Have you seen the bumper stickers? "Proud to be an American!" they proclaim. A little geography needed for some people, I guess. Guess what, our good friends, the Canadians, are proud to be Americans. The Mexicans, too, proud to be Americans. Why even the Chileans, Cubans and good God, the Venezuelans are proud to be Americans!
I guess some folks missed that day in class when they talked about North America, Central America, and South America. We are the United States OF America. America, the broad geographical region of the western hemisphere.
I've noticed that the "Proud to be an American" types seem to wrap themselves in the flag, proclaim America as a country of God, play the national anthem and appeal to emotional patriotism. "America" is not a religion, people, try as you might to make it one.
The United States is a country, with a system of government, created by men, inhabited by people from all over the world. It is not a perfect system of government, just one that has worked pretty well for 200+ years. It, and its constitution, are not gods to be worshiped.
I am personally thankful to God I live in the United States. I have the freedom in this country to say that. But this country also provides the freedom to deny the idea of God, and to live like there isn't one. So to wrap the flag and God into one big corndog is ignorant.
Proud to be a United Statesian.