What makes you feel proud of your country?

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The Australians have never kicked arse. Our greatest and most remembered military contribution (along with the friendly kiwis) was Gallipoli, and we lost. Big time. Although, there are plenty of good stories about the trenches at Gallipoli. Such as periscope rifles, auto firing rifles (and how they contributed to losing no lives instead of half the forces in the retreat) and good old Aussie Larcikinism.

We own the sporting world. We have a total of 20 million people in the country, but we managed to:
Come Second in the 2000 olympics
Win the Cricket world cup
Win the rugby world cup TWICE! except for the unfortunate occurances in november...
Play every single sport to the extreme. We rock.

Our beer. Although, it could be said, is not as good as some foreign beers, the stuff that Tasmania pipes out is the best I've ever tasted. EVER. And I have sampled foreign beer.

Our cities. Well, not Sydney. I hate sydney. But Brisbane, Hobart and Melbourne are all good. Adelaide! Its ok! Perth is the nightclub capital of Australia. Darwin is hot. Thats another thing. The weather. We have the best weather. And our beaches rock. There is no other way to say it.

An Australian non-nationalist? It doesn't exist.

 

@ Baezlebub

If I remember correctly, Australia played a vital role in World War II.

Of course, Australia has the most poisonous snakes in the world, Funnel Web Spiders, sharks, crocodiles, etc... The fact you guys are still alive is a testament to you're tenacity!

 

Well, seeing as Rotku doesn't seem to coming to the defence of his 'small island in the south west Pacific', I'm going to have to.

Things that New Zealanders can be proud of:
- Lord of the Rings
- The All Blacks rugby team (except for the 'unfortunate occurences in November last year)
- A cricket team with the best test record against the all-conquering Australians in the last 5 years
- Having 2 of the "Top 10 places in the world you should visit before you die" (according to the BBC)
- Population of only 4m people
- Only non American country to ever win AND defend the America's Cup, yachting's richest prize
- The only country I know of that has a non-nuclear policy as part of its laws
- The best Roast Lamb in the world
- Crime so low that if there's even one murder, it is headline news for weeks
- Basketball team that came 4th in the last World Championships (that's higher than the USA!)
- Women's world squash champion for 12 out of the last 18 years.
- Award winning wines and beers
- An education system SO good that people from all over the world send their kids there.
- No life threateningly poisonous snakes or spiders.
- Ozone layer so thin you can get a great tan in minutes.
- And..it's a public holiday in New Zealand on Friday! Put your feet up, take the day off work . . . .

I could go on but you get the idea. New Zealand is "Godzone" corner of the world!

[ February 05, 2004, 09:51: Message edited by: Harbourboy ]

 

How do you know so much about New Zealand, Harbourboy? Where is this North Harbor that you're from?

You've got the good points pretty well summed up, although you have forgotten a few things.

• Just to expand on that. It was also the country which played the biggest role in stopping all atmospheric Nuclear test in the early 80's if I've got my dates correct. And aswell as that, managed to catch those French when they blew up the Rainbow worrier, even though we were cut off from all over seas intellengece due to our stand on Nuclear weapons.
  
  We also have the World Softball champs for the last 8 years, and the world cup thingy is on at the moment, which we stand a great chance of winning again.
  
  
  That gets so boring, that's why it's great when some war or somethign else over seas happens.
  
  Another thing, from what Blackhawk said about Aussie. New Zealand stayed and fought with our allies, unlike some people, even when New Zealand it's self was in danger.
  
  Keeping on the military subject, I am quiet sure that we are the only country in the world with out an actul air force and navy. I guess that's somethign to be proud of.
  
  NZ is a buetiful country, which has had very little of it ruined by humans. Great, even if it is unusal, wild life which is home to a great varity of bird life, and one of the oldest living creatures, the Tuatara.
  
  We've got great all round weather. From high tropic temperatures to low cold alpine temperatures. Something for everyone.
  
