A Realistic Assessment Of America - Or Not?

by Englishman 28 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  expatbrit

  Tim:

  I hope the late night was worth the piss in the system!

  I don't know what the rest of the world thinks that Americans feel, to be honest. I don't think the rest of the world gives it much thought, because they are too busy focussing on what they feel about Americans.

  You know what's funny? I like to read a lot of old stuff. When you read stuff from 100-150 years ago on the subject of Britain, you get the same arguments used on both sides. And, go back 2000 years, and you get the same arguments used about the Romans!

  What I think is that American's think and feel the same as all humans do. A few feel superior, very many feel compassionate to varying degrees. A tiny minority would like to have absolute power over the rest of the world, most are happy to live and let live, and want nothing more than security and a happy life for their families.

  To my mind, social advancement takes place when it becomes clearer to us all that co-operation is in all our self-interests. This is true of nations as well as individuals. Anti-Americanism on the one hand, and American isolationism on the other hand, are just indicators that humanity is still just at the beginnings of this process.

  Expatbrit
• 

  tyydyy

  Expat,

  It was worth it! Age old question. What's more important? Fun or Sleep? Sleep always loses!

  It will be interesting to see what happens in the future. The world has changed so much in the last 100 years. With the advancements in communications, transportation and human rights the world has almost become one nation with different states. We can no longer ignore the problems of our neighbors on the other side of the globe. What will dominence mean in the future?

  Tim
• 

  SYN

  Proplog(2): The vast scale of chauvinism towards the female species in your comments instantly invalidates them. Try answering this without referring to your Anti-Female Book Of Fairy Tales, then maybe I will take you a teeny bit more seriously...I guarantee you that if you were a women, you would not have said what you just did.

  The earlier in the forenoon you take the sun bath, the greater will be the beneficial effect, because you get more of the ultra-violet rays, which are healing. - The Golden Age
• 

  GinnyTosken

  From The Boomer Bible: A Testament for Our Times by R.F. Laird:

  THE BOOK OF DAMN YANKEES
  OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE BOOK OF MANIFEST DESTINY

  Chapter 154

  1 And so, all of a sudden, it seemed like maybe the Yanks weren't quite as youthful anymore,
  2 Or as confident,
  3 Or as hopeful,
  4 Or as all-powerful as they had thought,
  5 Which is usually the first sign that a Chosen Nation isn't quite as Chosen as it used to be,
  6 And is maybe getting a little tired,
  7 And more than a little confused,
  8 And in need of some new ideas about how to live in a world that's a lot more complicated than it looks,
  9 Which is how it came to pass that the Brits extended a helping hand,
  10 And within months of Kennedy's funeral,
  11 Sent a great gift to their friends the Yanks,
  12 A gift designed to help educate the Yanks about the world,
  13 At long last,
  14 So that they would know how to face a future full of pain and suffering and failure,
  15 And how to get ready for the inevitable decline that befalls every Chosen Nation sooner or later,
  16 Which the Brits knew everything there was to know about,
  17 And wanted to share with their cousins across the sea,
  18 So that a day would eventually come when the Yanks were as bad at everything as the Brits had gotten to be,
  19 And maybe they would even forget how to build nuclear weapons properly,
  20 So that they wouldn't work,
  21 Just like everything the Brits made,
  22 Which would make the world safer,
  23 Unless it wouldn't,
  24 But what can you do,
  25 Because when the world is coming to an end,
  26 It's coming to an end,
  27 And it doesn't matter if it ends the American Way or the Russkie Way or the Brit Way,
  28 Because it's all the way of Mankind,
  29 And no one has ever thought of any other way,
  30 No matter how much they wanted to believe that they were different,
  31 Because a pointed stick is a cannon is a nuclear warhead,
  32 And a killer ape is a Roman is a Brit is a Kraut is a Yank,
  33 And being Chosen is a delusion is a lie is a joke,
  34 And so what can you do?
  35 Which is why the Yanks accepted the gift of the Brits,
  36 A little dubiously,
  37 But willing to listen,
  38 Because it was getting a lot harder to go on being proud and confident and hopeful about everything,
  39 Since nobody else was,
  40 And maybe it was time for the Yanks to pay attention to somebody else's ideas,
  41 For a change,
  42 And learn how to make it better the Brit way.
  43 Yeah yeah yeah

  Ginny "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" Tosken
• 

  Princess

  Thanks for posting the article eman, I'm always a bit surprised (naive) when I hear how other nations feel about this one.

