http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/27/D8IGNV700.html

[quote]

Americans Rank No. 1 in Patriotism Survey
Jun 27 2:56 PM US/Eastern
Email this story <!-- var eproof_apip = new Image; eproof_apip.src = 'http://keisu.eproof.com/apipAuditor.aspx?s=21'; //--> By MEGAN REICHGOTT
Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO

When it comes to national pride, Americans are No. 1, according to a survey of 34 countries' patriotism. Venezuela came in a close second in the survey, released Tuesday by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.
People rated how proud they were of their countries in 10 areas: political influence, social security, the way their democracy works, economic success, science and technology, sports, arts and literature, military, history, and fair treatment of all groups in society.
In the U.S., "the two things we rank high on are what we think of as the political or power dimension," said Tom W. Smith, a researcher at the university. "Given that we're the one world superpower, it's not that surprising."
Patriotism is mostly a New World concept, the researchers said. Former colonies and newer nations were more likely to rank high on the list, while Western European, East Asian and former socialist countries usually ranked near the middle or bottom.
The U.S. ranked highest overall and in five categories: pride in its democracy, political influence, economy, science and military. Venezuela ranked highest in four categories: sports, arts and literature, history, and fair treatment of all groups in society.
Eric Wingerter, a Washington spokesman for the Venezuelan government, said many Venezuelans believe President Hugo Chavez has helped create a new sense of national pride. "There's been a real emphasis on rediscovering what it means to be Venezuelan," he said.
Chavez rails against the U.S. government and the Bush administration in particular.
Ireland came in at No. 3, followed by South Africa and Australia.
Cultural differences might explain the lower rankings for the three Asian countries on the list _ Japan (18th), Taiwan (29th), and Korea (31), Smith said.
"It is both bad luck and poor manners to be boastful about things there," Smith said.


Countries that were part of the former Soviet Union or in the former Eastern Bloc ranked lower because they are still struggling to find new national identities, Smith said. Hungary was the highest Eastern European country on the list at 21.

Proud to be an American arent you?

And a question to non-Americans, were I live about 1 out of every 4 houses has some sort of US flag displayed is this similar to way things are in other countries?

Mix, plenty have it year round, but there are rules of how and when it should be up on poles, such as a bleached/ripped flag should be burnt heh

[quote=Rabs]http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/27/D8IGNV700.html

Proud to be an American arent you?

And a question to non-Americans, were I live about 1 out of every 4 houses has some sort of US flag displayed is this similar to way things are in other countries?

Well as a New Zealander I can happily say I know of no one with New Zealand flag flying and to be honest I can drive 70 miles to and from work and never see a flag we are not a flag waving bunch we know what it looks like and thats pretty much all we need to know.

However there is a lot more to patriotism than waving a flag.

However there is a lot more to patriotism than waving a flag

Of course, but to me its just nice to see ya know?

[quote=MontyB]

Originally Posted by Rabs

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/27/D8IGNV700.html



Well as a New Zealander I can happily say I know of no one with New Zealand flag flying and to be honest I can drive 70 miles to and from work and never see a flag we are not a flag waving bunch we know what it looks like and thats pretty much all we need to know.

However there is a lot more to patriotism than waving a flag.

Have to compleetly agree, love for the contry is in my opinion not situated in the flag

I am definitely proud to be an American. It's good to be number 1 in more than one field. The only downside is that when you're on top, all the underdogs will criticize and nitpick at your every word and action. More times than not, I'm glad that Ho Chi Minh invaded my native land of Vietnam. If it weren't for his invasion, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to be born and raised in the US.

Originally Posted by AlexKall

Have to compleetly agree, love for the contry is in my opinion not situated in the flag

It's a symbol of what you and your fellow countrymen believe in. Blood, sweat, and tears went into the forging of the flag and what it stands for. However, to each his own.

Dutch are well known for their lack of pattriotism, but that doesn't mean that we aren't. Watch a soccer match and we are pattriotic alright. But many of us think it is not sound to take this misplaced pride into a conversation. It is nice when you are fond of your home country but using this as the basis on which you do your international work is unwise.....

As a semi-sane sci-fi fanatic, I'm proud to be human. Countries are just regional subdivisions. Of course, I prefer the ideals of America to that of, say, Iran. But Western Europe and America are pretty much on equal ground in my opinion.

Over the past 5 or so tears I have noticed a lot more Aussie flags flying in front yards.
Unusual for us, as like Kiwis we tend to bare our patriotism opposite to how yanks do.
But then on the sporting field............................