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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (38013)	4/5/2004 5:17:25 PM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 794420

I think Americans would react quite differently; while we might feel bad about an occupation, but would study the occupiers to try to read their intentions, try to work with them, and would obey our political leaders, because we do have a history of working political institutions and not just tribes. In short, we would think about our political goals, not our family honor. I understand about the shame-honor thing and I agree that we would not react to occupation based on family or tribal honor. But I don't think we would welcome the Soviet occupiers with flowers, at least not all of us. I personally have very little shame instinct but even I would feel shame that my country had to be bailed out by the likes of the Soviet Union, that here they were telling us that we needed a system of government more like theirs, that we were backwards in our embrace capitalism, democracy, etc. I would probably "obey my political leaders" as you say and I would probably be grateful at some level, but I would also be very angry and frightened and distrustful and confused and definitely not throwing flowers. I would not personally kill any Soviet soldiers, but I cannot imagine that some Americans wouldn't. I cannot imagine that the folks who are inclined to bomb abortion clinics would hesitate to blow up godless Soviet soldiers. I'm not sure that I would stand up and condemn them for it. And I would surely want the meddling and arrogant occupiers gone so we could get about rebuilding our own country our own way. We may have a guilt based culture rather than their shame based culture and we may be self-centered and nationalistic vs. their tribal, but I don't see how those differences are controlling. I think we'd react much like they are.