  I was wondering while watching the opening ceremonies how other countries were viewing it. I didn't think anyone would object to the WTC flag however. That surprises me, I thought it was a very moving and appropriate tribute. I did think others would object to the singing of God Bless America. It seemed totally presumptious and inappropriate at an international event such as the Olympic games. I feel like it could be compared to a Christian saying a prayer for a group of non-christians.

  Princess
• 

  DazedAndConfused

  This is an interesting article and kind of hard to repond to. I agree with a lot of it but I think that since it is kind of a long winded article not a lot are going to get the sense of what was written in a positive light toward the end. I was surprised that I finished it since the tone, to me, at first seemed to be a US bashing. I was glad to read to the end and see that he did put a positive spin on it.

  I would like to address the flag issue first. IMHO, from what I have heard in the news is that the flag was intended as a Memorial for ALL that died that day, not just for the born and bred "Americans". I don't remember the exact number of countries represented by the people that died there, but I think there was about 20. We are not so calloused that we would have involved that particular flag to be flown if it only involved our own people.

  I live here and pay my taxes here. We get reports of where our money goes, well at least part of it anyway. And over the years I have heard about many, many countries that come to us for help. They come to us for aid in food, money, and even with the military. There are a few countries out there that we know that can't pay us back even when we let them borrow money, but we do it because they need help. In fact one country last year came to us for more help, even though they owed from a previous agreement...we still helped them. Our young men's lives at times are put in danger so we can help others who ask. We do what we can to help others.

  It's funny what was written about how "vulgar" we are. Some people in other countries tell us we are vulgar or that we don't take life seriously, and then there are countries that tell us to lighten up. There are those that want us to stay our of their business and some that come to us for help. There are some that put us down as a very materialistic country and those that look down their noses at us because we have homeless people. I think the one statement from this article that stood out the most for me was:

  America, when you look at it, is damned if she does, and damned if she doesn’t. Which is why Americans, at some point, just get on with it and ignore the chorus of whining from around the world.

  How true that is.
• 

  teejay

  I wince myself every time the nation hosting the Olympics attempts to turn what should be a global athletic event into a quasi-political drumbeat. I didn't care for America's tremendous "need" to use the tattered Ground Zero flag in the opening ceremonies or use it as its entry over the entire event, either.

  What happened on Sept. 11 was a horrific event—no doubt—but it's not something that has to be rubbed in the face of the whole world at every turn. I doubt that while the world-class athletes compete during the next few days that anyone in the world will forget what happened in NY City and the Pentagon. The Prez says to move forward while not forgetting what happened. I say, "Let's roll."
• 

  proplog2

  tyydyy:

  I love this land. It's wonderful. I have no desire to even see Europe, Scandanavia, Australia, New Zealand, China, Russia etc. Everything I could ever dream of is within my grasp.

  I will never leave this country unless my life depended on it. I think the constitution is more amazing than the ten commandments as a foundation for a new nation. We the people... says it all.

  On the other hand the USA has done some major damage in the way it deals with other countries. But I think this is an idictment of all humans. There isn't another country on the face of the earth that would behave any differently given the opportunity.
• 

  proplog2

  SYN:

  I understand your orientation. But there is no way you will ever fix the things you think are broken.
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  Englishman

  I thought that the article was reasonably well balanced. I'm also aware that it is human nature to berate the top dog of any group.

  This applies on all levels, the most hated football team in the world is Manchester United. It is also the most succesful team. http://www.ihatemanunited.com/

  I think that the events of 911 has re-adjusted the way the the world regards the US, it gave us a chance to see and hear real Americans instead of just politicians and film stars. It gave Europeans an insight into the minds of ordinary US folk too, which was a very good thing IMO for us to see that the were not so dis-similar in the way that they felt about many emotive things.

  Englishman.

  Truth exists;only falsehood has to be invented. -Georges Braque