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To all you self-deluding gullible Republicans who claim to believe that Obama interjected RACE into the presidential campaign by stating, "You know, he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on those dollar bills, you know. He’s risky.”, it must be humbling or even humiliating to realize how easily manipulated you’ve been. Your guy is a flat out lying SOB whose basic campaign strategy is to smear Obama and then claim to be the victim when Obama calls him out for what he’s done. MCCAIN IS A SHAMELESS LYING RACIST! And those who support him are no more honorable or worthy of trust or respect than he is.
http://www.johnmccain.com/mccainreport/Read.asp...
http://www.jedreport.com/2008/08/setting-the-re...
NOTE: The image doesn't occur until about three-quarters of the way through the video. The way YouTube works, the default image occurs at the midpoint. In other words, McCain's campaign purposefully choose this image. The closing statement by McCain that he approved this ad was removed from his website. It was previously at the end of the ad.
Hey, right now I loathe us too. We're a rogue nation. It's as simple as that. We refuse to enforce our own laws. We refuse to abide by international law. We refuse to honor treaties that have stood for decades.
And we're torturing people. Just like any country run by a tin-horn dictator. What's not to loathe?
Yes, I still buy Republican crap like that.
I hear ya. I grew up being force-fed the line that "America is the greatest country in the world." This was the late 60s, early 70s, so it was followed by a decent amount of debunking. But then I started to read a lot of history. And I particularly read about the founding of the nation. Guess what? Turns out the founding of this country really was a sort of turning point in human history. Turns out those "dead white men" were worthy of admiration, even as we acknowledge their sometimes considerable flaws. (I will never understand how high school teachers manage to make George Washington boring. It's like a mutant power or something...)
Turns out, in short, that it wasn't just "Republican crap like that." The problem is not in the sentiment. The problem is that for too many people, that sentiment is reflexive, and not in any way grounded in knowledge of the history or institutions of this country. It's as if you declared your favorite food to be something you had never actually tasted. How is it the rest of the world knows our Constitution -- surely one of the great constructs of the mind of man -- so much better than the majority of our fellow citizens? How is it we venerate a scrap of gaudy cloth over the things that make it something more than a scrap of gaudy cloth?
I think that, too, is part of the plan. Ignorance may or may not be bliss. But it is an indispensable part of the "conservative" strategy. And ignorance of our own history is even more essential -- Washington, Adams, Franklin, Jefferson and their compatriots are as much a danger to our King George as they were to theirs. Or our King Ronnie, for that matter.
So here's to America -- one hell of a good idea. Maybe there's still time to put that idea into practice. The Founders trusted us to do that, somehow, somewhere down the line. I'd hate to let them down.
It's not that America is great, it's that we have the potential to be great. If we would simply stop fearing the future and look forward instead of back, we might make some progress.
My father was a WW2 vet who spent part of the war in France, He maintained a relationship with a French family. From the time I was small, he spoke to me in French as well as English. I have always adored "la belle langue".
It would be so nice to live in a country where we again respect other nations and have their respect as well.
As a person with family in france, you are right. The french have always liked America and that is why it was so heartbreaking the past years to hear this country trash us. I am half french. At the time when the hate for france was so heavy I actually feared for my mom, with her accent and the french bistro down the street from here getting vandalized.
That is why it was so exciting and joyous for me to see what happened in europe last week with Obama. It showed people over there want to love America. All those flags. Not being burned or spit on but, waved. OMG, but, that was something to see.
Then you see McCain deriding it. You know he is operating out of jealousy but, do the average people who don't read blogs or watch the news much.
I've this little button I picked up at a science fiction convention some years ago.
It's the 'Superman' "S" logo.
I've been wearing it for the past few years as a reminder, to remember the whole "neverending battle for truth, justice and the American Way", that's part of what being a citizen is all about.
Corny, I know. But it keeps me going, day after day, outrage after outrage, marking time until November when I get to cast my vote for what I hope will be truth, justice and the American Way. I know Obama isn't Superman or Jesus or anything other than a slightly left leaning centrist. But compared to Bush, et al...
My eyes teared being reminded of the world's goodwill for us after 9/11. Such a golden moment lost as arms and hearts opened to us. So much good could have been done!
The criminals who ruined, defiled, this opportunity will not be brought to justice in this life, but if there is a god...
We can rescue at least some of the world's opinion of us. Obama proves it still lives, waiting and hoping. It's up to us to show we are worthy of their kind feelings.
http://www.privilogic.com/wordsfail/
It makes me sick to realize how much goodwill around the world the Repig criminals pissed away in their stupidity and greed to exploit this tragedy.
But I'm glad to have the reminder.
I think this is a big reason why there is a problem with Americans throughout the world. We have been living here for almost seven years and we have had no problem being accepted by the French.
The Alisa Miller TED talk is one I have missed. I'll link it (with a h/t to you) and another by photojournalist James Nachtwey in a post next week.
But here it is:
http://blueherald.com/
I suppose it's useless to ask you to be mannerly towards me and others there.
there is a difference between "powerful" and "all-powerful", I hope you realize that.
So, from my point of view, the negative reaction started long before the Bush presidencies and cannot therefore be attributed to the odious recent regime though it certainly has aggravated the irritation. At the core is American exceptionalism: the mistaken belief of inherent uniqueness, superiority, and insulation from the grimmer realities of the world. Most citizens of the world know better; how precarious our existence is, how very much we are all part of the same tribe, and finally how dangerous the world really is for us all.
another point you've nailed is that in literally every country i visit, the people KNOW their government is corrupt... so many of the good folk in the u.s. have been so thoroughly brainwashed that they simply can't BELIEVE our government could perpetrate some of the crimes and atrocities that have been coming to light...
it's high time we started acting as befits our reality - one tightly interconnected world full of mostly decent human beings, all of whom are sick and damn tired of all the bullshit, from their governments AND from ours...
http://takeitpersonally.blogspot.com/
I enjoyed your take on what foreigners think of us and why. I pretty much came to terms that all was in good standing until the courts gave us Bush in 2000 and Diebold gave him to us in 2004. I am proud of Obama for giving so many people the possible new image of what we will again become.
My experience is the same with most foreigners I've met. They're generally critical of George W. Bush and his administration, but also appreciative of America's best traits.