History Main / ImmigrantPatriotism

* ''Series/{{Taxi}}'': Latka Gravas (played by Creator/AndyKaufman) is from [[NonSpecificallyForeign a deliberately-vague foreign country]] (he's essentially Kaufman's "Foreign Man" character turned into a full person) is always really happy to be in America and loves America more than anyone at the company.

Most countries in the world throughout almost all of recorded history have been what is now called "ethnic nationalist", which is unsurprising given most modern nations developed from tribal groups.[[note]]The very word nation comes from the Latin ''natio'', whose meaning encompasses both race and birth. Meanwhile ethnic comes from ''ethnos'', which in Greek denotes nation/ethnicity, the two concepts being identical, as they are in most cultures.[[/note]] However a few countries that have only been created comparatively recently - primarily Europe's New World colonies - have been argued by some to instead be constituted on the basis of "civic nationalism", a concept invented in the 19th century, in which belonging to a nation is determined by one's feeling of belonging to it, rather than by actual descent. [[note]]Although it's important to note that a) this assertion is highly debatable, even today, and more so the further back in history you go, when even the the national identity of the young settler colonies of Britain had a strong ethnic and racial component--even in America, popularly considered to be ''the'' prime example of Civic Nationalism, citizenship/immigration was originally restricted to White North-Western Europeans, then in the Early 20th Century to Southern and Eastern Europeans, and only in the late 20th century was it opened up to people of any race.[[/note]]

* ''Fanfic/PacificWorldWarIIUsNavyShipgirls'': A defining trait of U-213, aka "Lorelei",, as she was pretty much forced out of her home country thanks to the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, and is grateful to call the United States her new home.

* Malcolm Merriweather, a recurring English character on ''Series/TheAndyGriffithShow'', displays detailed knowledge of American history in a scene where Barney tries to lecture him on the subject.

* On ''Series/DoctorWho'', the Doctor begins to feel this way about Earth (in this case, [[CreatorProvincialism Britain]]) after a bit. He apparently always had something of a ForeignCultureFetish for the place, and after the Time Lords banished him there as their idea of an [[RadishCure ironic punishment]] he becomes smitten with the planet, happily considering himself an Earth defender. Particularly highlighted in "The Claws of Axos" in which the story's HateSink is a right-wing politician with an anti-immigration philosophy who spends much of the story being needlessly suspicious of the Doctor for being what can euphemistically be described as 'foreign'. By "In The Forest of the Night" he openly regards the Earth as his real home.

* Shigeo Okumura entered Wrestling/{{CMLL}} as part of an anti-Mexican unit and quickly became TheFace of said unit, sticking around far longer than every other member in his efforts to prove Mexican inferiority. So long in fact that if seen without his ring gear he basically blends in with the Chilango community. After a HeelFaceTurn CMLL used him to represent their company or Mexico in general in promotions such as UIPW and Wrestling/RingOfHonor (on announcing his departure to the latter on ''Rudo Vision'' he stat in front of a sign that read "¡Viva Mexico!").

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "A Taste of Freedom" starts on Freedom Day, which is the Fourth of July for the entire planet. Zoidberg eats "Old Freebie" the Earthican flag, which he meant to be a demonstration of the liberties Earth allows but gets put on trial for it. He winds up starting a war between Earth and his home planet of Decapod 10, and in the end picks Earth over the Decapodians because of the death of his human lawyer, one of the ''very'' few humans who was willing to stand up for him. At the conclusion he muses that he wishes that they valued freedom as much on his home planet, before realising that ''Earth '''is''' his home planet'' now, and he is honoured at the White House by being given a free pass to take a bite of the flag by President Nixon, [[PetTheDog as he'd earned it.]]

---> "You couldn't do it. That stretch between [[UsefulNotes/JamesKPolk Polk]] and [[UsefulNotes/JamesBuchanan Buchanan]][[note]]If you're curious: [[UsefulNotes/ZacharyTaylor Taylor]], [[UsefulNotes/MillardFillmore Fillmore]], [[UsefulNotes/FranklinPierce Pierce]].[[/note]] wipe you out. You ever heard of [[UsefulNotes/JamesGarfield Garfield]]? He more than [[ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} a cartoon cat]], you know. He part of history of ''my'' country."

* A similar eastern example is Konstantin Rokossovsky, Red Army commander in the UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and twice-awarded Hero of the USSR. Rokossovsky was only 'technically' born in the Russian Empire (which is not to say it was the same country as the USSR), since Poland was under the Tsar's rule. Poland became independent early in his career, and he was, through no small display of his own tenacity and brilliance, awarded the highest military rank in the Soviet Union, that of Marshal-all after having been a target of the purge of the 1930s. In modern Russia, he is famously remembered for never having lost a battle he fought, was compared to Georgian war hero Bagration by Stalin himself, held the post of Defense Minister after the much more famous Zhukov, and was buried next to the walls of the Kremlin.

