I'm a US Army Brat. Born, bred, and raised by an officer Dad who proudly served in Korea and Viet Nam. My family was stationed in Germany for 10 years and we had the opportunity to visit many other nations. My Dad was there the night the Berlin wall went up (and cut pieces of the original concertina wire) and he was in Berlin the day the wall came down (and has pieces he chipped out with a chisel borrowed from a 20-something German). He loves freedom, he loves this country and he taught us kids the same thing.
That said, what YOU have said hits the nail on the head.
Americans in general have NO SENSE of the global community and see the world only through red, white, and blue glasses. If Americans (in general) could set aside the national arrogance for a few moments and consider that there might actually be another country that is "better" than our own, it would be eye-opening (and a miracle
)
Punkin's remark, "Maybe it's because people are still uncomfortable about a crowd of Germans hailing a little known charismatic leader who promises change" clearly demonstrates the
narrow-minded and patently offensive thinking that Americans (in general) promulgate by implying that somehow, Germans are not to be trusted and have not learned the lessons of the past. It's no wonder the rest of the world hates America.
I think it is "narrow-minded and patently offensive" to make a blanket statement about "Americans in general
." If someone on here said "Germans in general
" or "Canadians in general
" they would be jumped all over by other posters. Americans have not cornered the market on national pride and, in fact, are most welcoming and accommodating of people from all nations, races, creeds, etc. Disagreeing vehemently and loudly with those who say this is an evil country that must be "fixed" is not an expression of "national arrogance," but rather a wholly reasoned defense of a nation that has shed more blood for the cause of freedom around the world than any other and which everyone knows will be called upon to do that in the future as well.
You may call it "national arrogance." I call it reasoned and rational thinking. This is the greatest country in the world, and apparently 1 million immigrants each year agree with me. In fact, the US accepts more immigrants as permanent residents each year than any other country.
And American patriotism isn't borne of ignorance. We have the freest press in the world. We read, study, travel. We know what we have seen and learned. When the UN Human Rights Commission is composed of the likes of Congo, Cuba, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe, many of us believe, then, that the UN and its member nations know nothing about human rights. So, no, we do not take the lectures of that "world community" seriously nor its criticisms.
When the world cannot condemn the Middle East's horrific misogyny and religious bigotry, Europe's simmering racism (how many blacks are in the parliaments of France, Germany, England?), Africa's violent and repressive regimes, and the wholesale denial of basic human freedoms (inalienable rights) in such places as Cuba, Venezuela and China yet they find all the time in the world to condemn the United States well, yes, that rankles me and others. It makes everything that "world community" says utterly meaningless.
When they clean up their own houses. When they condemn those who are killing, raping, maiming as part of their national policy. When they DEMAND that all nations have free speech, unrestricted movement, women's rights, and a fair and accessible legal system. When they stop defending or worse, ignoring gross violations of human rights and outright genocide all over the globe. When the "world community" condemns Islamofascism as the primitive and violent movement that it is, then I might give an ear to their criticisms of the US. Until then, all this anti-Americanism is just a smoke screen to keep us from noticing that other nasty stuff that no one wants to confront.
