Sunday, June 20, 2010

Ethnocentrism vs Patriotism

Many people are talking about soccer right now. With the World Cup underway, the sport that tends to be at the bottom of most Americans' list suddenly gains popularity.
I was part of a conversation about the World Cup the other night that I found memorable. Soccer came up as it has for the past week and I began to say that I don't like soccer much. Soccer bothers me because a team can tie, and tying to me is very unamerican. When asked why I thought tying was unamerican I said, "Because Americans win."
The person who asked me replied that that was ethnocentric and wasn't an argument. It's true that what I said was a statement not an argument. I should have said that Americans like to win. But the reply she got was better than anything I could have come up with. Someone asked her "Well, aren't you American?"
As an American, I believe we are the greatest country in the world. I don't call that ethnocentric, I call it patriotic. The country I love may be going down the tubes, but I still believe that we can bring it back to its former glory if we work quickly.
I am so tired of people telling me that I have to accept all other countries as being as good as the one I live in. I am even more tired of the president telling other countries that we are sorry for whatever blame they put on us.
This is a great country! This is the best country. I'm not going to apologize for telling people that I'm proud to be an American. And I think the president should stop apologizing for being an American.

No comments:

Post a Comment