Every Country is Patriotic

Born an American.  Grew up an American.  Lived most of my 20's in America.  I understand that most Americans think it an American duty to be patriotic.  But what a lot of Americans don't understand is that all countries are patriotic.  Chinese are proud to be Chinese, striving to help their country be a world leader.  Kenyans are proud to be Kenyan, happy in meager circumstances or grand, one of the first things you learn about a Kenyan is the tribe they come from.  And Hungarians.  After years of being occupied, dictated, ruled, Hungarians want to just be Hungary - ruled by their own people, for their own people.  Proud of their heritage and their complicated language that no one else can seem to learn well, Hungarians are as patriotic as they come.  I was reminded of this by a recent news article.

After living abroad for a few years now, I have come to appreciate patriotism in all its forms, in all its countries, by all its people.  Americans, you're not the only ones who love their country.  It's something we should all remember.

Patriotism in Hungary

On Saturday night I got on the tram, a regular night out with friends, but as I stepped on the tram, there wasn't much room for me. Most of the seats and standing room were filled with elderly people wearing ribbons and holding flags. "Must be people coming from another protest," Will comment. He was right. Budapest holds many more protests than the America I once lived in (pre-Occupy Wall Street) and definitely more than Kenya (post-election violence). I've stumbled upon more than one during a walk through the city in the last six months. Although I wasn't present at the recent pro-government rally in down-town Budapest, I thought this Brit's view of the event was interesting. Check out his blog post: Politics by Candlelight, Budapest Rally.