What do you love about your country?

[VandVsmama]

• The Bill of Rights
• The freedom to trash talk and criticize elected officials without fear of being arrested or thrown in prison
• Freedom to practice whatever religion you want...or none at all...and you won't be arrested or thrown in prison

 

[LovesTimone]

Freedom...

Let freedom ring....

 

[mrodgers]

I agree. The poutine is amazing!

Oh, there we go. Despite the fact that we spent 6 out of 11 days in Canada camping on our Lake Ontario trip, I have never had poutine. I didn't even know what the heck it was and not sure why I never asked anyone (I know what it is now.)

Edit: Whoops, the response to the quote is based on thinking I was in the "never done something normal" thread, LOL

 

[CdnCarrie]

That we've won the Stanley cup the last 27 years.

View attachment 534161

 

[BuckeyeBama]

 

[Moliphino]

Free refills on beverages and plenty of ice in drinks. Those are what I miss most when I travel out of the country.

 

[BrianL]

Free refills on beverages and plenty of ice in drinks. Those are what I miss most when I travel out of the country.

That reminds me of an interesting point regarding eating in restaurants. Some people hate the system of tipping in the US, but honestly I'd rather tip and get plenty of refills - with ICE - than the European system of being told by my server "the (room temperature) waters over there."

 

[disneypharm]

Things I love about my country from someone who has lived in other locations (eg, Europe, Middle East).
Freedom to criticize or make fun of politicians without fear of arrest.
Presidential 2-term limit. I think this should be for other government posts including the supreme court judges.
Freedom to have peaceful protests without fear of arrest or death.
Freedom to practice any religion or none at all (as someone mentioned above).
Not forced to cover my hair because I am a woman. And other freedoms for women that some countries don't give them (eg, own property, drive, work, etc..).
Diversity
Beautiful place to live; Ocean, mountains, etc..
Disneyworld
Pumpkin pie (or any pumpkin-containing food)

Not part of this thread: Things I hate about my country:
Lack of free healthcare and college education.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

The opportunity to vote. There are obviously many other things, but this is #1 right now.

 

[akl432]

Our U.S. Constitution and our freedom! Our history of freedom and democracy. Capitalism.

 

[JimMIA]

I love everything about the USA -- including the opinions of those morons I don't agree with, and the things I think we need to improve.

I was SO blessed by birth!

 

[Lizgistix]

Poutine

I would add Nanaimo bars but some up there either don't know what those are or don't care for them, but I thought they were great!
...I think that's a western Canada thing though.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Well this one is easy

 

[Judique]

Well this one is easy View attachment 534332

You may not remember July 4th 2019 Salute to America. I like Erma's vision.

 

[fly girl]

I’m still amazed at how brilliant our founding fathers were about the Constitution. The checks and balances so carefully constructed. Yes, we have come a long way in making it better, but I’m still in awe of how smart it was initially crafted.

How geographically different our states are. I can be in the Sonoran desert in Arizona, hop on a plane, and in hours be hiking in the forests of Alaska, boating on one of the Great Lakes, or enjoying a walk on a white sand beach in Florida.

 

[Eeyore daily]

I’m still amazed at how brilliant our founding fathers were about the Constitution. The checks and balances so carefully constructed. Yes, we have come a long way in making it better, but I’m still in awe of how smart it was initially crafted.

I was going to say that as well. The fact that the founding fathers constructed an amazing system of both federal and state governments that coexist is astounding for the time period it was created. Although women and people of color were excluded from the same rights wasn't great it was the standard of the time.

Also, the USA seems to do well in the summer Olympics so I guess there's that.

Otherwise.. meh there are better countries.

 

[GreatLakes]

I love our history and unique story. There are not many former colonies that managed to rebel against their colonial power, win, put together a stable government, and become a world power. Instead you see the vast majority engulfed in hundreds of years of war with no real post-colonial plan.

I am also very proud of the way we handled our civil war. We dealt with it without involving the rest of the world and kept our country together. I do find it strange so many people still "celebrate" the portion that tried to break away. We aren't generally a country that celebrates losers. There are parts of the world that spend more time in civil wars than not. We only needed 4 years out of almost 250. Not bad.

We aren't perfect but we have accomplished an awful lot for a young country.

I also love that what you become is up to you, not your station at birth.

 

[LuvOrlando]

You may not remember July 4th 2019 Salute to America. I like Erma's vision.

No idea what theatrics the world is up for front page shockers but where I am and for my whole life I have only ever experienced Erma's version.

(Came back to change it because I didn't want to come off as insulting or hurtful to anyone, I just get so irritated when this stuff happens because the world sees it and thinks this is our national identity. We are the same as anywhere else in the world and 99.9% of the country is at peace 99.9% of the time but that's not interesting soooo we get presented as the cinematic version)

 

[CdnCarrie]

I would add Nanaimo bars but some up there either don't know what those are or don't care for them, but I thought they were great!
...I think that's a western Canada thing though.

they’re great too!

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I've seen so much of the worst in people *and* so much of the best in people in 2020 that I keep coming to this thread to put my two cents in and not knowing what to post. Freedom is such a loaded word now. Patriotism is such a loaded word now. Love for one's country. I used to love my country unabashedly; now it's more complicated. I think I love the *idea* of America and that we as a people, with everything that's gone on this year good and bad, still try to live up to that idea as we see it in our own hearts.

I think also that although I have a huge disagreement with a big chunk of the population, I love that we don't all have to think or dress or live the same. I am speaking from a place of relative privilege by virtue of birth and circumstance and I get that, but the *idea* is still there for everyone to act or not act upon it as they choose.