Emob78: ... Quite a nice trick. It'd be like telling the Germans just how shitty Hitlers mustache was, then the next week seeing 50 million Germans all marching around with matching Hitler 'staches. I'm not really sure anyone is getting the point here.
Hmm, the example might be badly chosen, not because of Hitler but because of the moustaches??
If you mean that some people take criticism to bury themselves even deeper into their own world instead of looking over the horizon, then yes.
What is really good is living in another country for some time. You realize very well what they are doing wrong and what is wrong in your own country. Doesn't mean that one can change anything but definitely gives a better perspective on things.
Thinking for yourself also helps. "Gods own country" (US), "Poland for the Poles" (Poland), "Russia, Russia" (Russia), "Turkey is invincible" (Turkey), ... One doesn't need long to reach the conclusion, even when the slogan is about the own country, that a lot of these slogans are either strongly exaggerated (if one wants to express it politely) or outright bullshit. This should mean that one stops listening to and taking part in them, not that one tries to continue even more fiercely with them.