I Knew you'd have some thoughts on that Michael....Thanks for the reply. I've wondered if the American heritage of people WANTING to come here to make opportunities better for themselves and their families, isn't the driving force.
In Europe, is there a driving force to do much of anything to create better lives for themselves, their families and for others who are less fortunate than themselves? Is there any driving force to help educate not only themselves and their families, as well as others throughout the world? Is there any driving force to help others in the world receive health care?
Or is it just an inertia that grips many there, and in other lands? Lack of land, lack of vision, lack of giving of oneself?
We Americans are sometimes our harshest critics. We don't believe we should pat ourselves on the back all the time, but that doesn't mean we don't bristle when others throw stones at us...especially others who have done not much themselves and their communities, or the world's peoples.
There are so many "for-instance's".....Many Europeans and others throughout the world don't seem to like capitalism. But those same people are the ones with their hands out when it comes to American subsidies, or giveaways.
If Bill Gates hadn't started Microsoft, we would not only employ tens of thousands of people in the States, but worldwide as well... And those people would not have created enough product to support the company and their salaries, but they could not have created the wealth to give away to other countries in the world....AIDS prevention education and supplies to Africa, for instance....Hundreds of millions of dollars...
Other countries could do this as well, if they only have the will.
One of the most amazing awareness issues that hits you when you travel around Europe is that very thing K. Sure, things are lovely in a historical nostalgic sense, especially when you visit your typical tourist spots, but, in the back-roads and every day living areas of Europe, things are so backward and inefficient its grating to your average American. You're walking along and looking at all the cobblestone streets, the ancient castles, or the walls built way before America was ever conceived of, and you wonder, why hasn't their country developed to the extend America has? They've had so much more time! |
