It always amazes me:
1. How much stock the rest of the world, despite understanding the non-representational format of their own governments RELIES ON and TRUSTS IN their government controlled media sources.
2. How easily such people, when exposed to the internet, are willing to believe anything they read...ESPECIALLY when such material espouses a negative view of something or some-one they know nothing about and, possibly, hold some small amount of fear towards.
3. How the average 'world citizen' has the stones to declare THEIR country 'the end all be all greatest thing since sliced bread' and then, in the next breath, berate the United States for espousing the same sentiment.
FACTS:
1. You are not an American. You are not privy to the nuances of our politics, our social mores, or anything else that makes an American what they are, therefore you cannot truly understand us or apply your own polarized views of societal norms to us. We are NOT you. We are NOT a mirror of you. Our thought processes are as different from your own, despite sharing a language, as any other countries.
2. The United States is a country in a constant state of flux. Small changes in our social and governmental sectors occur constantly and this makes us a bit confusing to 'get to know' even to the short-sighted extent that a person from another country ever CAN truly be said to 'know us'.
3. The United States is an amalgam formed of many people from many civilizations and our unique viewpoints and sentiments are based, largely, on a consensus of 'what is right' by ALL those people..and yes, that holds water despite a sad history of racism, classism sexism, moneyism and ageism.
4. There is not enough space here, nor would you read it if there was, for me to conduct a proper lesson on American Government, civics, and economics, nor do I feel obligated to give you one. If you are truly interested, hunt down almost any professor of Government and Economics at an American University and speak to them. While in classes, they tend to follow the books, for fear of being fired, their personal viewpoints on the USA as a whole will be a lot less....cookie cutter, tend to be more critical, be more unbiased, and can give you a better insight into our society than the internet or your government controlled media ever could.
5. Admit it...about 90% of you either do not actually 'hate' America or Americans, or you are 'jumping on the bandwagon' because it makes you feel like you are part of a group of 'enlightened individuals' to talk crap about a country you have never visited, never lived in, have little concrete knowledge of, and do not understand.
Is my country perfect? HELL NO! We have so very MANY faults I cannot even think of where to start ranting and raving...but as far as I'm concerned, we still enjoy the most freedoms, the best physical and social environment, and the most pleasant topography of anyplace in the world...and I've spent time in more than 30 countries and STILL believe that.
I perfectly agree with many of the sentiments expressed about particular 'problematic' aspects of the USA, such as our insistence on often armed interference in other countries, our economic system, et al, but as a citizen, I can tell you, things are not 'QUITE' as baldly evil and self centered here as you seem to believe.
Again, unless you have lived here for at least two or three years, and can balance your personal views with a healthy dose of pragmatism, you honestly cannot claim to know enough about us to 'talk crap'.
