I thought I would do a spin off of the greatest honor thread because I have had no great honors bestowed upon me.
One day if my kids graduate from Ivy League colleges that would be my proudest moment, if it ever happens.
Huck's comment about her career made me think the thing I am most proud of is my career and some of the life saving or QOL improving products that I have developed.
What are you most proud of ?
-- Edited by Forty-two on Saturday 8th of December 2012 11:01:47 AM
I know what you mean huck. Some of the things that I'm proud of don't have anything to do with anything that I did personally so I don't want to list them but it's ok to be proud of whateverbypu want.
I'm proud to be an American. I live in a great country and it makes my chest swell and I do get an emotion that I only know to describe as pride when I think of the tremendous success story we are. I know we're not perfect. No group is and we have plenty to be ashamed of as well. But I can be proud and acknowlege a need to improve at the same time.
That's not the thing I'm most proud.
The thing I'm most proud of is a job well done as a mother. I've sucessfully raised a person to be independent of me. Of course she will always need help of some sort but she developed an additional support system so if I die I don't have to worry about who's going to take care of her. I did a good enoigh job that she's capable of taking care of herself and others. I don't think I could be more proud.
There was an interesting discussion on the other board about Southern pride it left a lot of posters scratching their head as they tried to understand it. Mostly because they could not figure out what there was for Southerners to be proud of. They had the thinking, like I do, why be proud of something that you did not accomplish. The only time, if ever, I feel a sense of American pride is during the Olympics because we are winning medals. Usually when I travel outside of the US I feel ashamed to be American (more so when Bush was Pres.) American's overseas are usually shameful, loud, brash and not culturally sensitive.
I know many people are proud of their kids; for me personally I won't feel proud unless they achieve something that is difficult or that relatively few have accomplished. If I had a special needs kid and he was able to do things the average person could do, however, I would feel proud. My pride would be that I helped him be able to cope in today's world in spite of his challenges.
I think those questioning regional pride were arguing that it was no accomplishment to happened to have been born in a particular area-that you didn't do anything to be born in the USA or the South or have the ancestors you have, so why the pride? Even in the case of Olympic medals it's the athletes not the rest of us winning them so the same objection would apply.
I do understand people's feelings of pride in their country, their heritage, their ancestors and other things which they did not accomplish. In the same sense that it makes sense to be proud of such things it makes sense to feel shame for such things. So I guess what makes less sense to me is when people feel proud of their country for its history & accomplishments but when confronted with its misdeeds say "I wasn't alive then" or " I'm not personally responsible" or some such thing.
I think when people speak of being proud of their country, countrymen, ancestors or whatever it's meant in a different sense than when people speak of being proud of things they have accomplished personally, but I find both understandable. I especially understand the pride of people who have been-or feel they have been-oppressed, marginalized, or meant to be ashamed of something. In that case, I think it's not just pride but defiance of the shame they have been (at least in their perception) made to think they should feel.
