Dear World.. a different word from American voters

First, put on your best heat resistant clothes, flame retardent if you have them.

Okay, here we go.

1. Lordfly's public apology to you concerning the election should be taken as the digital waste that this post/thread shares in terms of value. It has no meaning.
2. Most Americans would not make such a statement... and I dare anyone to provide evidence to the contrary.
3. The politics of the United States should concern you only as much as your interest in a television show. A lot of drama, a lot of comedy, something to talk about at the river/water cooler/trough tomorrow perhaps. That is the value I put on our politics... if you put more value on it, well, shame on you.
4. WRT #3 above, stay out of American politics. It doesn't concern you.
5. Reread #4.
6. If you believe the US is treating you unfairly, quit dealing with us - individually and nationally.
7. You have the right to disagree with American policies.
8. The US has the right to ignore your preferences and desires so long as the US is the global hegemon, a right secured by military might among other things.
9. People will die. Shit happens. If it''s a person that seems to garner sufficient emotional reaction from the American populace, more shit will happen. Count on it.
10. Reread #'s 4 and 5 again.

You may now remove your asbestos gear.

Have a nice day.

stay out of middle east politics. i doesn't concern you.
stay out of latin america politics. blah blah blah
blah blah blah
blah blah
blah

*claps claps*

Korg... you are an amazing ambassador of American good will with the International community. Your statements should make the rest of the world feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Bravo!

So its ok for other countries (i'm a Brit) to be dragged into this war with our soldiers being killed, but its not ok for us to have an opinion on this election.

Well stuff you

Pretty much what I was thinking...though my brain so fryed by television and processed meats cannot really understand the sentiment. So I will say this, Korg follow your own words. Lead by example.

On any front, maybe individuals should refrain from speaking for all us and just speak for themselves? I certainly didnt see my opinion voiced in either post.

fen-

....and that children is where the term " Ugly American" comes from.....questions?

Then keep your god damn missile shield to yourself. And keep your god damn american idol bullshit to yourself. And start uncapping your own god damn oil wells and start paying $5 a liter for gas.

this is obscene

You, sir --are a waste of a good citizenship. The shame is on you.

Agreed.



I think American Idol was a spin-off of the orginal, British version "Pop Idol" or something like that.



But then how would the Bushies ferry all thier spawn to Walmart in their Hummer? No sir, you ask too much!

If there was any reason to be embarassed of US citizenship.. this post would be it.

Furthermore you are extremely arrogant and ignorant. You are so insular and inward looking you are in danger of becoming an ingrown toenail.

He's entitled to his opinion, as wrong as it is. At least for the next six months or so, until such a time as the American Stormtroopers start patrolling the streets looking for dissenters to shoot.

As you are reading this, Korg, please throw me a bone. Answer the questions regarding your service...what does the military fight to protect? How can you say that your brother's in arms dying over seas means nothing to you? How can one say that they are logical and in the same breath laud their military service while saying that it doesn't effect them? How can you fight for freedom and then spit on the use of that freedom by those who do not agree with you?

Sorry if I am taking this out of context, or obscuring its meaning, but..

Do you think that I really need to be told that a person is entitled to an opinion?

Again, apologies if you meant this as sarcasm or as unrelating to my post (but ya did quote me - not sure what the relevance of that was).

I am not at all surprised by the posted reactions.

Turn my post around for a minute and read it as if a Spaniard, a Frenchman or a Swede (or choose your country) had written it. The biggest, baddest meanest mutha in the valley has been resented historically - the Persian,s the Athernians, the Romans, the Roman Catholic Church, the Japanese, the Mongols, the French,British and Spanish at various times... and of course, the Germans, Russians and Chinese as groups at other times. It's America's turn to be disliked.. so be it. It's par for the course.