* Creator/BobHope, the English-born comedian of UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood, became famous later in his life for his work with the United Service Organizations, touring with 57 USO shows to provide live entertainment for US soldiers. In 1997, Congress even passed a bill making him an honorary veteran.

* Former Massachusetts Governor UsefulNotes/MichaelDukakis emphasized being the son of Greek immigrants during the first Presidential debate between Dukakis, the Democratic nominee for President in 1988, and Republican Vice-President UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush when Dukakis - in response to the Bush campaign attempting to paint Dukakis as weak on patriotism due to his having vetoed a bill that would have required Massachusetts schools to begin their day with the Pledge of Allegiance - retorted by saying "Well, I hope this is the first and last time I have to say this. Of course, the vice president is questioning my patriotism. I don’t think there’s any question about that, and I resent it. I resent it. My parents came to this country as immigrants. They taught me that this was the greatest country in the world. I’m in public service because I love this country. I believe in it.". Not that this helped Dukakis in the long run; as a combination of Bush appealing to those who supported outgoing President UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan and hoped to be seen as the heir apparent; attack ads such as the "Willie Horton" and "Tank Ride" ads and Dukakis' opposition to the death penalty being highlighted by a poorly-received response to Creator/{{CNN}} anchor Bernard Shaw's opening question in the final debate on whether he would support the death penalty in a hypothetical situation where Dukakis' wife Kitty was raped and murdered contributed to Dukakis losing the election [[LandslideElection in a blowout]].

** While Worf is obsessed with Klingon tradition--more even than most Klingons are--he is also completely loyal to the Federation to the point of fighting against the Klingon Empire. He also displays a great fondness for Earth, specifically Minsk, Russia, where he grew up with his adopted parents. Guinan even notes in one episode that when he looks out Ten Forwards windows into the stars, he's not looking towards the Klingon Empire, he's looking towards earth.

* She may have been born in Italy, but Wrestling/{{Madusa}} means '''Ma'''de in '''USA''' and it was the USA that she represented wherever she went.

Most countries in the world throughout almost all of recorded history have been what is now called "ethnic nationalist", which is unsurprising given most modern nations developed from tribal groups [[note]]the very word nation comes from the Latin ''natio'', whose meaning encompasses both race and birth. Meanwhile ethnic comes from ''ethnos'', which in Greek denotes nation/ethnicity, the two concepts being identical, as they are in most cultures[[/note]]. However a few countries that have only been created comparatively recently - primarily Europe's New World colonies - have been argued by some to instead be constituted on the basis of "civic nationalism", a concept invented in the 19th century, in which belonging to a nation is determined by one's feeling of belonging to it, rather than by actual descent. [[note]]Although it's important to note that a) this assertion is highly debatable, even today, and more so the further back in history you go, when even the the national identity of the young settler colonies of Britain had a strong ethnic and racial component--even in America, popularly considered to be ''the'' prime example of Civic Nationalism, citizenship/immigration was originally restricted to White North-Western Europeans, then in the Early 20th Century to Southern and Eastern Europeans, and only in the late 20th century was it opened up to people of any race.[[/note]]

* Music/NeilDiamond's song "America" is all about the patriotic fervor new immigrants have, culminating with a reprise of the 19th Century Samuel Smith song [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_(My_Country,_%27Tis_of_Thee) "My Country (Tis of Thee)"]].

** A more recent example is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapthe_Flora Major General Lapthe Flora]], commander of U.S. operations against Salafist groups in the Horn of Africa and one of the Vietnamese "boat people" who fled the country after the fall of the western-backed South Vietnamese government. He is believed to be the only member of that group of refugees to become a General Officer in the US armed forces.

* A very dark example comes from the writings of the psychologist [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Adler Alfred Adler]], who pointed out that some of the most destructive political leaders in history were immigrants or minorities who'd become fervent nationalists. UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, the Austrian-born dictator of UsefulNotes/NaziGermany, would be the TropeCodifier for immigrants[[note]]Admittedly, though, many German nationalists, Hitler and the Nazis included, saw Austria as a part of Greater Germany that needed to be brought into the fold. After the ''Anschluss'', there was no distinction between Hitler's country of origin and the country he ruled over.[[/note]], and UsefulNotes/JosephStalin, the Georgian in the multi-ethnic but half-Russian Soviet Union, would be the minority example. Adler also mentions Hendrik Verwoerd, the architect of South Africa's ''[[UsefulNotes/TheApartheidEra apartheid]]'' regime and its most uncompromising prime minister, who was born in the Netherlands. Adler, the man who invented the term "inferiority complex", speculated that these men felt that they had something to prove and proved it with unpleasant thoroughness.

