Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Tophat665
Ponder: we are 5% of the world's population, and use 25% of the world's resources.
|
Yet we catch endless flack from this stat and are constantly told to cut back on consumption.
Quote:
|
I would estimate half to 3/4 of the technological advances of the last 50 years have come from America.
|
Yet many of those advances have been co-opted by other countries and vastly improved upon and the American roots of that technology are quickly becoming ignored.
Quote:
|
Before 9/11, we hadn't had an attack on our soil since WW II, and before that, you have to go back to 1812.
|
A little thing called vast ocean expanses and friendly neighbors might be a bit to contribute to that.
Quote:
|
So we're rich, fat, smart, tough, comfortable, and armed to the teeth. Leave aside our ideologies, which much of the world (hell much of the country) finds repugnant, and there's a lot to envy there.
|
Yet for everything you've listed I've had lengthy LENGTHY arguements with people from other countries about regarding our habits and I highly doubt their motivation comes from a place of envy. In fact I kind of cringe at this strand of thinking because it's exactly what some of the more extremist people I know base their arguements of foreign criticism of America on. I.e. the belief that everybody in the world is merely jealous of America and that's why they have a problem with things we do. Never minding that there might actually be something wrong in what we are doing.
I don't think you'd ever get the average person in Europe to say they are jealous of America just as a blanket statement. There might be one or two things they wish they had that is uniquely American but you can say that of every country. As an American I'm jealous of the Japanese and their endless amount of cheap electronic trinkets. I'm jealous of Mexico for their beautiful country and coastal areas. But that doesn't mean that I want to "grow up to be like Mexico". IMO to say you want to grow up to be like something that means you want all their good traits and all their bad traits...and if you can find me a poll where the majority of the French,German, or Italian people who would want their country to become exactly like America I would most assuredly be shocked. Hell Canada doesn't want to be like America and they really are the most like us in the entire world.
To be honest the only people on the web I've run into that wilingly say they want their country to be more like America...are Brits(and a couple of very self-hating ones at that).
Quote:
|
Nope, not even close to kidding.
|
Not seeing it...I really am not. In fact the French/American animosity towards one another has been on the rise even before Bush even stepped foot in office.