Should you be proud of your nationality ?

yourdeadwright

Simply question do you think you should be proud of you nationality ?
I ask because my veiw is you have no say in where you are born so why should you be proud of it ? everyone has to be born somewhere,
I don't mind being Irish but im not proud of it as i didn't do anything to become Irish ,
What do you people think ?
Should you be PROUD of your Nationality ?

Banjoxed

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Simply question do you think you should be proud of you nationality ?
I ask because my veiw is you have no say in where you are born so why should you be proud of it ? everyone has to be born somewhere,
I don't mind being Irish but im not proud of it as i didn't do anything to become Irish ,
What do you people think ?
Should you be PROUD of your Nationality ?

Proud, yes. Be a wanker about it? Definitely not.

ScumLord

I don't know, If I lived in a place like London or New York I think it would be easier to say I'm proud to be from those great cities.

I think pride is probably the wrong word to use when you're describing your attachment to the place you live.

Karl Stein

Nationalism is a belief, creed or political ideology that involves an individual identifying with his or her nation.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalism

The vast majority of people are nationalist by default under the above criteria.

uch

Yep

I am pie

Not proud no, pride is a negative emotion in too many cases and leads nowhere good. Content, yes.

Artful_Badger

You can be proud of a team or achievements or something related to your nationality but I dont get the whole "I'm proud to be Irish" thing. What is there to be proud of in the fact you just happen to be Irish ?

BeerWolf

Should you?

If you want to.

Am I?

Meh

Knasher

I'm not proud of my nationality. But despite all of the problems in this country, I do really love living here. And I think if I were to try and express why, it would sound a lot like pride.

kneemos

I think we go way too far with it and are desperate for a bit of glory.
If an athlete wins a medal for example they seem to almost take second place to the headlines "Ireland wins Gold"or "Ireland in with a medal chance."

COYVB

IMO I don't really see the point. Keep your pride for the accomplishments of yourself, family and friends. You've got no say in where you're born, so pride in it has always seemed really strange to me. If you're talking about pride in your town or something, I can see how that would work, particularly if you're an active member of the community and have worked towards a collective goal for the town... something like winning the Tidy Towns, cleaning up a dirty area, or fund raising for new amenities for the area. That'd be something you've played a part in accomplishing, so you'd be entitled to feel proud

Mr Benevolent

Proud? No, I had no choice about being born on this little island.

bullpost

I think when people say they are proud to be from somewhere, what they probably really mean is they are not ashamed to be from that place.

old hippy

I'm happy to be Irish and happy to live in London. I don't really do the whole pride thing and it does lead to bemusement on my part when I see the uberpatriots getting all hot under their collars about nationality.

That applies to the uberpats of any country, btw.

COYVB

bullpost wrote: »

I think when people say they are proud to be from somewhere, what they probably really mean is they are not ashamed to be from that place.

Similarly though, being ashamed to be from somewhere is a bit strange. It's not like you have any say or influence on it

sbsquarepants

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Simply question do you think you should be proud of you nationality ?

If you chose it, then feel free to be as proud as you like. If not then you may as well say you're proud of your foot size, or hair colour, cos it's the exact same thing.

Definitely, we are one of the best nations on the planet. We are loved and respected the world over and punch well above our weight in politics, business and scientific achievements. We have some of the most beautiful scenery the eye can see and you wont find better craic or atmosphere on a night out anywhere else.

Why wouldn't I be proud!

greenflash

I can only be proud of things that I am responsible for. If an Irish athlete does well against international competition, I am pleased for them coming from a small country with limited facilities but it does not make me proud to be Irish. Nothing could make me proud to be Irish, nationality just isn't important.

Vito Corleone

No. I am not proud of things I didn't achieve.

ScumLord

old hippy wrote: »

I'm happy to be Irish and happy to live in London.

I can imagine though that when people start gushing over London's world class transport system or it's incredible buildings and history that you would get a sense of pride listening to people go on about how great a city it is.

jimgoose

Kristopher Echoing Caterpillar wrote: »

...We are loved and respected the world over and punch well above our weight in politics, business and scientific achievements...

That phrase annoys me so bloody much when applied to Ireland. Brendan Behan had the right of it when he pointed out that the Irish are a very popular race... with themselves.

COYVB

Kristopher Echoing Caterpillar wrote: »

Definitely, we are one of the best nations on the planet. We are loved and respected the world over and punch well above our weight in politics, business and scientific achievements. We have some of the most beautiful scenery the eye can see and you wont find better craic or atmosphere on a night out anywhere else.

Why wouldn't I be proud!

