> > Marvin simply told you all what you wanted to hear. Gautam and I,
> > however, have argued that America is essentially good, is
> important in its
> > goodness, and in at least my case, that America is great. All of these
> > points have proved anathema to several people on this list, and
> at no time
> > has making this point passed by the list without being strongly
> criticized
> > and rebutted.
>
> No, no, and no. I've conceded that America has all the qualities that
> will make it go down in the history books, yada yada, and I'm happy to
> grant that Americans and America are basically good, as is everybody else
> on the list so far as I can tell.
Basically, yes. :o) Except for Sunset Beach. And David Hasselhoff's hair.
> If the bar for anti-Americanism is so incredibly low that saying "Bah!"
> when someone puffs up and thumps his chest about how wonderful the US is,
> then I, a person to gets choked up when he hears "The Star Spangled
> Banner," who genuinely loves his country, who is filled with pride
> whenever he votes, am "anti-American."
Thanks Marvin. That's exactly how I feel about the UK.
I see the problems, I see a lot to be ashamed of, I see a lot to be sorted
out and changed, but I see a lot that's better than most parts of the world,
and I still stand for the National Anthem (either of them, depending which
sport is on... ;o) ). I'm proud of our acchievments, but I'm ashamed of our
failures, and for me to stand and say that the UK is "great" would make me,
rightly, a laughing stock.
> > For whatever reason, however, there are a great many people who simply
> > cannot insert "the United States" into the above paragraph, and
> that leaves
> > me completely bamboozled.
>
> What people can't bear to do is to fuel your smugness, John. It's a
> social-dynamic-thing, not an anti-American thing.
Which is why John's posts are now automatically deleted by my system.
Charlie
