There's nothing quite like war...

to make me cynical about patriotism :-)

I am genuinely proud of my country, and criticism always hurts. After 9/11 I didn't mind all the expressions of patriotism. It felt natural, after everything that happened. But this time it seems more directed, and hearing stuff on the radio about "supporting our troops" is just too heavy-handed.

It's all Schoolhouse Rock's fault.

It made me think grammar was fun. Almost 20 years later, I'm incurably pedantic.

(Ny psychotic English teachers helped, though. They still wholeheartedly believed in prescriptivism and the wisdom of John Warriner.)