** Although Geert Wilders -- said to be Europe's most anti-Islam politician -- was born in the Southern Netherlands, his mother's side of the family came from Indonesia... now and then the country with the most Muslims in the world. And his anti-Islam ideology may be because of that very fact, because his mother's family were [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo_people indos]], the mixed Dutch-Indonesian ethnicity who were the local elite. Oh, and his characteristic blonde hair and blue eyes? Peroxide and contact lenses that hide his Indonesian features.

* The saying [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_Irish_than_the_Irish_themselves "more Irish than the Irish themselves"]], today most often applied to UsefulNotes/TheIrishDiaspora's over-enthusiasm for their ancestry, originally referred to the Normans who invaded Ireland in the 11th and 12th centuries (after the Conquest of England) and their followers (both Norman and English) and thoroughly assimilated. The Normans, or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English_(Ireland) "Old English"]] as they came to be called after a later wave of immigration from the east, became thoroughly integrated into Irish Gaelic culture, speaking Gaelic as their first language and modelling their behavior after the fashion of the native Irish gentry. When the "New English" came over after the [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfTudor Tudor conquest]], these "Old English" were as likely as not to side with the Irish rather than their supposed kinsmen, most notably during the [[UsefulNotes/EnglishCivilWar English Civil War/Wars of the Three Kingdoms]] (as they had remained solidly Catholic like the Irish and unlike the English and Scots who came in Tudor and Stuart times).

* Talion from ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowsOfMordor'' and ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowsOfWar''. Talion talks at great length about how Gondor is his people, how Numenoreans were awesome, and how affected he is by seeing the Gondor flag artifact. This is despite the fact Talion is notably a Northman and unrelated to the Numenoreans.

* Daisy "DJ" Jo/Sandalwood from the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fic ''FanFic/AllAmericanGirl'' is a pony raised on Earth by her adopted family and who, despite making contact with her own kind as a teenager, refuses to acknowledge her heritage as being part of herself, and makes it a point that she '''is''' an American, right-wing, Catholic woman.
* A defining trait of U-213, aka "Lorelei", in ''Fanfic/PacificWorldWarIIUsNavyShipgirls'', as she was pretty much forced out of her home country thanks to the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, with her being grateful in calling the United States her new home.
* In ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/50744/city-of-guilds City of Guilds]]'', the ponies who land on Ravnica seem to adapt fairly quickly such as, ironically, Twilight becoming Niv-Izzet's assistant, to the point of not caring much when Celestia tells them of Scootaloo's murder, this becomes a problem since Celestia is determined to bring them back and is willing to use BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood to do so.

* Tifa became this for Shinra in ''Fanfic/SeventhEndmostVision''; while Shinra isn't a country, [[OneNationUnderCopyright it's damn close to being one]], and in the War with the Western Alliance, Tifa explicitly fought against her former people in Shinra's service. The fact that Shinra [[EqualOpportunityEvil didn't make any real distinctions]] about Tifa's TokenEnemyMinority status, and the amazing benefits working for them provided- in particular her fame and wealth- seems to be what initially secured Tifa's loyalty.

* She may have been born in Italy, but Wrestling/{{Madusa}} means '''Ma'''de in '''USA''' and is was USA that she represented wherever she went.

** Fred Johnson is an Earther, who emigrated to the Belt after unknowingly blowing up a space station whose people were willing to surrender (to clarify, he blew it up because he thought they weren't going to surrender, while his superiors intentionally blocked their transmissions in order to teach the Belters a lesson). Johnson becomes one of the staunchest defenders of the Belt and personally considers himself a Belter, even if not all Belters see him that way. He is the leader of a large faction of the OPA.
** Travis was born on Earth but emigrated to Mars when he was 5, eventually joining the Martian Marine Corps. His squadmates often give him shit because he wasn't born on Mars, but he is as loyal to the red planet as any native.

* Josef from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' is Russian-born, but nevertheless has a [[YouNoTakeCandle very mangled]] sense of American pride, even [[BoomerangBigot joining an anti-immigrant militia]].

