Thank you, Fred, and thank you, Paulo Jose Miranda. Yep. Should sound pretty familiar to most of us who live here, as well as the millions who risk their lives to get in here each year, legally or illegally.
What non-Americans need to understand is that America belongs to the world, and it is people like you who make this country great. America was founded and is populated by YOU, and people like you, escaping from something (socialism in my case) and making a fresh start, and being provided with the opportunities to do so. People from all over the world came and continue to come, in droves, and keep a constant fire lit under this country. The only certainty here is that things will change. Nothing stays the same, so no one can rest on their past laurels. The newcomers make sure of that, in competition with those already here. Is it stressful? Sure, for those who do not subscribe to the unique American attitude. But I didn't learn to compete here; I learned this in India, where competition can be brutal, which serves Indians well in America. Some of what you don't understand is that along the way the country has become a weighted average of all of you, so it sees the world it is made up of through a fresh set of eyes, not some risk-averse traditional and localized viewpoint. People from India have found America to be a natural environment for their intelligence, their work ethic, their initiative, their ability to compete, their humanism, their spirituality and their attitude of tolerance. Those who choose to discriminate here are simply blown away by most immigrants. You go through them or around them and never let them stop you. But this web site is going to drive some of the anti-Americans berserk, including a whole host of Europeans. Watch for some mean-spirited responses. "Frederick Noronha (FN)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > LISBON, PORTUGAL - April 6, 2005 (INB) -- A European online publisher wants to widen European perceptions of America with the launch of a new website, America-is.com (http://www.america-is.com) that focuses only on America and American issues across all subjects. >
