h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I forgot two "little" details: Albright (remember the lady) came to visit Kenyans who were injured in the attack in 98, Marines again took over the hospital. A woman could not get access to emergency services and gave birth out in the lawn. Reason? Albright is visiting and all entry suspended to the hospital-security risk!!

In Tanzania last year, Bill (he who...... forget that) Clinton went visiting. Marines and special service took over Arusha (poor town). The tarmac outside the hall was washed WITH SOAP! And wonder upon wonder, when the President of Tanzania arrived, his limousine had to be sniffed by dogs-in case it had a bomb!!! One Tanzania by-stander said and I translate "Poverty is truly deaming..."

And we still ask why some peole hate them?

That should read "Poverty is truly demeaning..."

I am an American and have spent a lot of time traveling the world. I spent a year in France while in college, allowing myself to speak only French and immersing myself in the French culture. Many a time I was embarrassed for my countrymen on the streets of Paris. They are loud, boisterous, and seemingly, ill-mannered. They believe that the whole world should accommodate them and should speak English.

But, if I were to run into these Americans on their own streets, I would see them in their world. They are neither more loud nor more boisterous than any other person on the street. It is the way we are. We love life, we are not afraid to travel beyond our boundaries, we believe the world is there for experiencing and enjoying. We do not spend time worrying about tomorrow, since tomorrow may never come. We take what we want since that is what we have learned (and been taught) to do. Our frontiers were wild and untamed. Our ancestors forged paths into wilderness. We are all taught this from grade school. Forge ahead, be all you can be, go where you want. The world is your oyster. You can grow up to be the president or the richest man in the world.

We are not held back by class. Discrimination, though it still exists, is not rampant as it was. We are working to overcome our differences, though it is not easy. But, as with the rest of the world, it is not necessarily skin color that leads to discrimination. Single, white, minority, married ... there is an element of discrimination in all of these (and more).

We are truly surprised when we find out that someone doesn't like us. But rather than reflecting on our contribution to that dislike, we believe the fault lies with the other person. For we truly love life. Rather than reflect on how awful it is to be the ugly red-headed stepchild, we just revel in the fact that the sun is shining and tomorrow is another chance to achieve greatness.

After having spent time in many countries, I realize the opportunities that Americans have is unparallelled. We can disagree with our government without fear of retaliation. If we don't like be led down the primrose path, we can completely change our government every 4 years.

America is the land of opportunity. It is why we are inundated with refugees. Many will risk all to come live here without fear, to be free to participate in a free society and to make money to support their families.

I love the world, but I love my homeland the best.

Nicely expressed.

Yes, anyone in America can in theory grow up to become the President or the richest man in the world (especially when American protectionism bolsters their financial interests) - but somehow it's always the sons of the very rich who end up very rich, and the sons of the very very rich who become President.

First of all, I think a lot of people are hostile to America, not Americans. There is a difference as not all Americans are the same.

The main reason is a dislike of arrogance. This is particuarly strong in the UK. The British (English Scottish Welsh alike) have a strong historical dislike of swagger and the show-off. America seems to be the pinacle of this in many ways and this rubs people up here the wrong way. A good example of this cultural divide is the attitude to the military. Despite the best efforts of some British politicians and elements of the media (ironically, the "patriotic" ones) to instill a love of militarism in the British, it hasn't worked. A good way to see the differing attitudes is (weirdly) to watch American and British sci-fi TV shows (seriously). In the US shows, everyone is in uniform, everyone salutes, everyone does his duty and it's all *very* serious. In UK shows, people in uniform are mocked and the heroic characters are usually anti-authoritarian and eccentric. This sums up the difference between the two countires quite well.

Having said that the old days of Americans coming over to Britain and putting everything down and demeaning it seem to have gone. I haven't met many americans but they were all perfectly nice

On a more international scale, America comes across as pushy and a bully. Also, thanks to the insidious influence of Big Business over the Federal Government, also greedy. Sadly, this means that the good the US does (and there is a lot) is forgotten. Bad always obscures good, sad but true.

The recent events will change attitudes to the US, though. People will still dislike all the things they always have but the idea of the US as a country where people are "disconnected" from the rest of the world has been shaken

Zagreb

God bless America? Apparently he didn't.

How would u know that he didn´t?(Saying He/She/It xists for arguments sake)

Last time I was informed, they said that He/Sh... did Her job in mysterious ways.Sooooo..!?

(S)he was probably hard at work in non-secular countries

Sunlyon, what you forget is that america didn't expand in the wilderness, it just dominated on one of the most interesting and "human" cultures, that of the indians...

As for god and the attack I won't say anything because I always seem to get censored whenever I try to make a humorous point.

I read something recently that also sums up the differences between Americans and Europeans.

An American and a European are both reading the same complex novel. On completing the book, neither person is entirely sure what the novel was about. Both look at the author's name on the cover and sigh.

