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It's not pride of being born at a certain ___location (that's coincidence), It's pride to be part of a community (state, city, organization, ...) that makes good, rational decisions. Like how you can be proud if you live in a country with a sensible healthcare system or patent system, or proud to work at a company with good policies and a healty work environment.



Why should you be proud of being part of a community that makes good, rational decisions? That's also coincidence.

(You should be happy and thankful, perhaps. But not proud, because, to any reasonable approximation, you have had nothing to do with it.)


Because hopefully you're part of this community by choice. I chose to move to Silicon Valley and be part of the community there precisely because I was dissatisfied with the communities I lived in prior to that; in effect, I vote with my time and taxes.

I agree that being proud of where you're born is silly; but being proud of where you chose to live is slightly different.


The assumption of course being that it only applies to communities where you have some say in the matter, such as through democracy.


One of the advantages of living in a democracy means that you do get a say in who gets elected to make the laws. The main disadvantages are that other people do too, and that the pool of politicians you draw from is mostly unappetizing.


Hmm. But then, as an American, does that mean I shouldn't let the bad things my government does bother me except inasmuch as it affects myself?


By that logic, we can't hold people responsible for electing idiots.




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