I have a curious question, hope you can shed some light.
I am an American. I grew up in a highly educated household that valued education, being kind to each other and rejecting nationalism. We don't hold up our flag and somehow feel uncomfortable with patriotism. Our family constantly argues about the US military and its might, its wrong doings and its good deeds.
With that said, I've interacted with several Swiss friends and found a repeating pattern of opinions (which we laugh off as jokes) - of how proud Americans are about their country. For me and my social circle in a mid-large city in US, it is completely the opposite. Even during college, none of my fellow friends had any shred of pride in being an American (I studied Engineering). It was mostly looking up to Switzerland (and EU, esp. Scandanavia) as utopian paradise.
Could you please help provide some light on the following questions that I would feel very uncomfortable asking otherwise:
- Do Swiss people also feel shame of being patriotic?
- As an outsider, we see Swiss flags advertised on pretty much every Swiss company, product and service. But, I realize that it may be a mirage and not the actual on-the-grounds situation in Switzerland. Do you see the Swiss pride internally as well or it is just a commercial brandname/marketing ploy since Swiss brand is so strong.
- What, if any, are the views about anti-patriotism that is exemplified by Germans. Hardly see German flags and patriotism there seems to be muted if not outright rejected. Is there any sort of friction?
Do Swiss people also feel shame of being patriotic?
As usual, it depends. Myself? Yes. Patriotism is uncomfortable for me. I live in an awesome country and am glad to live here. But waving flags, being proud of old traditions and partaking in them is not really what I like. But I'm a city kid, my friends who live in more rural places are way more patriotic than me. It could be the usual pattern of people in cities being more left-leaning, and left-leaning somehow not being that patriotic. That's just my impression, maybe that's way off.
As an outsider, we see Swiss flags advertised on pretty much every Swiss company, product and service. [...]
Yes, that's actually where I get kinda patriotic. It feels flattering that the whole world likes our watches, chocolates and just swiss products in general. So a "Made in Switzerland" label and a little, square swiss flag gives the impression and guarantee that a product is of good quality. Not everything is shiny though - A "friend" of mine sells T-Shirts which are "Made in Switzerland". They are produced and printed in Czechia, but because he applies his labels and packaging in Switzerland, he's able to market and sell them as a swiss product. Pretty messed up if you ask me, lol.
What, if any, are the views about anti-patriotism that is exemplified by Germans. Hardly see German flags and patriotism there seems to be muted if not outright rejected. Is there any sort of friction?
Germany absolutely tries to mute patriotism, and as far I know that is still because of a certain dude called Hitler and his friends. The Nazis were of course ultra-patriotic and as far fetched as this may sound - Germanys history is quite awkward in that regard.
My parents told me that it was strange to see Germany wave their flags and being proud of their country during the Soccer World Cup of 2006. It wasn't strange for my parents because it made them feel uneasy, but because it was new for germans to show patriotism again. But as I said, that wasn't bad at all, and I or anyone I know doesn't hold any grudge against them. Due to us being able to speak their language, they feel like our big, ex-junkie brother who's got his shit together compared to a couple of centuries ago.
The AfD being as present as they are worry me, though.
As a disclaimer, take what I say with a grain of salt :) Of course I am not the voice of Switzerland, and my answers were probably influenced a bit by my own ethics and ideologies. But feel free to ask any questions, they weren't uncomfortable at all, in the contrary.
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I have a curious question, hope you can shed some light.
I am an American. I grew up in a highly educated household that valued education, being kind to each other and rejecting nationalism. We don't hold up our flag and somehow feel uncomfortable with patriotism. Our family constantly argues about the US military and its might, its wrong doings and its good deeds.
With that said, I've interacted with several Swiss friends and found a repeating pattern of opinions (which we laugh off as jokes) - of how proud Americans are about their country. For me and my social circle in a mid-large city in US, it is completely the opposite. Even during college, none of my fellow friends had any shred of pride in being an American (I studied Engineering). It was mostly looking up to Switzerland (and EU, esp. Scandanavia) as utopian paradise.
Could you please help provide some light on the following questions that I would feel very uncomfortable asking otherwise:
- Do Swiss people also feel shame of being patriotic?
- As an outsider, we see Swiss flags advertised on pretty much every Swiss company, product and service. But, I realize that it may be a mirage and not the actual on-the-grounds situation in Switzerland. Do you see the Swiss pride internally as well or it is just a commercial brandname/marketing ploy since Swiss brand is so strong.
- What, if any, are the views about anti-patriotism that is exemplified by Germans. Hardly see German flags and patriotism there seems to be muted if not outright rejected. Is there any sort of friction?
As a disclaimer, take what I say with a grain of salt :) Of course I am not the voice of Switzerland, and my answers were probably influenced a bit by my own ethics and ideologies. But feel free to ask any questions, they weren't uncomfortable at all, in the contrary.