The American thinks "I didn't understand that. What's wrong with this guy?"
The European thinks "I didn't understand that. What's wrong with me?".

I think, but I'm not certain, that Terry Pratchett gets the credit for the above. However, it does illustrate the main differences between US and Europe.
The US is an extrovert; it believes wholeheartedly that none of it's problems are insurmountable and that anything can be accomplished with just a little co-operation and a bit of frontier spirit. This sense of optimism is one of the things I like best about the USA and about Americans in particular.
The UK (for example) is an introvert. We know that getting anything done means toil, struggle and frequent disappointment. We know that some of our problems will never go away and that some things just cannot be done. We try anyway. We are stoic when things get tough and we have a sense of historical perspective.

Another way to look at the US is as a teenager. Yes, I'm anthropomorphising wildly but I enjoy it.
The USA is one of the younger nations on the planet. Barely into it's third century, in fact. Compare this with Europe; some of Europe's composite nations have a history that spans three or four millennia.
If the US is a teenager, it is going through the stage where all it realy wants to do is borrow the car, go out and see the world, flirt with anything that moves and get a little wild and crazy.
We all did that once. And we, the other nations of the world, could stand to learn a few things from the USA .

Nice point of view.Very nice..I just want to correct the fact that the US are not a teenager but a child and therefore, nowadays (since they won't go for a ride with a horse but with a chrysler) they will crash for definite. I hope that the people walking past the point of the accident will not get hit by the pieces of the exploding chrysler...

About 40 years ago, Bob Dylan wrote an ironic song called "With God On Our Side." The sad thing is that America didn't listen then and doesn't listen now.

When I see or hear the words "God Bless America," especially in relation to the recent atrocity, it makes my blood boil. As an infidel the phrase has no meaning to me, but if there is a (single) god, why would it bless America rather than, say, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Afghanistan or even the UK?

It's an abuse of the language, but it's also a kind of heavy gloss coat applied to the obvious divisions in American society and complex geopolitical issues. Patriotism is the last refuge etc., as true now as it has always been.

It also bugs me when I go to print a document and the printer defaults to "US Letter." It's one of the daily examples of (literal) US Imperialism that annoy people all over the world.

Gradient's point is a good one

I'd also like to mention the theory that the Brits have a stronger sense of personal space than Americans, which is why Brits find Americans too in-your-face, while Americans find Brits stand-offish - it's a subconcious thing based on how close to you someone is when they are talking to you.

A child with a gun and a Chrysler, to be more accurate. A dangerous combination. Interesting thesis, though, suggesting that it's the American conviction that no problem is insurmountable which accounts for their blithe disregard for concerns over global warming, rather than the more conventional view that the old, rich, white guys who make money out of pollutants know they'll be dead before the polar ice-caps actually melt.

Here's a couple of thoughts on points posted above

The US is an extrovert; it believes wholeheartedly that none of it's problems are insurmountable and that anything can be accomplished with just a little co-operation and a bit of frontier spirit. This sense of optimism is one of the things I like best about the USA and about Americans in particular.

Going by the wailing and hand-wringing on America's broadcast media because America's business district was shut down for a few days suggests this is not so.


The UK (for example) is an introvert. We know that getting anything done means toil, struggle and frequent disappointment. We know that some of our problems will never go away and that some things just cannot be done. We try anyway. We are stoic when things get tough and we have a sense of historical perspective.

And then you turn to the back page of the newspaper to read about the failure of yet another British sporting team.

I did not know the USA supported the military regime in Greece - that's terrible! My son was as shocked as I was last week, about the WTC attacks, but now he is saying "they had it coming", and so are his friends. Honestly, I fear people will hate me for saying this, but the more I learn about recent events, including the USA creating its own monsters, Saddam Hussein (by supporting Iraq against Iran all those years) and Osama Bin Laden (by supporting mujahadeen against Russia) the more I want to say with Jim, "they had it coming"

Forgive me, if I sound like I am attacking you, but you make the "we" you talk of sound like big, happy,boisterous, innocent happy children. Acceptable, because so well-intentioned (my ex told me once 'innocent; in Latin meant 'meaning no harm'). Trouble is, children such as you describe can cause havoc. Tossing a baseball through a window, breaking someone's television - oops, sorry! Running down a road, hit an old lady and knock her into traffic - oops, another accident. Dropping a stone from an overpass,kill alittle girl on her way to school - oops, sorry, we were just playing... I've extended the metaphor. It's that attitude that makes some people so angry! This, "oh, we didn't mean anyone any harm, we're just playing/looking out for our own interests/making sure the bad guys (our definition) don't hurt the little kids or the old ladies"...Because you love life. Iraqi children love life too, and Cuban, Vietnamese, Iranian and Afghani.

...and don't forget Chile, where the Yanks engineered the overthrow of a democratically-elected president. They then colluded in the apointment of a dictator who immediately went on a killing spree.