Hey Americans, don't be ashamed of being American.

I am British, and last night I was at a party with international students (I am an exchange student in the Netherlands). There was a girl from Pennsylvania, USA and she said she was embarrassed to be American. I said she shouldn't be because it's a great country. She said she was ashamed of Trump, and that the US sucks in terms of universal healthcare. I then said she shouldn't be ashamed of something she has no control over, and she said that all Americans can vote. I said she was under 18 and couldn't vote, so again she had no control over it, and she didn't reply. <br><br>I feel like this attitude of being embarrassed to be American is becoming more common, and it seems like a bit of a lack of self-confidence on the part of Americans. I would never be ashamed of being British; I love my country and am happy to be from it. I know that America is a great country, and I think it's a bit sad when Americans (especially young people) don't see that being American is a great thing. <br><br>Edit: I am not trying to diminish the struggles with healthcare. It's good that Americans are standing up for their rights. The point of this post is to say that Americans shouldn't view being American as a bad thing because there's a lot of good about the country too.