|
What it seems like Rekna and Roachboy are getting it is the idea of recognition. It seems to me that, practically speaking, recognition by other nations is what makes a country independent. So the US isn't part of Britain anymore because nobody thinks of the US as being part of Britain. It seems to make a difference, at least rhetorically, whether a nation had been independent in the past. Georgia used to be an independent nation; South Ossetia, not so much, to the best of my knowledge. There are obvious issues floating around -- the United States, as such, were never independent countries. Israel was once an independent country, but that was a little while back. Serbia, yes; Kosovo, no.
__________________
"Die Deutschen meinen, daß die Kraft sich in Härte und Grausamkeit offenbaren müsse, sie unterwerfen sich dann gerne und mit Bewunderung:[...]. Daß es Kraft giebt in der Milde und Stille, das glauben sie nicht leicht."
"The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
|