Because you've likely played no part in any of the things you've mentioned? Should someone from Dublin be proud of the achievements of someone from Caernarfon, for example, given that it's closer than Galway?

lahalane

I'm not proud of any of my geographical 'accomplisments'. It's all a bit tribal in my opinion.

sbsquarepants

greenflash wrote: »

I can only be proud of things that I am responsible for. If an Irish athlete does well against international competition, I am pleased for them coming from a small country with limited facilities but it does not make me proud to be Irish. Nothing could make me proud to be Irish, nationality just isn't important.

I disagree. I'm happy to be Irish - when I look around the world and what goes on it, I feel absolutely blessed to have been born here. But pride is different, it implies involvement in achieving something, somehow.
You wouldn't say you were proud you won the lottery - lucky, happy, ecstatic even, but not proud. Same with being Irish, i'm glad I am, but not proud.

P_1

I was born on this rock. Am I happy to have been born on it? Yes I suppose so, there are worse places on the planet to be born. Am I proud of this arbitrary fact? Not really to be honest, it's not something that I achieved by myself so really why should I?

old hippy

ScumLord wrote: »

I can imagine though that when people start gushing over London's world class transport system or it's incredible buildings and history that you would get a sense of pride listening to people go on about how great a city it is.

Ok, I'll admit to having a certain... satisfaction when London hosted the Olympics last summer

greenflash

sbsquarepants wrote: »

I disagree. I'm happy to be Irish - when I look around the world and what goes on it, I feel absolutely blessed to have been born here. But pride is different, it implies involvement in achieving something, somehow.
You wouldn't say you were proud you won the lottery - lucky, happy, ecstatic even, but not proud. Same with being Irish, i'm glad I am, but not proud.

So you do agree after all.

Hedgemeister

There was a time when I was (maybe a little) proud to be Irish, that was until grew up and began to travel.
We are not as well loved in the wide world as some of us imagine.
As far as respect goes, the only Irish 'group' I know of that are respected / admired world-wide, are our UN Peacekeepers (except at home) & I am proud that I was more than once counted among them.
'Punching above our weight in World affairs, Politics'...dream on.

Our fine buildings, Bridges, Canals system, Railways, Power Stations, Legal System, I could go on and on...all built by foreigners.
Our Olympic athletes did well, and more luck to them, but why should I personally feel proud at their personal achievements.
Our greatest writers, Poets, Actors, Comedians, etc with just a few exceptions, first had to 'make it' abroad before being recognised in Ireland.
I would have to say no to the OP.
I am not 'proud' to be Irish.

Wacker The Attacker

non nyrnand

bellinter

I saw a facebook post the other day talking about the hurling final...

"What a game. Makes you even prouder to be Irish."

Couldnt make any sense of this myself. He was already proud of something that he made no contribution towards. Now another event that happened that he has absolutely no bearing on added to this pride?

Just don't understand it. Maybe it's one of those things though that's just said so often that people continue saying it without any thought. Happy might be a better word, though content probably the most appropriate.

The very definition of pride though in this context seems to be wide-ranging. It seems that it can mean anything from showing your American friend the Cliffs of Moher and hearing him say "weill aint that swell", to insisting that you hate the queen.

jimgoose

bellinter wrote: »

...showing your American friend the Cliffs of Moher and hearing him say "weill aint that swell"...

Contrary to popular belief, Americans do not say "Ain't that swell!" outside of cheesy '50s films!

humbert

If you've grown up in a place and you're a reasonably positive individual you've probably found lots of things about the place to be proud of. It shouldn't be an antagonistic or exclusive pride though.

Anything that can be used to excuse prejudice without explanation or responsibility will be. It doesn't mean that that thing is inheritable bad, it just means that there are a lot of dickheads out there.

ScumLord

Hedgemeister wrote: »

We are not as well loved in the wide world as some of us imagine.

I was shocked, shocked! By how much Irish people were loved all over the world. I could do no wrong once people found out I was Irish. Many seem to use Irish people as an excuse to go a bit cracked I think. Turn up in someones house and they immediately use you as an excuse to pull out some bottle of spirits.

bellinter

jimgoose wrote: »

Contrary to popular belief, Americans do not say "Ain't that swell!" outside of cheesy '50s films!

... and those with a sense of national pride

MadsL

I only spent 58% of my life in my native country and have lived in 3 others since then. I feel more of a European, and more proud of European co-operation and the EU than my "own" country.

I hope to become an American soon and I'm actually looking forward to swearing in as a new citizen. I will be proud to a part of that long history of multiple nations immigrants becoming One Nation. It ain't perfect, but it has provided a home for people who have suffered elsewhere and a chance at a new life for so many.

