The key is the ranking criteria.
There is certainly some truth there. Which is why I offered Neocon, you and [someone else] the opportunity to present your own criteria and data to support it. It's not much of a puzzle why none of you have done so.
It is also quite clear that a majority of UN members do not like the US; they are jealous of its economic success and feel constrained in their own actions by its military prowess.
You believe every propaganda statement that comes out of Trent Lott? I'll give you another chance, provide some data, information, facts, analysis, whatever that supports that statement. Because you or Senator Lott says "its also quite clear" isn't quite enough.
The fact that these nations were able to come up with criteria that ranked the US badly is not surprising.
If you think that the US ranked badly, you don't understand the data.
If you prefer those countries, there are flights leaving the US every day; catch one. One of your freedoms as an American is that the government will not force you to stay here.
I happen to be in the UK in case you hadn't noticed. But that's pretty irrelevent anyway. If you want to have a country that's the best in the world because it has more nuclear weapons than anyone else and has the largest GDP in the world that's the country you'll end up with.
I gave you two quotes earlier, one from Decatur and one from Chesterton. The two quotes suggest that there may be two kinds of patriots. You appear to be of the first type, i.e., my country right or wrong. I'll claim to be of the second type. I'll also say that predominance of type I patriots in Germany during the 1930's are what enabled Hitler's rise to power.
Back to: The point of this line of questioning is that...
I think the real point of your line of questioning is that you are unable to understand and defend what constitutes freedom. Despite your travels, you can't even imagine that freedom could exist in any other part of the world other than your own. You've been told thousands of times what the right answer is and none of you can actually defend it.
So you mimic the words of Trent Lott or George Bush...they hate us for our freedoms and our economic success. No proof is every necessary. You resort to "love it or leave it" slogans.
IMO, what you don't realize is that the biggest threat to the principles of democracy is the "conservative" leadership of the last 20 years. They have spent 20 years undermining the Freedom of the Press by nothing other than inuendo. The "liberal media"...don't listen to them [the major networks, the elitist Lehrer Report, etc.] listen to Trent Lott and Rush and the Christian Coalition. The "will of the people" has been replaced by the vagueness of the "moral majority" and "leadership" qualities. Don't respond to the opinions of the people.
Jefferson, Hamilton and Madison must be turning in their graves.
jttmab |
