It's big, it's beautiful, and parts of it are sprawling. No, this is not a strategically placed set up to a "your mom" joke. I'm referring to America. You know, the land of the free, home of the brave, the good 'ol U.S. of A, that America. And what do I think about our nation? I love it. That's right: I said love, and I don't have to deny our imperfections to do so.

So what's the dillio (just thought I'd try to bring that one back)? Am I not just wasting this column by praising our water-boarding, Middle East-invading homeland? Before you label me as uninformed or refer me to one of your favorite, chop-busting blogs, just hear me out.

I understand that one of the most basic tenets of democracy is the right to criticize the government. I've certainly done more of my fair share of fist-shaking at Uncle Sam. How else can a people hold their leaders accountable? But sometimes we in academia go a bit too far. Sometimes we turn from insightful to just plain annoying.

Go ahead; try to find ways to improve an inevitably imperfect American society by pointing out its flaws. Yes, our country has done some pretty lousy things: the Native American genocide, slave trade, and wartime internments, just to name a few. We obviously have a lot more to improve upon when it comes to human rights and inequality. Have you ever taken a stroll through Detroit?

But don't lose sight of our nation's overwhelmingly positive attributes. Take a look around and think about how things would be different had you grown up somewhere else. I'm not sure about you, but I'm quite glad that we have the right to speak, write, assemble, petition, and practice our religions freely. While we often take these rights for granted, it's important to remember that they don't show up in a huge number of places around the globe. I would never object to any academic work that sheds negative light on our nation. But off the cuff negativity and US-related pessimism sets off my non-pragmatic alarm.

Case in point: A discussion in my Chinese Politics class. Towards the end of class, conversation turned to China's continued human rights abuses and the difficulties that other countries face in trying to force the PRC to further clean up its act. Logically, the US came into the discussion.

And then it happened: a comment was made which would have made Abraham Lincoln and Mao Zedong roll over in their respective graves (Abe from outrage, but Mao because he was laughing). Someone suggested that when it comes to addressing the egregious human rights violations of a repressive government, "the U.S. has no room to talk," citing a few recent hot-button issues.

Like, really? Our record is no better than China's? Sure, China has certainly improved over the past half century or so, but it is still a big fan of strict censorship, arresting dissidents, and cultural genocide (Hint: Tibet is still far from free). Oh say, can you see the absurdity of this notion? While I'm quite certain that the comment was made without the realization of its irrationality, it exemplifies my point. Sometimes our mindful skepticism turns into illogical pessimism without our notice.

Well-directed criticism of our government is quite important; but when complaints arrive out of context and in poor taste, they fail to aid the advancement of society. With such a lack of confidence in our political system, how are we to foster positive change abroad? Should the US avoid potential hypocrisy by staying silent on injustice elsewhere? Isn't our nation's reluctance to act on certain pressing global issues one fault that outrages us socially-minded individuals?

Yes, I emphatically agree that the blind patriotism exhibited by some of our nation's uniformed constituencies is extremely annoying. It hurts the country and runs counter to the basic democratic values which some of our slave-holding, gun-bearing, often chauvinistic forefathers drew up in our Constitution. But sometimes our frustration with unreasonable patriotism makes some of us adopt an equally unproductive attitude on the opposite side of the spectrum. Sometimes we forget that America's greatness is the reason that we get to sit in multi-million dollar academic buildings and discuss its faults.

If both extremes of this matter are annoying and counterproductive, what are we to do?

Continue to read your blogs and sure to call out Uncle Sam for his missteps. But don't let each individual fault cloud your vision of America as a whole. Go forth and wave your flags, pay your taxation with representation, and file a lawsuit against your employer for accidentally hitting you with that Nerf football. Be sure to remember that from our spacious skies to our heavily subsidized amber waves of grain: the USA is A-ok. But do be careful; although political dissidence won't get you arrested here in the states, we have yet to receive confirmation on what, or who Dick Cheney keeps in his "man-sized" safe.