If I had a flag right now,

I'd wave it. Can't remember the last time I could really say that I was proud to be an American. I mean really, truly proud. I have always thought of my nationality as more Irish, or German, or English than American; I have also always thought of nationality as something that you're just born with, that you didn't have a say in. Like, am I proud to have brown hair? Myopia? Size 8 1/2 feet? Being "American" has been like that to me. To some people this is perhaps blasphemy. Love it or leave it. Yeah, I've heard a lot of those sentiments in the past 7 years. But I like to think I have a more adult love for my country.

Remember when you were a child and your parents could do no wrong? You would yell at any kid who said something like, "Your mom is a dork," or "Your dad smells funny," or whatever stupid little kids say. You would lose recess privileges for a week because you threw mud at him, or kicked her in the shins. That's the way I feel a lot of people love their country. It's a blind love, not rooted in what our country really is, right or wrong. Lash out at the naysayers. If you don't like it, then get out.

But then when you get older, you see those flaws in your parents. You realize they lied to you about your cat running away (it still hurts), or that they lose their tempers too easily, or whatever. But you love them anyway. For who they really are, not some idealized Normal Rockwell portrait. That is the love I think people should have for their country; it's deeper, more meaningful. Real love means seeing someone's positive and negative qualities. You love them in spite of the negative, and always with the notion that there is potential for greatness within all of us. We may not always treat the other countries all that nice on the playground of diplomacy, and our policies may hurt those who are most vulnerable, but every once in a while, we really do get to be that "shining city on a hill" that Winthrop hoped we would become. And I think Lincoln was on the mark when he said that we should work to form a "more perfect union" because we're not perfect yet. And it's the hubris of blind patriotism that says that we already are.

Yes, there have been moments when I have felt that warmth deep down in my gut, and a wave of patriotic sentiment has swept over me. The Olympics always seem to do that for me, for some reason. But now as I feel tears of pride looming constantly just under the surface, I have a real reason to be proud. Because today, the nations of the world look again to our country as a leader, an agent for good in the world. The country that I always loved, in spite of the bad things, has that potential for greatness once again. And I knew that it would redeem itself, so my faith during the dark times has been justified.