident refers to Where you're born.

[Anonymous]

If you are not proud of your heritage your clearly in the camp of believing whom you are is more environmental than genetic. With the specific idea that your environment is mostly the broader culture rather than your family.

This is generally untrue on both accounts.

Whom you are is heavily influenced by your genes, and thereafter heavily influence by who raises you. the "outsiders" thereafter include people close to you like your friends later in your childhood. That too however is largely controlled by who raises you and who choose your schools and forbids your friends.

So in terms of what defines you yes heritage which includes both attributes is important.

[Snakeyes7]

Believe what you want just be consistent. Either all races and nationalities get to have pride, or none of them should.

You are a hypocrite if you say that one race gets to have pride and then turn around to say that another doesn't get to be.

[Ladsin2]

Said C. Having pride in what your forefathers accomplished and built for you only makes sense. It takes quite a lot of hubris to not be appreciative of the absolute deprivation they went through so you can sip on your soy latte while sitting in the AC.

[NathanDavis]

never been proud of being bi-national...

do love it, though... cherish it, yes... value it, of course

to me is not about pride... it is about belonging

[Amy10223]

I agree. Belonging to a group you are part of.

[NathanDavis]

@Amy10223 right (=

[Juxtapose]

Wait a minute, so I am supposed to be super proud because I am bisexual but I am not allowed to be proud because I am an American? Even though I had zero choice in either attribute?

More proof that the far left simply hates what America stands for.

[DrPepper12]

No. They are both accidents of birth. That's the point. Should you?

[Juxtapose]

So I guess we are in agreement that pride month should not be a thing?

[DrPepper12]

IDGAF. I'm just of the opinion that all of this shit is really corporate manipulation of consumer behavior so everybody can virtue signal instead of asking the hard questions about the place of x group in society.

[Juxtapose]

The answer is easy! People have the same place as everybody else. You advance or not based on meritocracy.

[DrPepper12]

That denies history, human behavior and reality. 🙄

[Juxtapose]

No it doesn't.

[Likes2drive]

Proud to be a mutt, lol, actually I can be proud of some of the things I’ve done without having a parade for my background

[DrPepper12]

Fair enough.

[Still-alive]

i think a little bit is ok but obviously taken to extremes like a lot of white nationalists do or any nation really citing their 'blood and soil' spiel to justify hurting people. it also can create xenophobia of people who aren't like them

[avery58]

Well it connects me to people that had a similar upbringing as me, so no.

[Flower7]

This is a very interesting viewpoint. I never thought of it like that.

[Pete671]

I'm third generation Irish diaspora, I'm immensely proud of my heritage and my grandparent's generation and their participation in the Easter Rising,,,

[Dargil]

Its an accident of birth. I'm predominately Irish but was brought up "English".

[exitseven]

I am proud to be an Italian American who is 5'11"

[Anonymous]

Nothing wrong with being proud of who you are or where you come from.

[Anonymous]

I think that national pride day makes no sense, because we didn't pick the country of our birth.

[On_cloud_wine]

I love George Carlin

[gatixek710]

great. Now apply this logic to the gays.

[Juxtapose]

^^ as a bisexual I endorse this message.

[Dongie]

Yeah. 1