  We finally have a strong leader imergin in the political side of things. And we have one of the best employment rates in the world.
  
  Over half our population are non-religous.

But for everything I've listed I'm sure I can list three things which I'm not proud of my country for, like our national anthem, but that's a different topic. *debates with himself whether or not to start a topic about things people dis-like about their country*

 

Rotku, I don't believe you can really be from New Zealand if you:
a) don't understand rugby;
b) don't know what "Bring Back Buck" means; and
b) don't know where North Harbour is.

Are you sure you're not from Stewart Island?

 

I guess that's slightly true, but, here could be many North Harbours around! See, that's why I stay away from Auckland
Bring back buck and rugby I'm still stuck on, although I think Bring Back Buck might have something to do with some rugby player or something, but.. *shrugs*

And yes, I am sure I'm not from Stewart Island, far from it infact. But I think that this is slightly off topic and what is sometimes known as spamming, so I'll shut up now.

 

Ah, sorry - back on topic.

New Zealand also has the world's largest parrot (the Kakapo). It is so big it can't fly! A country doesn't get any better than that.

 

I'm proud of Canada because the they can take so much abuse from the states without lifting a finger.

And I'm proud of Singapore because it's crime is almost zero, unemployment is almost zero, and with the Michael Faye case, it proved that no one is above the law, regardless where you are from.

 

New Zealand also has Sir Edmund Hillary - the first man to climb Mt Everest.

 

Hmm, England... England, good things about England...

*shrugs*

We won the rugby?

I'm not much into Sports or anything, so I'll bet theirs loads of people out there who cna think of other points.



We also have a funny accent.
*proud*

 

The best thing about England is that you let all us foreigners come to your country to work and earn your wonderful £££££s to take home with us where they triple in value! And then we're rich, rich, rich!

Well, we "would" be if we stopped spending it all in your wonderful pubs . . . . .

And - you don't just have one funny accent - you have about 100 funny accents! A completely different one for each town! That is so hilarious.

 

Well, to quote that Molson Canadian commercial, read by Joe Canadian:

I know it is pretty much based on 'getting one up' on the Americans, but hey, that is a major part of Canada.

The one thing that we all agree on is that we are not American.

Cheers.

 

Proud? Not me. I find it rather difficult to be proud of a land mass and its people. I'm sure we're great and all, and it's groovy when we win something, but it hardly makes me proud. Just a kinda, "Oh, that's kinda cool," mentality.

Our war contributions and stuff may be interesting, but pride doesn't really come into it.

 

You can't say you're the best part of North America in one breath and then say you're not American on the next. Make up your mind. You're a North American. You're just not a US American or a South American.

Althouch Canada does rock. It reminds me of New Zealand in many ways.

 

Sorry.
I guess I use the term 'American' to loosely. The United States of America sorta took on the term of 'Americans' to mean them, though I suppose that it technically applies to us as well. I use it because it is simple. Plus saying that we are not United Statesians justs sounds funny.

And I think that New Zealand totaly kicks arse as well. You guys rock.

*starts headbanging*

*stops headbanging after getting a nosebleed*

 

I was thinking of strating an other topic about things that make you feel ashamed of your country, but seeing all the stuff you already posted, it seems not to be nessessary.

I agree, I don't feel good about us being slavers and conquerers. The man who started transporting Africans to America actually was our counties biggest hero Michiel de Ruyter.
But there still must be things I feel proud of.

Rotterdam, my city of birth, has the biggest seaport in the world. But the global shift will change that and Singapore will be the next, if it not already is.

