Pride includes the notion of American patriotism in the sense that one's pride in the United States of America is used as an excuse for behavior that is less that Godly (ie torture, war, nuclear proliferation, environmental degradation, uncontrolled capitalism, etc). God is clear that he hates pride more than anything, as it was the downfall of the archangel Lucifer as well as a major hinderance for humanity to be in relationship with Christ.
The United States is not, and I repeat, is not God's gift to the world. Yes, good has come from the work of the country, but we are talking about a nation that was largely founded upon stolen land, exploitation, and the benefits of habitual inequality to retain a patriarchal and anglo-saxon dominated system. To value patriotism in the sense that we, as American citizens, must always agree and support the actions of the governing powers over us, as well as the actions of our military, even when they violate Biblical law is outrageous and I refuse to align myself with that worldview.
As the United States has posited itself as a 'shining city on a hill', we have used our 'moral' pride to place our existence above those of others in an inherently ethnocentric manner. We have legitimized our decadence and somehow allowed exploitative capitalism and Christianity to become ideological partners. Our pride in ourselves as a 'modern' society and our pride in our human created system of government will be a downfall in the cohesion of the nation if this mindset is not adjusted.
All humans are created equal, regardless of ethnic origin, gender, religion, political identification, sexual orientation, social status, occupation, education level, and nationality. The United States is no different than other nations, we have just used pride as a vehicle for comparative success through violence and exploitation.
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