News: World Hostile Toward the USA

David, I saw that article on the Beeb's breakfast news this morning. There's a prog on BBC2 about it tonight at 9pm I think.

I'm afraid you may have indeed opened up a can of worms here.I think we can expect the usual chorus of "We don't care what the rest of the world think about us!" type of posts...thus exactly proving you, and the Beeb, right.

(This should be interesting - I think I'll get my popcorn...)

Yours in Christ

Matt

 

You got that right! Don't choke on your popcorn!

 

Would you mind if somebody from "the rest of the world" perpetrated another 9/11 - style atrocity because of what they thought about the US? Is that really what it takes to make you sit up and take notice?

Yours in Christ

Matt

 

You don't have to like the big dog... but you do have to watch out for his bite.

The U.S. is the only world super power (I know someone is bound to say, What about China?). I ask who is it that the entire world looks to when there is a humanitarian crisis, who is it that always has to handle world-wide problems, who is it that so freely gives of her wealth, resources, and the blood of her sons and daughters when another nation needs a helping hand?

One of the most irrational things that I have ever heard is that someone would say that only Al-Queda is considered more dangerous than the U.S. Get real! When was the last time the U.S. hi-jacked some jets and crashed them into office buildings, blew up a crowded night club, sent a suicide bomber into a street-side cafe, or colonized another nation?

Like I said you don't have to like us. We have been attacked and our innocent citizens murdered. We have declared war on all who would carry out such cowardly acts and the governments who support them. The fools in charge over at Al Queda have awakened a sleeping giant and now the U.S. will see an end to the cowardly terrorist networks. The entire world has failed to handle the problem of terrorists for far too long. Now the big dog is taking the lead to ensure that terrorists cannot function with their former accustomed freedom to strike at will.

 

Slight tangent, but I couldn't let it slip by unchallenged...I do hope no Native American is reading this

Yours in Christ

Matt

From Britain
Which of course has never colonised anybody

 

Slight tangent, but I couldn't let it slip by unchallened...I do hope no Native American is reading this

Yours in Christ

Matt </font>[/QUOTE]Oh you mean like myself? Well at least I'm part Native American Indian, Scots, Irish, German, and English (notice the order). Don't climb too high up on that high horse before you get knocked off... remember it was a bunch of Europeans who first colonized North America before there was a U.S.A. We simply sent your kings and queens packing when we had had enough of their nonsense.

 

It was part self-deprecatory - read the bit under my sig

Yours in Christ

Matt

 

Understood...

But you were still wrong in the tongue-in-cheek accusation. Now let's move on to the central debate at hand.

 

What did the rest of the world think about us when we were sitting back and letting terrorists have reign in our country?

America...still the greatest nation on earth!

 

Matt, how was your popcorn, by the way?

Did you nuke it?

Ah, that's what I thought! Microwaves were invented by Americans!

http://www.softslide.com/volumes/v2/t3/history/readers_digest.htm

In fact, practically every modern convenience you have at hand was invented by Americans or Jews. Even your computer. LOL!

And don't forget that most awesome invention, the teddy bear. Invented by a Jew, of course. LOL!

God Bless America!

 

Evil always hates good.

 

"Ooh! America good, everyone else bad! America good, everyone else bad!"



I'm afraid it looks like you're not going to get your mature debate, David

Yours in Christ

Matt

 

No, it really is not important what the rest of the world thinks about the USA. In the end, it all comes down to a nation and its right to defend itself as it sees fit.

The USA has that right, even if it offends the sensibilities of other nations. Such documents as the "Treaty of Westphalia" go right out the window as they are being shown to not be adaptable to the world of the early 21st century. No nation that attacks our nation can hide behind that document anymore. America was attacked on September 11th. If the rest of the world cannot understand our need to protect ourselves from another attack, and to protect ourselves on our own terms, then that really is too bad.

There is a new sheriff in town, Matt Black, and his name is George W. Bush. He is out to chew bubble gum and kick some serious butt. Only now, he is all out of bubble gum.


mozier

 

The issue is SIN.

But if you want to get into politics, there was a time in world history where the saying was "The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire." So, it's the fault of Great Brittain. If the British hadn't granted "independence" to all these Arab countries and rebel rousers who want to dominate the world with their homicidal maniacal religion, we wouldn't have these problems today!

So there, how do you like them apples!

 

If I can inject a bit of sanity into proceedings...

I can only speak from a European perspective so can't tell you why the rest of the world dislikes the US (for the Muslims, it will no doubt be because of the US bias towards Israel, although fortunately this is changing, and because of the recent US presence in Saudi which has now, sensibly, come to an end). I guess we have a rather complex love-hate relationship with the US: some of us are keen imitaters and followers of US fashion,films and music etc and in Britain there is of course the issue of a shared language (with Churchill's caveat of course!). But equally there are Europeans, including Brits, who think of the US as their rather trashy, vulgar, uncultured and embarassing relative. These are the sort of people who view with disgust and disdain the proliferation of McDonalds and Starbucks and see this as part of an American plot to subvert their culture through imperialistic colonisation. There is of course an element of jealousy in this; we were once the superpowers and now the US is, and the situation is somewhat analogous to the fading and impoverished aristocrat looking down his nose at the brash nouveau riche . If you throw into this mix the perceived arrogance of some neo-conservatives (and some other Americans) ie: "We're the world's superpower and the best nation in the world, so we can do what we want, and we're always right and yah boo sucks to the rest of you ", it is easy to see how 'Old Europe' regards the US as a rather petulant adolescent. Whilst the majority of us were sympathetic after 9/11 (although some of us could see that something dreadful was going to happen to you at some point), a lot of that goodwill has now been squandered because of the above.

My own tale mirrors this to an extent: until about a year ago I was strongly pro-US and anti-EU and quite right-wing with it; I believed that Britain's future lay largely with North America, with our co-English speakers and also what I thought was the largely Christian country of the US. That changed when I visited North America last summer; I encountered a massive cultural gap between what I had believed to be the case and the reality on the ground. I found Christians who were gung-ho and sickeningly eager for war. Time does not permit me to dwell on the detail of this, but suffice it to say that partly as a result of this, and through much soul- and Scripture-searching, my views are now much more centre-left, social justice etc and I am more convinced that our future lies in Europe rather than America. Some of my encounters on this board, plus the Iraq war have confirmed this view. (I remain instinctively right-wing, but have that steered to the left by Sripture!)

Yours in Christ

Matt

 

I think the main problem with discussions such as this one is that politics too complex for a good vs evil paradigm to be of any use - but I doubt I will find any agreement on that!

The issue as I see it is that the USA is hardly whiter than white when it comes to committing and supporting acts of terrorism - but doubtless this will be dismissed with hand waving 'we made mistakes in past'.

Oh well.