melanieLovesGames

Yes I agree. I still have my American citizenship, it's where I was born, and I'm incredibly sad to see the havoc and despair that most Americans face now. With mass foreclosures, unaffordable health care, rampant gun violence, and absolutely hideous neglect of veterans. I still admire Americans for many things, but I hope they stomach the fact sooner than later that their political system has essentially abandoned them, and that the military works for and represents political interests and commercial enterprises, and only uses the American people for employment and service. The real burden of genuine loyalty and genuine patriotism here is acknowledging that there are times in which the flag must be burned and then actually doing so. Not because you simply hate your country, but because you love the people and the traditions of your country so deeply that you will protect them by fighting the grip of the government, even if they do not understand what you are doing and respond, as you do, with hatred and contempt. It is the opinion of and treatment from people like you, and others here, that is the price of being faithful to your obligation as a citizen to dissent when the situation calls for it.

@no0b0rama said:

To prevent people from looking at my personal info or profile to make an ad hominem attack. That's exactly what you just tried to do, right? lolz

@epicsteve said:

Well then you do not appreciate the role of dissent in the history of American democracy. The believe that anti-government protests are nothing more than anti-patriotism, as you seem to believe, is a belief in government, not a belief in people. America is surely one of the greatest nations in the modern world, but if you seriously think that burning an American flag is a preclusion of citizenship (as you clearly suggest) then you have some very sinister priorities. For someone who is as articulate and experienced as you, I can hardly believe that you are so uninterested and indifferent to anyone, such as IVAW, who has an opposite opinion.

@tren_frost: Started on what? Was I just supposed to get on my knees and thank EpicSteve for his service? Well, sorry, no adulation from me. And for @EpicSteve I suggest you join an organization like IVAW or VFP.

Well, just to let you know, the Giant Bomb community is not homogeneous in opinion. I'm not going to patronize Giant Bomb if this is what the community of Giant Bomb is doing. While I have nothing against you, you do work for the most profligate, destructive, and murderous military regime in world history. I wish gamers here would make a more mindful consideration of what the US has been doing overseas in the last century than what the nationalistic dumbed-down narrative the media presents them with. But I'm glad that your apparently working (or not?) for Giant Bomb though, you seem like a pretty good writer. I just really wish you were more outspoken about America's growing military problem instead of pretending the only interesting thing here is how wonderful games are for personal consolation (which they definitely are, or rather, can be). I know all this is besides the point, but If I was to say anything, this was sorta of the place to say it.