A friend of ours from another country recently told me of his concerns with my country. Overall, I still think the United States has done far more good in this world than bad (in fact, I think the world would be far worse off if not for this country), despite the recent efforts of people like George W. Bush. With that said, we do have some issues. So when I found this line, I thought of our friend...
"We Americans live in a nation where the medical-care system is second to none in the world, unless you count maybe 25 or 30 little scuzzball countries like Scotland that we could vaporize in seconds if we felt like it." -Dave Barry
*snicker*
5 comments:
Yeah, but has it done far more good in the world in our lifetime? For that, the evidence seems awfully thin. Oh and Happy Easter!
torn: Yes, I still think so. The cold war was ended in relative peace. That was one for the good guys. A lot of peacekeeping missions, disaster responses, technological innovations, etc., occurred.
One stupid war is a huge mess and a tragedy, but it doesn't undo that. And then one must look at the other countries. Britain and its commonwealths haven't been on top of their game, either. France has made lots of noise with little positive effect. The list goes on and on. I don't know of any country that has taken an active role on the world stage that did better. Smaller countries have managed to keep their hands cleaner, because they don't have to take a leading role, but it's a harsh world and we have no choice in some things.
Hehehe.
I agree that the US was the benchmark by which we measured positive contributions in the world - I've always been (and still remain) a staunch supporter of the US.
But, largely due to the efforts of less-than principaled politicians of the past 8 years or so, people abroad are turning against the US in alarmimg numbers - and that shouldn't be attributed to simple "jealousy" or "sour-grapes". US foreign policy, while once viewed for what it was - moral leadership - is now being viewed as bullying interference based on pure self-interest and greed.
Which is a terrible, terrible shame.
A change in administration can't come soon enough.
Dan: Well put. I look forward to next January 20th, and I hope we can start to regain some of the high ground. There is still plenty of good we can do!
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