I never really HAD to consider national pride until I decided to naturalise and become an American Citizen. -At that time I looked at the British system (of late) and the American system and decided that both had a lot to recommend them.
I thought deeply about whether I wanted to become part of a flawed system, and in the end I decided that I DID, because the system invites its members to try and fix the flaws... I believe the same to be true of the UK and many other countries, by the way.
Anyhow, I did indeed become a citizen, and I'm now content to take pride in that fact -WITHOUT blind patriotism, which I find to be offensive in ANY nation.
There's a lot about America at the moment which embarrasses me; much of it is to do with the dipshit that got himself into the White House a few years ago, and other bits are to do with some of the tourists. -Being originally from a different country, I tend to be more sensitive to how my more recently-adopted country is viewed from outside, I suppose.
So I absolutely underscore JJ's point that national pride and patriotism are NOT synonyms; I draw a BIG distinction between the two, though I find that "patriots" are more inclined to confuse the two, and ignore -or even DENY- any legitimate distinction.
I've spent a few days listening to AM talk radio recently, and I can't tell you how horrified I am about the COMPLETE obfuscation of any distinction or delineation between the two notions that the ass-clowns on there are peddling.
Keith