Quote:
Originally posted by greendeath@08-31-2003 01:52 AM
I am not an America-hater, but an America-disliker. Why? Bush. You sit and claim that people who do not have the best of thoughts on America are "uneducated", yet you fail to realize that proper education does not come from the media.
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I can't speak for Europeans, but as an American I would say I'm an America critic. If I see something bad (or good) I will speak my mind on it. The U.S. Constitution says I have that right and no one will tell me otherwise. I also believe it is everyone's (not just the U.S.) duty to criticize how their government behaves or we will all end up like those countries which DON'T have that right.
The problem I see is, as has been noted, the WAY other countries see us as presented by the media, international or domestic. Personally I am a moderate-leaning American, and that means none of you will see ME in any media outlet. What you DO see is the far left, far right, crazies, criminals and everything else deemed "newsworthy" [read: sensational]. Again, speaking as an American, I can see how a lot of people here get the impression that the rest of the world hates us, as that they only see the sensational and not the everyday lives of Americans. Just like many Americans see cultures like in the Mid East as composed of nothing more than lunatics and suicide bombers. They all seem to miss the fact that most of the world is made up of ordinary, decent people just trying to get by.
I know Americans are not all simple-minded, or corporate thugs or power hungry politicians and I don't believe most of us look down on the rest of the world, and I certainly hope the rest of the world doesn't see US that way either. I believe only the narrow minded, uninformed, and easily led people of the world have these hateful opinions of the "other side".