Patriotism

Often when I visit colleagues in other countries, there is a social event where local adult beverages are served and people forget about work and clients for a few hours. In some cases, these are painful experiences where one excuses oneself to head back to the hotel and catch up on email. But some of them are very enjoyable and the conversation flows freely. In these cases, I usually look for an opening to ask for the local view of the U.S. It's usually a very interesting exchange.

This week, I was in Spain (the local beverage was Cava) and it was one of the enjoyable type events. I asked my dinner companion about Spaniards' view of the U.S. He gave me several positives: the friendliness of New Yorkers [sic], the beauty of San Francisco, the inventiveness of Las Vegas, and several other items. And then, "but ...." I am now used to the "but" in these conversations. It usually leads to comments about the Iraq War or U.S. foreign policy in general or President Bush. But this time the "but" was followed by, "Americans are too patriotic."

Huh?

Now, I realize that I haven't lived in Goveror Palin's "Real America" for a long, long time. Maybe I've lived in places where it just seemed like Americans had developed a healthy self-criticism. But "too patriotic?"

Pressing back on my colleague, he clarified that in Europe they had experienced the extreme pain and suffering that can follow from being overly patriotic and nationalistic. And that experience teaches a certain humility and balance. Since the U.S. has not experienced those extremes, we sometimes lack humility and balance.