this but unironically, except for the part about separating the people from the nation.

nations are assholes, always separate the people from the nation and judge them by themselves.

I've always rooted for the underdog, or the side that's not part of the status quo. As for rooting for the US, how is it any different from rooting for Israel, its greatest ally?

Even so, what are we rooting for when we root for "America"? What does the flag represent? Big government? Imperialism? A government that doesn't represent the will of the people? A Republic? What's so great about a Republic? Its still government run by a small group of people that don't represent the will of the people.

When we root for the United States of America, we should envision our country the way we want to see it if oligarchs weren't in charge, as if we were the designers of the country. Then we should work toward that.