It’s well-established that I’m not a fan of the United States. I’m sure the comments are going to fill up here to tell me why I’m wrong, but I’m steadfast in this. Our history in the world, the history of the CIA and the defense department and the whole apparatus, is written in blood. Hell, what we did in Albania is probably not among the top 25 worst things we’ve ever done, and we were trying like hell to put people who sent Jews to Auschwitz in power. Read
I won’t try to persuade you to love our country, but I will say that our holidays are some of the best ways we represent ourselves overseas. When I lived in Prague, there was a neighborhood near us where a lot of Americans lived, and every year they hosted trick-or-treating. Czechs came by the hundreds from all over Prague for this event. It was even featured in Czech media.
Here in Switzerland, where I live now, Thanksgiving is not a thing (and American friends have told me that a small turkey costs more than $100), but somehow the idea of sharing a feast and remembering to feel grateful has become part of the culture this time of year. I can’t help thinking that we Americans, with our lovely Thanksgiving traditions, have had something to do with it.
As someone with dual citizenship who happily chooses every day to live in the US, I truly do not understand staying here when one feels this way: “It’s well-established that I’m not a fan of the United States.”
I understand acknowledging that the country -- like any -- has its problems and faults, and wanting to be a vocal part of addressing those. I don’t understand a statement that appears to say that on net, one isn’t a fan of the country they choose to call home. That’s easily remedied, as this is not the USSR or North Korea.
Happy Thanksgiving Freddie! I love the holiday too,. I have my own pantheon of American heroes that I celebrate at every opportunity, most of them labor organizers, all of them as American as it gets. Cheers, everyone! I'm grateful for this Substack and all of you.
I share your love for Thanksgiving, even if I can acknowledge its relationship to the colonization and subjugation of the native population. Ultimately, I view Thanksgiving as that, an opportunity for family and friends to gather and be thankful for that which I have.
It's not about celebrating the Pilgrims or any of that puritanical (and genocidal) bullshit. It's an inclusive, non-denomination holiday that anyone can celebrate. Should you be thankful year round? Yes, and most people are, but that doesn't diminish the importance of the holiday. It's not about celebrating the history of America, it's a harvest festival before winter grips us all.
Happy thanksgiving! This piece is perfect. May your Turkey be moist, your football teams entertain, and your drunk uncle piss everyone off. Here’s to hoping we live to see a better world.
Agreed that thanksgiving rocks. As for not liking the USA, I think it’s easier to understand with the context that you don’t think nations should exist at all. That seems weird and utopian to me but it’s less annoying than people who act like Finland represents some ideal model that the US is just too racist/capitalist to achieve.
You might be a feral cat, who feels no emotions whatsoever at seeing a piece of brightly decorated cloth, but who finds some local customs useful, some praiseworthy, others detestable.
As a parent, I'm going to have to defend trunk-or-treat, specifically as an *addition* rather than a replacement for trick-or-treating. My local elementary school held one with a big party afterwards, a week BEFORE Halloween so that everyone could attend it and still go trick-or-treating on the holiday itself.
Counterpoint: no need to hate your country. It is flawed, like any other. It has done great good in the world as well as great harm. "What we did in Albania" gets marked in the ledger next to "what we did to defeat the Nazis in Germany in the first place". I don't think I disagree with any of your criticisms of the country and what has been done in its name, I just don't think it erases - or even outweighs - everything else.
This country is an amazing, fucked-up, beautiful, ugly, truly special and utterly solipsistic place that is worthy of celebration and also celebrates itself too damn much. It's us, in all our ragged glory. Can it be improved upon? I hope so. Could I in a million years bring myself to hate it? No.
I always want to ask, in this kind of discussion, for an example of a better country.
That aside, despite being a mostly conservative, tradition minded, deeply religious person -- so downtown U!S!A! or one would think -- as the years go by I’m less and less “patriotic.” I do revere the principles we were founded on and have tried, imperfectly, to achieve. I do think hey at least we try/tried to have a free and open society which most countries unapologetically don’t even pretend to do. I do not revere what this country has become, and I resist efforts to manipulate me based on social pressure around tribal identifiers.
Is there any country in the world where, given power, the citizens won't revert to people being people? If you're going to accept that human beings are largely similar I don't see how that doesn't lead to the inescapable conclusion that any country's citizens if they were given the power of the United States wouldn't behave in largely the same fashion.
