[Rick Lee]

I've lived in Germany twice and go back often. It's not a foreign country at all to me, but their fickleness about showing any national pride drives me nuts, as does their lack of respect shown to their own military.

Germany, whatever you think of their history, is definitely one of those countries with a lot to be proud of. There's probably no household in the developed world without some high-quality, German-made product in it. No one anywhere can say they have no opinion on Germany. I like seeing their flag. I don't even mind seeing their pre-Nazi era flag with the black iron cross and falcon on the white backgroud. They should be proud of their place in the world and especially proud of how far they've come from rock bottom. So many other countries would kill to have Germany's standard of living, organization and low crime. Even the old GDR had by far the highest standard of living in the East Bloc. Germans have higher expecations of themselves than most and they usually fulfill them. I don't know what it will take for them to awake from their national shame slumber. There is a huge difference between patriotism and hyper-nationalism. I don't know why they can't embrace the former without being accused of the latter.