Ugly American? Hey, no one ever accused me of being handsome. OTOH, I number my friends around the globe in the mid-fifties not counting the Americans - this is my personal send-them-unexpected-presents-invite-them-to-overnight-at-my-house list of friends.... not business acquaintances and not casual acquaintances. I don't think most of them accuse me of being an ugly American - not with the number of return invitations I have received. Blunt? Yes, admittedly. Opinionated? Who isn't if they engage intellectually with any subject. Dismissive? Nope. I refer you back to opinionated.

I am not an isolationist, empty personal attack accusations aside. I blieve it is in the best interests of both the US and other countries to trade and interact. I just don't think that a college student and a third grader have the same things to offer a relationship between the two. There is no reason to apologize for being successful - and the US is in many ways. There are things we could do better, but my post has to do with meddling and US politics. We cannot be our best if outsiders meddle in US politics. So, I feel they should stay out of them - finaicially, diplomatically, and press-wise.

If you didn't read that in my post.. well, I'll accept some of the responsibility as a speaker for any misunderstanding.... But the reader has an obligation also... You figure out what that is.

The thing is, nearly all Brits I know really like America and Americans on an individual basis - I almost married one.

I have rarely been so angry with a thread as I am with yours. For that reason - I will no longer post on here or read it - you have already made me say things I would not normally say on these forums.

Live in your own little world - I think you might find it a lonely place.

I don't know. Did you? Yours happened to be the last post that I saw in the thread of posters all saying (or seeming to) that Korg is somehow unAmerican. If you feel this doesn't apply to you (or any other person) then don't worry about it.

Why should we stay out of it when things that happen in the US affects us as much as it affects you. If you don't want to hear from us, don't do anything that bears concequences for us.

*note, I do stay quiet for the most part, milage from folks in other countries may vary*

Snort.

Korg: I was wrong. Thomas Hobbes doesn't come anywhere near it, does he? More like Heinlein in his bad boy phase, L. Ron Hubbard, or Jerry Pournelle --

American crackpot techno-patriotism, with the usual tired (Social) Darwinistic overtones.

If you're going to read history, you need to turn the book right-side-up. You're wasting people's time with this pseudo-academic, pseudo-pragmatic act. It's insincere.

It wasn't that long of a thread. I never said he was unamerican. Actually, I think his opinion is very American, which personally disturbs me.

Do you even read threads before flaming?

Please teach me more about the ontilogical nature of free thought vs. factual qualification - because I am still confounded over the fact that people are entitled to have these nebulous "opinions" that you speak of.

Oh, and if you teach me that, I'll give you some tips on how to not be such a condescending troll.

Isn't this why we have a State Dept., full of "statespeople" doing diplomatic stuff? Sure, every country is entitled, as a sovereign entity, to define who and what it wants to be. And in the case of America, it chooses to thrust itself out into the lime light (in some cases, like a love-starved tom cat on a New York alleyway.) It should, therefore, come as no surprise to Americans when foreigners express opinions about our actions. We are not obligated to act upon those opinions, any more than they are required to act upon ours.

That said, no nation is an island in the metaphorical sense. We are increasingly becoming an interdependent planet, and I believe it is in our collective best interest to build strong and lasting alliances with other nations. There may be times when unilateral actions are required. In those cases, history will be the judge. And though he was not my candidate, I don't think that the re-election of George Bush in any way signals the onset of Armageddon.

In the meantime, perhaps we need to urge our representatives to bolster support for the state department and its diplomatic operations. Regardless of who holds the executive post, it's what goes on behind the scenes that really makes the difference.

Um, Korg (trembling in my boots here), don't you think people might take less of an interest in American politics if it didn't actually affect them.

I've read posts by you where you refer to military duties in other parts of the world. Don't you think that your presence there might have constituted meddling in the politics of those nations at the behest of your government? The Bush administration has unabashedly touted regime change as a way to deal with other soveriegn nations as if it were a moral right. It is not a moral right, it is a military and economic ability. I think that the rest of the world has due cause to be a little concerned about the politics of America.

And hey, we're just talking about it, is the American system so fragile that it cannot withstand the opinions of foriegners?

Exactly. You it's up to you whether or not you want to listen to us, but we aren't going to shut up.