** Philip was largely following in the footsteps of the Mountbattens and particularly his maternal grandfather, Louis Mountbatten. Born Prince Ludwig von Battenberg in Austria to a morganatic junior line of the sovereign ducal house of Hesse, Louis was raised in Germany and Italy. Despite that, he decided to join the British Royal Navy at the age of 14, and proudly identified himself with Britain. He rose through the ranks despite considerable opposition based both on his foreign-born status and his royal ancestry (there being a perception at the time that too many princes were embarking on military/naval careers, crowding out the other gentlemen trying to rise through the ranks). When World War I hit, he renounced his German princely status and proclaimed himself "Louis Mountbatten" ("Mountbatten" being a part-translation of "Battenberg"). The King (Louis' cousin by marriage), in consultation with the Government, gave Louis a marquessate in the Peerage of the United Kingdom as compensation. The King actually wanted to make his cousin a duke, as befitted a man of Louis' royal ancestry and steadfast service to Britain, but Louis—who had little usable property in the UK—was living primarily off his naval salary and asked to be a lower-ranked peer so he could avoid the great expense of living in the manner expected of a duke. The King obliged but insisted on giving Louis the highest possible non-ducal peerage out of respect for the man's ancestry, devotion to Britain, and service in the Navy.

** Philip was largely following in the footsteps of the Mountbattens and particularly his maternal grandfather, Louis Mountbatten. Born Prince Ludwig von Battenberg in Vienna to a morganatic junior line of the sovereign ducal house of Hesse, Louis was raised in Germany and Italy. Despite that, he decided to join the British Royal Navy at the age of 14, and proudly identified himself with Britain. He rose through the ranks despite considerable opposition based both on his foreign-born status and his royal ancestry (there being a perception at the time that too many princes were embarking on military/naval careers, crowding out the other gentlemen trying to rise through the ranks). When World War I hit, he renounced his German princely status and proclaimed himself "Louis Mountbatten" ("Mountbatten" being a part-translation of "Battenberg"). The King (Louis' cousin by marriage), in consultation with the Government, gave Louis a marquessate in the Peerage of the United Kingdom as compensation. The King actually wanted to make his cousin a duke, as befitted a man of Louis' royal ancestry and steadfast service to Britain, but Louis—who had little usable property in the UK—was living primarily off his naval salary and asked to be a lower-ranked peer so he could avoid the great expense of living in the manner expected of a duke. The King obliged but insisted on giving Louis the highest possible non-ducal peerage out of respect for the man's ancestry, devotion to Britain, and service in the Navy.

When a character expresses a great deal of love and patriotism for their homeland when they're not "native" (by virtue of ethnicity or place of birth) to said homeland. The immigrant character may even display more fervor for their adopted country than those that were born and bred there. However, how acceptable this is varies by culture. Chinese and Russian "ethnic nationalism" says such feelings [[CategoryTraitor are traitorous and false]] as every person [[NoTrueScotsman only has one true "homeland" to which they will always belong by virtue of their ethnicity]], but Indian and German "civic nationalism" disagree on the grounds that a person's real "homeland" is whatever one feels it is. The European-type settler societies of the New World (Australia, Canada, and, most notably, the United States, among many, many others) are ''built'' on "civic nationalism".

* The saying [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_Irish_than_the_Irish_themselves "more Irish than the Irish themselves"]], today most often applied to UsefulNotes/TheIrishDiaspora's over-enthusiasm for their ancestry, originally referred to the Normans who invaded Ireland in the 11th and 12th centuries (after the Conquest of England) and thoroughly assimilated. The Normans, or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English_(Ireland) "Old English"]] as they came to be called after a later wave of immigration from the east, became thoroughly integrated into Irish Gaelic culture, speaking Gaelic as their first language and modelling their behavior after the fashion of the native Irish gentry. When the "New English" came over after the [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfTudor Tudor conquest]], these "Old English" were as likely as not to side with the Irish rather than their supposed kinsmen, most notably during the [[UsefulNotes/EnglishCivilWar English Civil War/Wars of the Three Kingdoms]] (as they had remained solidly Catholic like the Irish and unlike the English and Scots who came in Tudor and Stuart times).

** Shalikashvili was ethnically Georgian--i.e., from a country part of the Soviet Union at the time of his birth (his parents were nobility exiled from the country by UsefulNotes/RedOctober). He eventually became the chief military commander of UsefulNotes/{{NATO}} shortly after TheGreatPoliticsMessUp and was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff--the highest-ranking member of the US military--from 1993 to 1997.

I, said, answer, me, by, reverting! I will stop, I’m serious!

I said, can, you, get banned? I’m asking a question, I will stop if you answer.

I got a question can you get banned?

** While Worf is obsessed with Klingon tradition--more even than most Klingons are--he is also completely loyal to the Federation to the point of fighting against the Klingon Empire.

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "A Taste of Freedom" starts on Freedom Day, which is the Fourth of July for the entire planet. Zoidberg eats a flag, which he meant to be a demonstration of the liberties Earth allows but gets put on trial for it. He winds up starting a war between Earth and his home planet of Decapod 10, and in the end picks Earth over the Decapodians because of the death of his human lawyer, one of the ''very'' few humans who was willing to stand up for him.