In order to discuss these questions (which is how we'll begin the conversation club on Thursday), let's look at the lyrics of one of the U.S.A's most misinterpreted songs:
Bruce Springsteen "Born in the U.S.A"
Born down in a dead man town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that's been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering up
Born in the u.s.a., I was born in the u.s.a.
I was born in the u.s.a., born in the u.s.a.
Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man
Born in the U.S.A...
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bruce+springsteen/born+in+the+u+s+a_20024969.html ]
Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man said son if it was up to me
Went down to see my v.a. man
He said son, don't you understand
I had a brother at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They're still there, he's all gone
He had a woman he loved in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms now
Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run aint got nowhere to go
Born in the u.s.a., I was born in the u.s.a.
Born in the u.s.a., I'm a long gone daddy in the u.s.a.
Born in the u.s.a., born in the u.s.a.
Born in the u.s.a., I'm a cool rocking daddy in the u.s.a.
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that's been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering up
Born in the u.s.a., I was born in the u.s.a.
I was born in the u.s.a., born in the u.s.a.
Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man
Born in the U.S.A...
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bruce+springsteen/born+in+the+u+s+a_20024969.html ]
Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man said son if it was up to me
Went down to see my v.a. man
He said son, don't you understand
I had a brother at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They're still there, he's all gone
He had a woman he loved in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms now
Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run aint got nowhere to go
Born in the u.s.a., I was born in the u.s.a.
Born in the u.s.a., I'm a long gone daddy in the u.s.a.
Born in the u.s.a., born in the u.s.a.
Born in the u.s.a., I'm a cool rocking daddy in the u.s.a.
What do you think this song is about?
Is it patriotic?
This is how the Oxford English dictionary defines "patriotic":
1. Of or belonging to one's country.
2. Having the character of a patriot; worthy or characteristic of a patriot; marked by devotion to the well-being or interests of one's country.
See this link for the meaning of Born in the USA
What do you think it means to be patriotic?
Can you criticize your country and at the same time be patriotic?
Again, is "Born in the U.S.A" patriotic?
Just some things to think about as we begin our discussion of corruption in Brazil and the United States.
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