From a very young age, I was taught that the American flag is a symbol of the United States, something to be honored and respected. The “star spangled banner” is truly a representative of freedom, democracy and everything that the U.S. stands for, and it is not unusual at all to see flags flying from homes and businesses. In fact, in the United States, flags are everywhere. Every morning in elementary, middle, and high school we pledged our allegiance to the flag. In total, I have said the Pledge of Allegiance around 2,340 times (13 years of primary school x 180 days in a school year – times I was absent + miscellaneous times I’ve said the Pledge of Allegiance outside of school). The Pledge is something that is engrained in every citizen of the United States, and it is representative of the great respect and pride that most people have to be American.
Before coming to Europe, I didn’t think a whole lot about national identity. I knew that I am a very patriotic person, but a lot of people I know are the same way. During my time in Germany, I’ve learned that Americans are much more patriotic that the vast majority of countries. A survey conducted by the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center found that the United States is the most patriotic country in the world. The researchers asked participants opinions on statements like, “I would rather be a citizen of my country than any other country in the world.”
Right now, I am living in one of the least patriotic countries in the world, according to the survey. The survey considered West Germany and East Germany separately when it was first administered in 1985, and the data is still collected with that division today. West Germany is tied for the fourth least patriotic country and East Germany is the least patriotic country. I’ve been able to see this lack of national pride first hand. Given the terrible events of World War II involving Hitler and Germany, many feel awkward expressing any sort of national pride. I rarely see any German flags, and Germans that I talk to often are puzzled about that national pride that Americans display. When I visited Berlin, we went to the Reichstag (the home of the Bundestag), and I remarked to my mom that the flag there was the biggest flag I have ever seen. After thinking about it a little longer, I realized that we have American flags that are bigger than the German flag displayed at their Parliament Building at many restaurants, office buildings, and even at Penn State.
While in Germany, I was lucky enough to experience the Europa Meisterschaft (European Championship), a soccer tournament involving teams from all over Europe. Soccer (or Fußball) is the only time when Germans display any sort of national pride, and it was really interesting to see. All of a sudden, in the matter of a day, German flags popped up on cars and people started wearing leis and shirts with the German colors. Public Viewings for the games attracted thousands of people, all of whom were incredibly passionate about the success of Germany’s team. I learned lots of “Deutschland” chants and got to be a part of a (failed) attempt to achieve the world record for making the largest German flag ever out of balloons. Soccer brings out national pride in Germans, but as soon as the team lost in the semifinals, everything went back to the way it was before the tournament began. All of the flags got put away, and will probably stay there until the next major soccer tournament.
I love being a part of a patriotic country, but it has been really interesting and enlightening to experience living in a country that is the opposite. Germans think that Americans are a bit too patriotic, while Americans perceive Germans as too unpatriotic. By looking at a country’s history, one can easily see the roots of the level of patriotism in that nation. No level of patriotism is right or wrong, but it definitely tells a lot about the attitudes and values of each country.
Source:
http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/02/world-national-pride-oped-cx_sp_0701patriot.html
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