Quote:
Originally posted by crumbbum
Freedom and tolerance man. I wish more Americans appreciated what we have. We live in the most diverse and free society on the planet. There is of course sometimes friction between people, but no one in history has achieved what we enjoy today. And of course free speech, free trade, etc. The fact that everyone wants to be like us, and the fact that the US has the power, politically, economically and militarily, to defend ourselves and ensure stability for the rest of the world.
Downside? I wish there wasn't so much loneliness and disconnection among people, and that media culture didn't make people feel so bad about themselves.
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This would be viewed as a case of typical American Arrogance in Europe.
There isn't a single country in Europe that will tell you they want to be like America. In France there are protests against McDonals because of the infringement on French culture.
Furthermore, you don't have the freedom of speech you think you have. How often don't we hear about some highschool kid being expelled because he/she is wearing a "BUSH SUCKS" t-shirt. Not to mention the control the government influences on the press. Especially around the Iraq war.
But I must admit that in Britain it was worse. There the newspapers actually came with an extra edtion stating that they would not be responsible for the contents of articles about the Iraq war due to government censorship. Also just a few days ago it was proved that both the U.S. and British government messed with the 'evidence' that there were weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. The Blair government put several word files with evidence online, but they forgot that word stores the edits made in the file and also WHO made the edits. Which were very easy to read for the people that downloaded these files.
Most Western European countries are also in other terms so much more 'free' than the U.S. And even a lot more democratic. A prime example is Switzerland. Switzerland is both more democratic (On every important issue a referendum is held) and richer (in per capita terms) than the U.S.A.
Then the case of Free Trade. We'd WISH there was free trade between Asia, the U.S.A. and Europe. Buth the U.S. government imposes a great many trade barriers. Until about a dozen years ago there was a quota on Japanese cars which caused massive damage to your economy. More recent examples are the wheat and steel 'wars'.
I do not want to start a USA vs. Europe war. Because I love the U.S.A. I've visited your country several times and I hope to continue to visit for a long time. Also Europe has plenty bad points and problems of its own, it is by no means better than the USA. In some cases it is more advanced and in many others it is behind. There are just some 'myths' that Americans have about their country being the most free, democratic and richest in the world that quite simply are not true.
What I love about the U.S.A. is that everywhere I went the people were always very kind, helpful and interested when they found out I was from a foreign country. I actually have a pretty American accent because I went to an American school in Amsterdam.
By the way, how about the Roman ,Charlemagne's and British empires? Not to do short what the U.S.A. has achieved, but you weren't the first by far. Not even the ones that have been going on the longest. And i haven't even mentioned the old Chinese Empire yet.