[Preechr]

That's fine. I have no problem with that. I'm not willing to agree, however, that any diasgreement with one's country is necessarily patriotism.

I didn't see "sophmoric." I saw "solipsistic" and I didn't know what that meant. Either way, I wasn't so much ripping on your past immaturity as I was your present naivete.

I am less in love with my country than I am with what it represents in a historical context. Maybe America, despite it's status as the greatest liberal experiment in the world so far, won't be the place that gives birth to a truly globalized, modern world. I'm not a nationalist. I'm an idealist and an optimist, though I am also a realist, at least enough to be able to look around, taking the measure of my fellow countrymen, and wonder if they will ever understand their place in the world.

I didn't intend a flame war either. I'm just being honest. If that's not good enough for you, then by all means just ignore me.