Can patriotism go TOO far?

Can patriotism go TOO far?
That is the question I am pondering right now.

First things first, I have MANY American friends, some of which are my dearest and truest friends in the world. This is in NO WAY a slam against them, but rather serious questions posed to create a discussion on points of view.

I was reading a friends blog, where she posted a July 4th “being American” blog. The reaction to her posting was varied and mostly supportive as it was predominantly Americans posting replies/comments.

One lady took her patriotism, IMO, WAYYYYY too damn far. It really irked me. She said: “If you're not an American, kindly STFU because this is an AMERICAN holiday and if you aren't one, well - then this is truly a day for you to realize just how badly it sucks to be you.”

Well, I just HAD to reply to that. I mean really. My reply was:
"*name deleted*...that statement is ridiculous and obtuse, and it beautifully illustrates why the rest of the free world really has very little use for "Americans" in general because they would rather blow offensive hot air than be logical and intelligent. I am NOT, nor do I ever want to be, an "American." I have dual citizenship between Norway & Canada and as such I am free to travel the world (and yes, I have been to 48 of America's 50 states) wearing my Canadian Flag pin and I am treated with kindness and luxury where ever I choose to go. Five of my dearest friends in the world were American and though they have Canadian Citizenship as well, after 9/11 they chose to give their lives for their country. I have other close friends that are American as well, and I am quite happy to say they are more tolerant and open minded than you appear to be. Just because one of the ONLY options in America for young men to get a decent paying job and an education is the Military doesn’t make America wonderful. It makes it ready and able to do war with the entire world for useless pointless ridiculous reasons that no one, including "Americans" understand. There will come a time when the USA will severely piss the worlds leading nations off and retribution will come. I hope you are prepared for that. I find it deeply ironic that everyone can claim how fabulous America is but they don’t actually acknowledge that America has the highest crime rate, the highest unemployment rate, the highest homeless rate...everything that every other country in the world acknowledges and makes efforts to attempt to fix is simply ignored for more "important" reasons ~ like creating a war for very little good reason. Nothing, including your citizens, is taken care of in the "land of the free". You may want to do some homework and learn a few things about your country before you bash the rest of the world because we aren’t you, and once you've got some decent facts, you can then deal with the fact that we don’t want to be you."

Which has actually started me thinking. WHY do some American people feel the need to proclaim their country is THE BEST EVER and if you aren’t one of “them” then you are instantly a second class citizen living in a grass hut with a mud floor and begging for food. Seriously. WTF.

I have traveled the majority of the free world and I have been to 48 of the 50 states and have enjoyed the culture, history, and people in every single one of them. How many American’s can claim the same? How many American’s have traveled the whole of their country and experienced everything ~ good and bad ~ that it has to offer? How many American’s would rather sit at home in their chosen state and bitch about what the rest of the states are doing or aren’t doing? Or bitch about the politicians? and lets not forget the favorite topic of complaint...the immigrants ~illegal or not? How many American’s have traveled out of their country into Canada, Europe, or anywhere else that does not fly the American Flag? And if you are one of the few that have actually left the country, how warmly were you received and treated when you traveled abroad?

I find the patriotic attitude a little mystifying. I believe in pride in your country. I fully support that. I just don’t understand why some feel the need to take it to such extremes that they attempt to demean and alienate everyone else. Can anyone enlighten me?