MRnotlob606

its even worse when descendants of irish people jump on the band wagon

old hippy

MRnotlob606 wrote: »

its even worse when descendants of irish people jump on the band wagon

That's up to them if they are proud of their Irish heritage. It's no better or worse.

Hitchens

Ha, ha...............ROFL

Jamsiek

ScumLord wrote: »

Turn up in someones house and they immediately use you as an excuse to pull out some bottle of spirits.

I'm not sure I'd be impressed if that happened me, it's like saying we're all a bunch of drunks.

KwackerJack

Were all so proud.......until money and greed steps in, then its all for one and one for feck all else!

moe_green

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Simply question do you think you should be proud of you nationality ?
I ask because my veiw is you have no say in where you are born so why should you be proud of it ? everyone has to be born somewhere,
I don't mind being Irish but im not proud of it as i didn't do anything to become Irish ,
What do you people think ?
Should you be PROUD of your Nationality ?

its rarely a bad thing , even it is a little silly - irrational , like being proud of your parish , without it , how would you help it improve etc

moe_green

I am pie wrote: »

Not proud no, pride is a negative emotion in too many cases and leads nowhere good. Content, yes.

are you serious ? , pride is a wonderfull emotion , without it , life is pretty meaningless

KwackerJack

moe_green wrote: »

are you serious ? , proud is a wonderfull emotion , without it , life is pretty meaningless

You can have plenty of pride and be living on the streets! Doesn't mean your life is any better!

My name is URL

I'm proud of it in the same sort of way I'd be proud of my garden. Your life in any country is what you make of it.. and if the soil's good enough to allow for growth then that's something to be thankful for.

moe_green

MadsL wrote: »

I only spent 58% of my life in my native country and have lived in 3 others since then. I feel more of a European, and more proud of European co-operation and the EU than my "own" country.

I hope to become an American soon and I'm actually looking forward to swearing in as a new citizen. I will be proud to a part of that long history of multiple nations immigrants becoming One Nation. It ain't perfect, but it has provided a home for people who have suffered elsewhere and a chance at a new life for so many.

I can see you being secretary general of the UN someday

moe_green

KwackerJack wrote: »

You can have plenty of pride and be living on the streets! Doesn't mean your life is any better!

I was happier when I was far far less wealthy than I am now , pride was stolen however

Femme_Fatale

No IMO - nor ashamed. Although some stuff embarrasses me, but overall it's a pretty good place to live IMO.

Kristopher Echoing Caterpillar wrote: »

Definitely, we are one of the best nations on the planet. We are loved and respected the world over and punch well above our weight in politics, business and scientific achievements. We have some of the most beautiful scenery the eye can see and you wont find better craic or atmosphere on a night out anywhere else.

Ok, I'm not one of the moaners about Ireland but I'd question some of the above. I don't know that we're loved and respected the world over at all. Much of the world hasn't even heard of us. We are no better than anyone else (even if Ireland is obviously a much better place to live in than many places, but that's not the fault of the people in those places).
And really - punch above our weight in politics? How do we punch above our weight anyway? This is a first-world country that has been in receipt of a lot of EU funding and plenty of multinationals providing employment here. It's not like we haven't had any means.

wolfpawnat

COYVB wrote: »

Similarly though, being ashamed to be from somewhere is a bit strange. It's not like you have any say or influence on it

And yet people are fast enough to use it as a verbal insult in many cases. Not even on an international scale, but on a local one.

Am I proud to be Irish, yes. We as a nation have an amazing history and beautiful landscape. If I was born in another country I would probably be proud to be from there. You can't beat the aulde American's for national pride though.

Funk It

Without preaching, I think people should be proud of where they are from. It makes up part of who you are whether you like it or not.

Jamsiek

I'm proud of where I'm from but I'm not proud of the way Ireland is now unfortunately. I wish I was.

Cody Pomeray

ScumLord wrote: »

I don't know, If I lived in a place like London or New York I think it would be easier to say I'm proud to be from those great cities.

Yes, but 'you' wouldn't be 'you'. A person who was made up of the local social/ cultural/ moral fibre of those places may endorse and take pride in the values and traits of his community, which he may regard as exemplary.

Or he may not, many people are not proud of their society's past.

Should you be proud of your nationality? Depends on your nationality. Many regard Irish identity as, if not benign, then a positive thing. On balance, I think Ireland has one of the more honourable identities of European states, something which we all partake in to some extent, and from which we may therefore derive pride.