--- Collins Richey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Popularity on the world scene is a mixed bag. Being the big kid on > the > block always brings with it a lot of envy. We're not citizens of the > world (though some would prefer that) but Americans. I'm proud of my > country in spite of what others think, but that is not meant to imply > that everything we have done is totally good.
There's a very common misconception in this country that the primary reason why Americans and/or the US is despised/hated (pick your term of disgust) elsewhere is because their prosperity is envied. The fact of the matter is many of the nations/peoples of the world that dislike us because they don't want the things we have, and yet we, in one form or another, force them upon their societies anyway. In both Western and non-Western nations, they are thoroughly disgusted with the way our Nikes, McDonalds burgers, and Pepsis are diluted their cultures, and ways of life. That's not envy, its disgust. I'm not sure how many are aware of the fact that a significant number of the foreign war protests are occuring in front of McDonalds. People don't usually envy bullies, they despise them. > I don't know whether the current war is good or bad, and I don't know > whether we will know that answer until long after it's over and done > with. Now that war has been launched, I do know that I must support > our > troops as long as they are in harm's way, and I do believe that anyone > who does not do so is not the type of person I would want to associate > with. Support our military does not equate to being patriotic, or supporting the war. Those who lump all of them together are spewing propaganda. Sure, i don't like to hear when any member of our military is injured, or worse killed. But at the same time, every single one of them *VOLUNTEERED* to join the military. None of them were pressed into service via conscription or a draft. It bugs the hell out of me when some of them in Iraq and/or Afghanistan are quoted as giving reasons for being in the military such as "i wanted a way to pay for college", or "i needed suplimentary income". Joining the military should be first, and formost, done because you want to support your country in its time of need. Not because you lack the funds to accomplish your life goals. That's a nice added benefit, but anyone who joined with the sole intention of being a peacetime veteran was both naive & foolish. ===== ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lonni J. Friedman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Linux Step-by-step help: http://netllama.ipfox.com . __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop! http://platinum.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ General mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.linux-sxs.org/mailman/listinfo/general