I won’t try to persuade you to love our country, but I will say that our holidays are some of the best ways we represent ourselves overseas. When I lived in Prague, there was a neighborhood near us where a lot of Americans lived, and every year they hosted trick-or-treating. Czechs came by the hundreds from all over Prague for this event. It was even featured in Czech media.
Here in Switzerland, where I live now, Thanksgiving is not a thing (and American friends have told me that a small turkey costs more than $100), but somehow the idea of sharing a feast and remembering to feel grateful has become part of the culture this time of year. I can’t help thinking that we Americans, with our lovely Thanksgiving traditions, have had something to do with it.
As someone with dual citizenship who happily chooses every day to live in the US, I truly do not understand staying here when one feels this way: “It’s well-established that I’m not a fan of the United States.”
I understand acknowledging that the country -- like any -- has its problems and faults, and wanting to be a vocal part of addressing those. I don’t understand a statement that appears to say that on net, one isn’t a fan of the country they choose to call home. That’s easily remedied, as this is not the USSR or North Korea.
Happy Thanksgiving Freddie! I love the holiday too,. I have my own pantheon of American heroes that I celebrate at every opportunity, most of them labor organizers, all of them as American as it gets. Cheers, everyone! I'm grateful for this Substack and all of you.
I share your love for Thanksgiving, even if I can acknowledge its relationship to the colonization and subjugation of the native population. Ultimately, I view Thanksgiving as that, an opportunity for family and friends to gather and be thankful for that which I have.
It's not about celebrating the Pilgrims or any of that puritanical (and genocidal) bullshit. It's an inclusive, non-denomination holiday that anyone can celebrate. Should you be thankful year round? Yes, and most people are, but that doesn't diminish the importance of the holiday. It's not about celebrating the history of America, it's a harvest festival before winter grips us all.
Happy thanksgiving! This piece is perfect. May your Turkey be moist, your football teams entertain, and your drunk uncle piss everyone off. Here’s to hoping we live to see a better world.
Is there a country you are a fan of?
Agreed that thanksgiving rocks. As for not liking the USA, I think it’s easier to understand with the context that you don’t think nations should exist at all. That seems weird and utopian to me but it’s less annoying than people who act like Finland represents some ideal model that the US is just too racist/capitalist to achieve.
You might be a feral cat, who feels no emotions whatsoever at seeing a piece of brightly decorated cloth, but who finds some local customs useful, some praiseworthy, others detestable.
Sentimentality is dangerous in the wild.
After reading this essay, I can say proudly that I agree with the author on one important point: I, too, love rooting against the Dallas Cowboys.
As a parent, I'm going to have to defend trunk-or-treat, specifically as an *addition* rather than a replacement for trick-or-treating. My local elementary school held one with a big party afterwards, a week BEFORE Halloween so that everyone could attend it and still go trick-or-treating on the holiday itself.
Counterpoint: no need to hate your country. It is flawed, like any other. It has done great good in the world as well as great harm. "What we did in Albania" gets marked in the ledger next to "what we did to defeat the Nazis in Germany in the first place". I don't think I disagree with any of your criticisms of the country and what has been done in its name, I just don't think it erases - or even outweighs - everything else.
This country is an amazing, fucked-up, beautiful, ugly, truly special and utterly solipsistic place that is worthy of celebration and also celebrates itself too damn much. It's us, in all our ragged glory. Can it be improved upon? I hope so. Could I in a million years bring myself to hate it? No.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all. Pass the stuffing.
I always want to ask, in this kind of discussion, for an example of a better country.
That aside, despite being a mostly conservative, tradition minded, deeply religious person -- so downtown U!S!A! or one would think -- as the years go by I’m less and less “patriotic.” I do revere the principles we were founded on and have tried, imperfectly, to achieve. I do think hey at least we try/tried to have a free and open society which most countries unapologetically don’t even pretend to do. I do not revere what this country has become, and I resist efforts to manipulate me based on social pressure around tribal identifiers.
Is there any country in the world where, given power, the citizens won't revert to people being people? If you're going to accept that human beings are largely similar I don't see how that doesn't lead to the inescapable conclusion that any country's citizens if they were given the power of the United States wouldn't behave in largely the same fashion.
The only thing I hate more than America is people who hate America.
Happy Thanksgiving Freddie.
Quoth Angels in America: "I live in America, I don't have to love it."