>>73161210I am old enough to remember the distinct cultural shift from before and after, so it makes sense to me -- before no one gave a shit about patriotism except in sportsball and shitposting, after if you didn't stand and recite the pledge of allegiance you'd get hauled into the principal's office and your family would be called for an intervention on why you hate America. It got very performative; you had to act out your views and actively portray them to others for societal acceptance. As for why it's infected the rest of the EN-sphere, the US has always had an outsized effect on culture and media far beyond its borders, so naturally that would extend to the internet as well. It's a very interesting topic to research,
but it will also make you want to fellate a shotgun from time-to-time. 