|
Cliche: Everyone expects one of three things from the San Francisco Bay Area: tech, homosexuals, and liberalism. Being honest, each of these are a part of the whole that is this area, but I think it's an oversimplification.
Personal: I was born in San Jose. I moved away for a chunk of my life, but being back has allowed me to gain the perspective to appreciate the area. The people here are really nice, everyone loves to exercise, most are liberal leaning not just politically but in most things, and it's a safe area to raise a family. I've had conversations with friends of mine that live all over, and usually when they describe how wonderful the place they live is it almost comes off segregated. San Jose may have some racists, but they're pretty quiet. Most businesses here are multicultural. I work with a Japanese man, a Kenyan man, and Guatamalan man, each of whom are colleagues. To be honest the only difference between us is our pasts and our accents.
I've been thinking about pride a lot lately. I've been pretty proud in the past, but there are negative and positive sides to it. Pride, like respect, should be earned. After all, you're talking about your perceptions; something important. Am I proud of my country? Not really. It's got some remarkable attributes, but really it's just another country. I think it was George Bernard Shaw who wrote: "Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it." This is what undue pride looks like to me. I'd rather be proud of my country for the good it's people does, not just because I'm born in it.
If I were Canadian, I'd be proud of our beavers, too...
Edit: It looks like Danial beat me to the George Bernard Shaw quote!
|