[ExI] Arrogance

[Stuart LaForge]

Quoting Dave Sill:

>
> On Fri, Aug 27, 2021 at 9:39 AM William Flynn Wallace via extropy-chat <
> extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>
>>
>> However, some arrogance is earned, isn't it?  No, I don't like arrogance
>> at all, but a pride in the accomplishments of the USA is deserved.
>>
>
> Having pride in the accomplishments of one's country is OK, I suppose,
> though I think real pride would come more from having an active role in
> these accomplishments rather than a twist of fate.
>
> But expressing that pride...that's just arrogance.

Is it? If expressing pride in ones country is arrogance, then  
disparaging ones country is just plain rude. The truest indicator of  
the quality of the USA is one is freely allowed to express distaste  
for it without being shot or sent to a prison camp to be re-educated.

 From my POV, the USA is a relatively young country at less than 250  
years old and thus has a shorter list of sins than most. Close calls  
not-withstanding, the American republic still stands as a legitimate  
democracy, and we have only fought one civil war. By my reckoning, we  
are doing well and good both. For comparison the Republic of Rome  
lasted about 500 years and fell during its 7th and final civil war  
which resulted in the reign of the Caesars.

It should be noted that Rome fought three separate civil wars over  
slavery, and their slaves lost all three. The USA certainly did not  
invent slavery, but our civil war made it illegal, modern-day black  
market human trafficking aside.

We have brought the world telephones, airplanes, and cheeseburgers. We  
are nowhere near perfect, but we are largely a better country than we  
were 50, 100, or 200 years ago. The Great Experiment continues. What  
experiment is that? How much freedom, power, and responsibility can a  
society entrust to its individuals.

Long live America!

Stuart LaForge