I know Springsteen hated that Ronald Reagan used it in his 1984 reelection campaign. You're right, the lyrics really aren't patriotic but here's the thing: music is subjective and the artist doesn't get to control the emotion others feel when listening to their song. In the case of Born in the USA, you have a very upbeat anthem with the only decipherable lyrics being "Born in the USA" and "I was born in the USA" shouted with bombast. So yeah, it's an 'America kicks-a**' kind of song.