General response

Submitted by The Gar (Netherlands), Jun 2, 2008 at 05:40

I have visited the United States twice and in total have lived there for about a month, I am currently in a international study with 3 Americans in my class that I have now known for almost 4 years. I hope that makes my opinion somewhat valid for you, as you seem to think people that haved visited the US know nothing of its effects on the rest of the world and indeed very likely the very area they live in.

Secondly, you may have the higher number of educated people, I havent seen such figures but it might be true, of course many are from abroad drawn in by the promise of big money, and your top universities are so expensive the students are expected to receive a degree no matter what their results are. But I am not claiming there are no educated people in the US, in fact I think it takes a number of very intelligent people to keep an entire country to blind to its own failures abroad and domestic.

You say the US is the biggest contributor to charity, in itself that is true, however maybe you should look at numbers of international aid per capita. The average US citizen gives much less then the average person from any developed country in international aid, instead you give some money to your fellow countrymen that lay impoverished in the streets because of your own corrupt system.

Then you go on about everybody calling Americans names whilst this is unheard of vice versa, WRONG! if you seriously have never seen comments about Eurotrash or Frogs (French) online perhaps you should look a little better.

Then you say you dont occupy any countries which is a strange statement as you do, your very countries you stole from the native Americans, you are currently in Iraq and Afghanistan and have forces in more countries then any other nation. No you dont have colonies are your country didnt even exist in the time these colonies were founded you country is a colony in fact.

You have not decreased your Co2 emissions by any great amount please give me sources to back your claim as I cant find any. Not signing Kyoto was just a big middle finger raised to the rest of the world and we have become all too familiar with it.

You think hatred is reserved for the weak or feeble minded but it isnt. If you had been born in a large number of places outside the US you would hate it too I can guarantee you that. I do not have a deep hate toward the US but I do disagree with US policies deeply, I do not take it out on individuals as I am in University with several of them, and they are nice and reasonable people.

You think only weak ignorant people living in terrible conditions hate the US, well that is just wrong and narrow minded people dislike us then there must be something wrong with them, because it cant be us now can it.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".