Proud to be an American?

Thud. Plop. (The sound of my stepping on a soapbox to get to my high horse).

There's a loaded question if I've ever heard one. Of course, we're proud to be Americans, right? If we don't act like this, then we must be ungrateful for the generations of American soldiers that have given their lives for this country. We must be borderline terrorists. If we're not proud to be an American, then we should hear chants of "Get out of this country!"

But what does that mean to be proud to be American? What does America stand for? I have a good idea of what it's supposed to stand for. Freedom. Equality. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But those are just ideals, what does it really mean to be an American?

Am I proud that I don't have the faith in our population to elect a woman or African-American for president? Am I proud that I can't trust our voters or our voting machines? Am I proud that we're our soldiers are dying all over the world? For what? What exactly is there to be so proud of right now?