Orgulho de ser Brasileiro

One of the defining characteristics of Brazil and Brazilians is national pride. It is a bit strange to observe and absorb, particulary because, outside of a war or national crisis, this patriotism is not paralleled in the U.S. While wearing a t-shirt with a big American flag on it either marks you as a tourist or just out-of-touch with the times, here the Brazilian flag and colors are donned with pride. Everywhere you go you will see it; from billboards to commercials to t-shirts. This pride oozes out of every corner of the country.

Of course, as with most things, I am speaking from my own life experience and I am sure there are some of you who are reading this thinking, `What is Chas talking about? I´m very patriotic.` Perhaps you are and perhaps you are just without a more global perspective. Who knows. With that said, it has been being here and witnessing Brazil´s brand of patriotism that I have realized some things about myself and how I relate to the U.S.

The real difference, if I were to try to put my finger on it, is that the patriotism and national pride here in Brazil seem a lot more genuine here, while in the U.S. these things are forced or at least superficial. As mentioned before, without some sort of national crisis to "unite" America, you won´t find large numbers of people, across regions and socioeconomic levels really proud of our country. Speaking of the present day, one cannot neglect the specific and unique relationship that the U.S. has with the rest of the world, particularly as a result of perceived (and real) abuses of power. However, you find similar imperfections in Brazilian politics. Particularly over the past several years, the Brazilian government (both the executive and legislative powers) has been synonymous with corruption. Charges and accusations have been brought as far as the country´s President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, better known as Lula. Brazilians are the first to admit these problems and condemn Brazil´s politics for this plague. But it does not take away their pride in expressing their love for their country.

As I think about it, especially for those who are privileged enough to attain a high level of education in the U.S., the lack of patriotism has at least a bit to do with the fact that we do not participate. For example, there is no draft which would require us to put our lives on the line for our country (particularly in these days of international tension and crisis) and even the political process, an arena that would seem ripe for the contribution of fresh, energetic minds, is something that only very few of us involve ourselves with. The best analogy I can think of at the moment is living in a bubble, in which these issues of international and domestic crisis are no more real to us than the next big movie that is about to open. And unfortunately the closest that many of us come to really getting involved is a heated classroom debate, which means something until the bell rings and it is time to go.

If I am pointing a finger, it is only at myself.

Seguing (sort of), never have I felt the longing for home as I did this past Thursday, Thanksgiving Thursday, which I spent alone in Sao Paulo. It was strange thinking about everyone back home who would be celebrating. I felt completely disconnected from it all. Perhaps because of this I went against my better judgment and saw "Lions for Lambs" (Leoes e Cordeiros). First of all: if you have never gone to a movie by yourself, I would absolutely recommend it. There are many reasons...but I digress. The movie, from a purely cinematographic perspective, was decent at best (and probably for most of you, a bit worse than that), however, there was, for me, an importance of seeing a movie (which feels a bit like a civics lesson) that put me back in touch with home. More than just a patriotic movie, it seemed to be a message for those of my generation, which at the core preached the importance of being involved. It is one thing to be involved and, from this involvement, take a stance on an issue. However, what good are you doing to take a stance when you won´t even allow yourself to be involved? This, of course, was my read on the film´s message.

It´s funny that you don´t realize how important a thing is until you don´t have it anymore (or at least aren´t in touch with it). For me, Thanksgiving away from home had a bit of a jarring impact on me, though I wouldn´t say in any detrimental way. In the same way, my time out of the country has allowed me to get in touch with my "American" identity, an identity that I have taken for granted and, at times, been ashamed of. Because I do not look like the stereotypical "American" (blonde hair and blue eyes...you can challenge this, but it is the stereotype) and can capably speak more than one language, there is a luxury sometimes in being able to mask this identity. Only in the quiet moments have I begun to re-examine that, asking myself of the need to project something that I am not.

As a Government/IR major, one of the most interesting theories that I heard posited was that as a result of globalization and the overall modernatization of societies around the world, identites are no longer national, but global. Now more and more you are defined not by your country, but other characteristics, which traverse cities, countries and continents.

I do believe that this is, to a degree, true.

But we are not completely beyond national identity yet, and will not be for sometime. For now, that is something I am thankful for.