Kulturkampf

[Potato]

American patriotism is stupid. But it's not because America sucks.

American patriotism was better before it became a world power, it was more humble and thoughtful. The two aren't actually connected, it was happenstance that occurred around the rest of the world falling behind. It was a deliberate movement in the United States that feared we weren't enough of a "real" nation. Teddy Roosevelt was maybe the biggest personal exemplar of it but Wilsonianism as a whole is couched in this thought. The whole idea of service to the nation was tied to this, the boy scouts -> army pipeline was about your duty to the nation. The greatest thing you could do is die for your nation, it's about prioritizing the state's interests over your own. The state's display of power is supposed to be read into your own value as a person.

You can see how you get from there to the way people act now about the flag or the anthem. America being an actual #1 for the bulk of that time just emphasizes the connection. "I can't be a failure or wrong, I'm an American and it's number one!"