Jeroen said: >> If we acted in such a way, Jeroen, then you, right now, would be >> living in part of the American empire. > > To an extent, I already am.
In no sense are you. > In random order: > > 1. American fast-food restaurants are all over the place here. This is because random citizens of the Netherlands choose to eat in American fast-food restaurants rather than in other restaurants. Some of this may be because the American fast-food companies have plenty of money to use in the promotion of their restaurants, but it's not anything to do with an American empire. > 2. Most of what we see on television is Made In America. This is because random citizens of the Netherlands choose to watch American programmes on television rather than Dutch shows. Again, this may be because the American networks can afford to spend more on the production of shows, and so American shows are better. (From my vantage point in Britain, I can safely say that British tv makes no drama that I'd watch when _Buffy_, _24_, _Six Feet Under_ and so on are available.) > 3. There are American troops on Dutch soil. The Dutch government could tell them to leave at any time. The Dutch are not being taxed to support those troops (or are at most paying only a tiny contribution, in the way that some RAF bases double as USAF bases). If there were an American empire then this wouldn't be the case. > 4. The various Dutch governments over time have been quite friendly > towards the US. There have also presumably been various Dutch governments over time that have been quite friendly towards Belgium, but that doesn't make the Netherlands part of the Belgian empire. > 5. English, particularly American English, is making its way into our > lives a little bit more every day; even a lot of commercials aimed at > the Dutch market are now in (American) English! This is the fault of the English, who invented that language and exported it across the world! (Well, maybe not so much now...) In any case, even if English became the official language of the Netherlands, this wouldn't make the Dutch part of the American empire. [Americans liberating Europe] > And two centuries from now, you'll still be rubbing our noses in it... In which case: "How *dare* you Americans forget that the French helped liberate you from the British! If it weren't for them, you'd still be toiling under the tyrannical handbag of monarchy! Blah blah blah..." While we're talking about defending Europe: http://www.theculture.org/rich/sharpblue/archives/000031.html and if we're talking about an American empire: http://www.theculture.org/rich/sharpblue/archives/000034.html Rich GCU Here Are Two I Prepared Earlier _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
