I didn't know I hated my country...

So I was on Twitter like I am for about 40-50% of my time. And I get in a conversation with this European woman who lived in Belgium but now lives in the States. The topic of discussion is US healthcare reform. Because I will not be swayed on my stance on healthcare, she tries to convince me that the US is a better country than any European country. To this I respond that I do not consider the US to be better than any country, only richer. I say that because, as an American, I think there are problems in many facets of our society, our politics, etc. The same is true of all other countries. Thus, I don't think any COUNTRY is better than another.

When I tell the woman that she romanticizes the US and makes it into an almost ideal nation (which it most definitely is not), she gets upset with me. She accuses me of thinking like anti-Americans in Europe. To which my response was

I'm not anti-American. I love my country and want to see it improve constantly.

Despite what I say about how I feel about my nation she has decided that

It is sad to see how young Americans have been taught to hate their country so much.

She said this because I claimed that the US had done some not-so-nice things during the Cold War. Anyone who sat through a US history class would know that the US is not blameless in foreign policy. They have staged coups in various nations (Vietnam, Chile, etc.). There have been assassination plots for unfavorable heads of state. Like every government, the US's has it's dark side. I'm not justifying it, but I refuse to ignore it. I love my country but I will not look past it's flaws and it's contradictions because, as a young woman, I want to IMPROVE this great nation because it's mine.