On "being proud of" by Massimo Pigliucci
I've often wondered why people are proud of being American or Indian or gay, given that (a) they weren't responsible for being so, and (b) they weren't responsible for the achievements of the said group. Pigliucci comments on these issues and comes up with a conclusion similar to mine. "Being proud" in these contexts really means that one has a shared nostalgia with and sense of belonging to a particular group.