Midnight Oil

[Powderworks] VLMOC: anti-Americanism, so-called

Randy Van Vliet bigdaddyrv@yahoo.com
Tue, 15 Apr 2003 16:14:29 -0700 (PDT)


--- Tom Davies <minuteparticular@yahoo.com.au> wrote:
> To put it another way, I think Americans should quit
> whining about all this "anti-Americanism" that's
> supposedly out there, and either defend their
> country's actions or else admit wrongdoing where it
> has occurred. Cheers to all y'all who are already
> doing that. 

That seems to be the problem then, doesn't it?  As an
American (several generations on both sides) I am
intensely proud of what my country stands for, from
the Founding Fathers down to today.  For most
Americans, this is the land of opportunity and almost
unlimited potential (there are obviously some places
where this breaks down).  And I am very proud of what
America is trying to do in many cases overseas, trying
to bring relief and a better way of life to many
disadvantaged people in many parts of the world.  
At the same time, am equally intensely horrified by
the atrocities that certain departments or agencies of
the US Government have perpetrated or supported on
both US citizens and other countries.  
But, as an American, I see that the US government
generally stands for doing the right thing in more
cases than not.  Even the current batch of wackos back
in DC now.  But, the US Government, like every free
agent entity out there (including me and you) will do
what it perceives to be in it's best interest.  George
W. and his cowboy posse obviously felt that it was in
the US's best interest to "disarm" Iraq before they
had a chance to strike at the US.  Whether that is
right or wrong I can't say, but I do know that he was
ruled to have been elected president (don't even go
THERE again) so it is his turn to decide what is in
the best interest of the US.  If i think it's not in
my best interest, then I work hard to make sure that
the people in positions of power in the US Government
represent my wishes.  (Sorry about that, I kind of
went off topic on the off topic thread).  
Any way, before you condemn everything the US
Government has ever done in the last 225 years, think
about some of the good things that it has done.  And
before you stand too tall to defend the purity of the
US Government, grab a flashlight and look into some of
the dark corners.  As for me, I'll stand by the
Founding Fathers and try to make sure that the
Real-Life approaches the Ideal that they set.  At the
end of the day it's still the best government I've
seen yet, warts and all.

Randy

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