*sigh*... I'm gonna sound like a conspiracy theorist. many childhoods were deep-rooted into American identity, and "the American dream." we have to memorize the pledge of allegiance and recite it every day in elementary school. "we pledge allegiance to the flag, of the united states of America, and to the republic, for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." We are practically brainwashed from a young age. Top it off with mandatory military service for boys only, and we start to see something disturbingly close to a dictatorship. I'm exaggerating a lot, but it's still a bit disturbing. I started out this post with the intent to just say "some crazies got too into patriotism", but the more I wrote, the more brainwashed I noticed people are. I sound insane.