“The fine art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one class of citizens to give to the other.” –Voltaire

"That government is the strongest of which every man feels himself a part." ~Thomas Jefferson

or maybe a cop out. "things are different, you don't understand" is just a way to end a conversation to avoid having to think about new input.

Making that distinction is just gatekeeping. National pride is a political narrative anywhere. It's easier to deal with a populous that just accepts a country as is. We've been through all that.

And our national pride stems from this.

But our society is a direct reflection on the people involved with it. Canadian society is not the same as German society.

I understand that, I as a person, have little affect on my country. I do affect my neighbourhood, which affects my city, which affects my province and so on.