amen, tex...
gatsby, i HAVE had occasion to travel and meet people from other cultures... not a lot, granted, but if you take away canada and mexico, an ocean hop is required to get to these places... in any case, i will stay here, and continue to think the way i do...
france and the un are more than just scapegoats... they deserve every ounce of criticism levelled at them, and more... as for the good will the US has lost with other nations, please tell me exactly what this supposed "good will" is worth, and why it is necessary, or even something to be preferred... history show--repeatedly--that good will only extends as far as agreements on policy... there will be differences, and as such, good will between nations is gained and lost at the drop of a hat... therefore, it is worthless... nations do not have friends, they have interests... i believe that one belongs to Sir Winston Churchill, but regardless, it is true... what has good will ever done for the USA, or for ANY nation??
gatsby, there is an ocean of difference between the way Americans think, and the way the people of most other nations think... first, if we truly wanted to be completely self sufficient, we could be... second, without risking ones own complete destruction in the process, it is impossible to conquer or destroy the US militarily... third, the US has a long and storied history of fighting in wars that do not involve us... for the freedom of others...
hundreds of thousands of Americans have DIED so europe wouldnt have to live under the thumb of germany (ww1), the german nazis with their death camps (ww2), so asia wouldnt be stuck living with the brutal japanese (ww2, the r@p3 of nanking, etc), so the world wouldnt be crushed by communism (post ww2-early 90s), and most recently, so terrorism will not be the same threat it is today (which is much reduced from a few years ago)
living in a nation with the history we have lends a perspective you cannot possibly hope to relate to.. conversely, living in a nation that is relatively small and doesnt have a dramatic impact on the global economy, that because of the constraints of population and land area, simply CANT feed the world, toss a dictator out of a neighboring country, or free the whole of europe from nazi opppression is not something i will ever be able to relate to...
we come from different places with different perspectives... what you see as arrogance is usually frustration, sometimes misplaced (rude Americans in foreign lands are not something i deny or excuse), but not the naked arrogance much of the world accuses us of...
do we in America want to be more like europe?? nope.. not a chance... you can keep your socialist governments and double digit unemployment... you can have your grossly overburdonsome taxation and regulation policies... we have it bad, but you have it far worse... government services are nice, but the more government pays for, the less everyone gets... if government payed for everything, everyone would have nothing... (this is due to the necessary addendum of a 100% tax rate on everyone, which would result in no one showing up for work, which would result in no wages being payed, and no taxes being collected)
mccain and powell are weak willed individuals... powell claims he has no aspirations for elected office, and i hope he is being honest... mccain, i wish would just go away... he is disruptive, wishy-washy, and has repeatedly shown his inability to read and comprehend the US Constitution... also, most of your news is grossly liberal... not your fault, really, but not exactly an accurate portrayal of what happens, either..
A NOTE TO THOSE FROM NATIONS ALLIED WITH THE USA IN THE WARS/CONFLICTS MENTIONED
thank you, but though it would have taken longer, the job still would have been done... thats the way we are.. sometimes late to a fight, but once there, there to win... at least when politicians stay out of the way...