Its too much of a generalization, I think. Americans are patriotic, but the degree of enthusiasm for this varies quite a bit both over time and across different sub-groups in the country. Currently patriotism has pretty much been co-opted by the far right, which has managed to get it associated with enthusiasm for the Iraq war, fundamentalist Christianity, the "war on terror", and xenophobia. Obviously there are sharp differences within the country as to whether this is a good thing or not. My own view is that there is a big difference between appreciating your country and identifying with it. The former is generally healthy, the latter is generally dangerous. To derive your identity from symbols and ideas associated with the country reflects not only a poor identity structure but creates the conditions in which patriotism becomes bigotry, nationalism becomes hostility, and shared values become walls which separate us from the rest of the world. That's different than a simple and natural appreciation for the country's values, traditions, and accomplishments. The distinction may seem subtle, but its critical. EDIT =========================== Cazhead: I'm not sure that its true that we seem more patriotic, that could be just a matter of perception. For one thing, America is kind of an 800-pound gorilla on the world stage, and thus gets more attention than lots of other countries. I think if you study the internals of other countries with the same level of scrutiny, you might find this phenomenon is more widespread. Its common for people to identify with groups, and nations are one of the popular group forms. These groups tend to be self-promoting (which often leads to belittling others, of course). On the other hand, we are engaged in a war in Iraq, and a sort of psychological "war on terror" at least in the minds of many, and warlike conditions tend to exaggerate nationalism because there's a heightened sense of urgency and threat. One other thing that does support your view is that Americans have traditionally struggled with isolationism more than Europeans. Because there are fewer countries adjacent to our borders with which we've had to cooperate and fight against, we tend to think of ourselves as being very self-sufficient. There's a lot of "we don't need anybody else" thinking still alive and well here. Of course, this is an absurd viewpoint in the modern world, with all of the obvious interdependencies and connections, but the view persists and probably contributes to excessive nationalism.

we are? that's good to hear. i was under the impression that we were just a bunch of spoiled, ungrateful poor-mouths. if we're patriotic, then it's probably the same reason anyone is patriotic -- we enjoy living in our country. but you said "SO" patriotic. there is such a thing as too patriotic. it's obnoxious, right? & obnoxious is bad. so far, i haven't seen any red-white-blue bedecked fanatics running in the streets, so maybe we're not too far gone. if we're Too patriotic right now, it's probably because we have troops fighting. we all know that no matter what anyone thinks about war, the men & women making those sacrifices need to feel our love. & in that context, the love comes in the form of patriotism. maybe overdoing it is better than under doing it. for their sakes. then again, i'm just stream-of-consciousness right now! in here on the computer trying to avoid the work i'm supposed to be doing.:) this didn't last nearly long enough. oh well, back to work.... ___________________________________ (would not fit in comment box) The moment of silence is nice for remembrance day, but that’s between you, God & the gatepost. I think that the flag flyers want the troops who make it home to SEE their gratitude. A lot of people are in awe of the sacrifices military personnel make & it’s hard to come up with a way of showing that adequately. It could also be a very personal act, like their way of honoring a fallen loved one. If we think about it like that, maybe we shouldn’t be so bothered by it after all.

I'm not sure they are. The Americans I have met, none of whom were met in America 'cos I've never been there, have been a well balanced bunch of people. I have friends who, like myself, also like to travel a bit and they have said the same about the Americans they meet. I think the 'SO' in the question refers to the type you see on TV a lot, the fundamentalist Christian, Republican, never been outside America but we'll tell the world how to behave and send the troops in if you don't comply, even if history judges us as a bunch of Nazi's but we don't care 'cos we're America type of Americans, and anyway, we don't goosestep. The type you see in the movie 'Borat', when he says to the gun shop owner 'What's the best gun for killing a Jew?' and without missing a beat the guy replies 'A nine millimetere.' The type who feel nothing about killing over half a million Iraqi civilians (by the British count), because they're America so it must be OK. I've met a few of them on this site. I've went a bit far with panning the far right, but hey, I don't like it when they lie to me. That is the type we see on TV because those are the idiots that make good television, and of course because one of them is President, but it's NOT because all Americans are like that, most of them are actually really nice people.