Ian Murray wrote:
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> What is an American identity, really?
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I doubt there is any such thing. There is an empirical generalization, however, that most residents of the U.S. will say "I'm an an American," and think they are saying something, and most if pressed will say something like "I'm proud to be an American." What it means I do not know. But thinking it in even a superficial way is a barrier to getting across just how criminal the u.s. role in the world is. An overwhelming number, even of those sympathetic to the left, will meet with absolute incomprehension a statement that the u.s. is a greater threat than nazi germany. That in part comes from identification of Germany with the "holocaust," which obscures both the over-all ravages of the regime _and_ the limits of those ravages. The more 'unnaturally' horrible Nazi Germany can be painted, the more u.s. assumptions of good intentions and innocence get supported.
I think (I'm using "I think" a lot in this post because I'm not very sure) that U.S. super-patriotism and bizarre emphasis on the flag, pledge of allegiance, fear of "anti-americanism" etc. is partly a function of the fact that there never has been any significant "national identity."
Carrol