<< This is ridiculous. The fact that people criticise the US does not mean
that they ignore the positive things America does. It means that they do not
believe that the bad things should be ignored or downplayed because the US
has done some good things as well. >>
I think by now many of us are talking past each other. The critics want to
concentrate on the bad, the defenders want to concentrate on the good, and no
one is listening to anyone else. The only thing I will say now is that it's
kind of hard to expect a grieving public to engage in a serious discussion of
their own failing when thousands of their fellow countrymen are still missing
in the rubble following a terrorist assault. I mean, if some anti-Netherlands
group bombed Amsterdam, would the Dutch take kindly to outsiders lecturing
them on their failings in the immediate aftermath? I think you have to give
Americans some time to grieve and emerge from the pain, sadness, confusion,
numbness, anger, and other maelstrom of strong emotions before attempting to
debate where we should go from here.
Tom Beck
