What are you proud of as an American?

[mbillie1]

One of my problems with American nationalism as that it's usually founded on what I think are pretty poor things: military conquests (lol we pwned Iraq), faux-political ideologies (lol we liberated Iraq), creating things we didn't create (lol we invented freedom). BUT, there are lots of things we have to be proud of as Americans. What are some of yours?

Sorry if this is a dumb post, I'm still figuring out this forum.

Mine:

Jazz
ee cummings
Hemingway


edit: if you're not an American, just say what your nationality is and something you're proud of as a Canadian or whatever

[Max Raker]

Rock and Roll

[DblBarrelJ]

and

[iron81]

Democracy. No we didn't invent it, but it didn't stick until 1783. The American Revolution might have been the most important event of the Millennium and I think it brought about a change for the better.

[mbillie1]

I'll throw in another one of mine: our space program.

[Max Raker]

We have had a good run in theoretical physics.
Experimental as well I guess but that is based alot on money.

[Dan87]

As an American I am proud of the politics forum.

[ojc02]

The constitutional republic - the greatest, but sadly failed, attempt to restrain the power hungry from the oppression of a populace.

"A republic, if you can keep it."

[Farfenugen]

- 1980 US Hockey win over the SU

- We were the first real democracy. Sure there are freer societies nowadays but we got the ball rolling and were the shining beacon of freedom relative to the rest of the world for a long time.

- US military engineers and logistics. Our military has a stellar record in getting supplies where they are needed and building the things needed to support military operations. We supplied an entire major city under blockade for over a year. Eat that Stalin!

- Compared to the rest of the world we are insanely tolerant of immigrants and we have the most diverse country in the world.

[ElliotR]

That when traitorous, slave-owning southerners tried to rip the country apart we kicked the [censored] out of them, kept the country together, and freed the slaves