It is possible to have pride in the accomplishments of someone else.

pride is a feeling. you dont choose what you are proud of; you feel it. and if you think of your country and feel pride then you are a patriot.

of course there are reasons why you are proud of someone or something, but those are secondary.

Yeah... someone else...
but it only makes sense when this person is somehow related to you. Why would you be proud of what some Tom, Dick or Harry have accomplished?

what are u a fucking commie?

Moon:

It doesn't take much to be related. To be related is to be a member of a group.

Consider this example. You are a member of a group of 100 people who recieve a summons. One of you will be chosen from the summoned group. The chosen person will fight in single combat with a person chosen from another independently selected group. One champion will win, and one champion will lose. What difference in feelings will there be between the two groups, and what description will be given to that feeling?

Many are called, few are chosen.

fine line between jingoism and patriotism.

as no one controls where they are born, being proud in your birthplace seems as nonsensical as being proud in your hair color.

Skrum,

Nice example, but I don't think we can apply it to nations. AND We were not talking about a group of 100, but rather about a group of 300 millions people.

Also: If your example could be applied to national states, all Americans would have been proud that Obama was awarded the nobel prize, but many people weren't. Ask Thraxle.

I had green hair in college. I was proud of it.

thank you for proving my point, hoe.

hoe altered his hair color. he turned his hair green. it was not naturally that way. he did it. why not be proud in something you did?

if you altered altered the country you live in...then why not be proud in the country you chose to live in?

that's way different than blindly believing the country you were born is best based on the eduction you received from...surprise surprise the very country you think is the best. hmmm, i wonder why you think that way? who taught you that?

Moon,

I think the degree of prideness in someone else is related to the probability that you could have been the someone else. So if we have a nation of 300 million and an army of 3 million, we would have the same ratio as my example of one champion for 100 people.