 

Since its discovery Cyprus has been an important harbour for commerce, being inbetween 3 continets(asia, europe, egypt/africa) and because of this it has been attacked and raded endlessly, yet it resisted its attackers and kept its ethnick beliefs, its has a rich history of struggle against conquerors and for this i am Proud to be a citizen of this glorious country....(btw I'm actually scotish, but i live there

 

Since I like science, my first association to your question was knowledge and intelligence. There have been many Hungarian scientists and inventors. Since the Nobel prize exists, they got many Nobel prizes compared to the very small size of the country.
I will not write a long list here or something similar, just mention some great people:

Irinyi Janos - the inventor of modern matches (loudless matches)

Jedlik Anyos (1800-1895) - inventor of dynamo . It has been proved that he invented it in 1861 but did not show it to the science world (so did not take out a patent for it). Perhaps because he was a cleric too, and he was humble; or because he did not realise the importance of his invention. So Siemens is known as the inventor of dynamo (1867)

Asboth Oszkar - inventor of the helicopter , with his other hungarian companions

Szilard Leo - In 1929, he and Einstein took out a patent for the first freezing machine without any spinning parts.
Member of Manhattan Project. He made experiments with uran with Enrico Fermi, and they realised its military usage and dangers. They first atomreactor (Fermi-Szilard reactor, 1955)
Founder of biophysics. He controlled the curing his own cancer.

Teller Ede - one of the most significant member of Manhattan Project, later he was a developer of american Hidrogen-bomb.
Unlike Wigner Jeno and his other friends, he always supported the use of nuclear power both in military and as a source of energy.
He got the highest civilian order of USA, the Freedom Medal from George W. Bush. He died in 2003.

Neumann Janos ("John Neumann") - he stated the logical principles of modern computer science.

Karman Todor Creator of PKZ-helicopter, the first military helicopter. One of the greatest members of missile development in USA.
There was a crater named after him on Mars and on Moon.

The Hungarian scientists who worked on the nuclear program in USA were often called "The Mars-dwellers".


List of Hungarians who got the Nobel-prize:
Lénárd Fülöp - 1905 - Physics
Bárány Róbert - 1914 - Medical
Zsigmondy Richard Adolf - 1925 - Chemics
Szent-Györgyi Albert - 1937 - Medical - He found the vitamine-C (in green pepper)
Hevesy György - 1944 - Chemics
Békésy György - 1961 - Physiology

Wigner Jenõ - 1963 - Physics
Member of National Academy of Sciences in USA and lot of other institutions.
Great person of "Plutonium Project".
As most of these great hungarians, he lived abroad in most of his life, but he always avowed himself to be Hungarian.

Gábor Dénes - 1971 - Physics
Wiesel Elie - 1986 - Peace
Polányi János - 1986 - Chemics
Harsányi János - 1994 - Economy
Oláh György - (György=George BTW ) 1994 - Chemics
Kertész Imre - 2002 - Literature

Most of the great Hungarian scientists of 20th century had immigrated to USA or to West because of the wars and the communist era after 1945.


@chevalier: The whole Europe was shaking of us Hungarians from 895 to 955 (Otto the german leader beated the hungarian army with his armored knights ) This was good actually, because a nation had to join the christian Europe if hoped to remain in existence.


This post has become very long, so I think I stop now. Those scientists...


Well, the current Hungary is still cool, many tourists come to our capital Budapest, it is a real European capital city. Hungary has thermal baths, and beautiful nature, rare species etc.
And so on, I am too tired now.
If you are interested, visit us!
(Someone from SP did that already )

[Edit: some bigger grammar issues... noticed after years.]

[ October 10, 2006, 03:01: Message edited by: Baronius ]

 

Faragon join our Club of Disappointed by their Goverment Citizens (CDGC in short)
Anyway apart from the things BOC said about for Greece (which make me feel proud but hey we are warlike nation) i feel proud for the spirit that exists within the people. MAybe it's the genes or something but i never stop to be amazed by our spirit and resourcefulness.

 

I was born in Oz, so I'd have to say (in addition to all the other things mentioned) that I'm pretty proud of vegemite.

I live in France, so I'd have to say I'm pretty proud of The Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Statue of Liberty.

I grew up in the States, and bar none , I think our crowning achievement is the diner.