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Date:
November 17, 2002
This letter is guaranteed to make you writhe in your seat. These
thoughts have been bursting inside me. I have been reluctant to share
them because I did not consider myself a flag-waiving American, nor was
I interested in focusing my attention on America during my world
travels. And partially, I was just scared of being labeled as a
'typical American', i.e., arrogant, belligerent, ignorant. And, It's a
gosh darn shame that half the people I meet say, 'American! Really? You
must be stupid to be walking around telling people you're an American.'
Now it is time to become a flag waving American. Millions of Americans
have died in the name of freedom. Both my grandfathers came within
millimeters of their lives in WWII. Now I feel it is my turn to take up
arms and defend America as the hatred for us has increased from the
desperation for the American dream in Latin America to the
semi-ignorant contempt of the Europeans to the blatant hatred of the
Islamic world. My intention, though tainted with bias -- as is
everyone's -- is to give you a taste of my experiences in world
politics and what it is like to travel the world as an American.
Depending on your point of view, there may or may not be a lot of
wisdom in these words but I speak honestly. And, if I am wrong and you
find me sufficiently irritating, maybe you will get off your laurels
and do something more productive for world peace than ridicule
Americans and try to soak them of their hard-earned and well-deserved
dollars. I say 'well-deserved' because there is a reason the American
economy is so strong -- we work hard! The average American only gets 10
days of vacation a year. I have never had a paid vacation. This is one
of the main reasons only 1 in 10 Americans have passports. We don't
have time to go anywhere. Most prefer to go to Canada and
anesethitize their minds and bodies before returning to the rat race.
Despite working hard, most Americans are still poor relative to their
cost of living. Not many can afford to fly overseas when they need to
feed and educate their children.
As you have already noticed, I am referring to the United States of
America as simply America. We are the only country in the world named
after Amerigo Vespuci so everyone can stop complaining that I am
including Canada or any other countries in the 'American Empire' or
forgetting the rest of the countries in the Americas. Unlike most
people, I happen to know which country is south and north of the
border. Unfortunately, this is not an exaggeration.
Before I continue I need to define some political terms: Being a
liberal in politics does not mean you are a free thinker, a lot of
government and a lot of laws. Conversely, being a conservative does not
mean old-fashioned it means a little government and few laws.
Unfortunately, each side has claimed some pet issues but just because
you are conservative or republican doesn't mean that you can't be
pro-choice or pro-environment.
I am surprised how the hatred for America has increased since
September, 11 -- the mass murder of thousands of civilians broadcast on
live television. 'As a lesson in the pitiless cruelty of the human
race, September 11 was up there with Pol Pot's mountain of skulls in
Cambodia, or the skeletal bodies stacked like garbage in the Nazi
concentration camps. An unspeakable act so cruel, so calculated and so
utterly merciless that surely the world could agree on one thing -
nobody deserves this fate. Surely there could be consensus: the victims
were truly innocent, the perpetrators truly evil.' (The Daily Mirror.
SHAME ON YOU AMERICAN HATING LIBERALS. Tony Parsons. London. September
11, 2002)
At first, I was touched by the sympathetic Latin Americans. However,
people's opinion have changed. I thought it was the animosity of the
natives left over from the conquistadors. But, when I reached Argentina
some felt America had an obligation to bail them out of debt,
mistakenly associating the International Monetary Fund and the World
Bank as American government institutions. These are private business'
owned by multi-national business people. Anyway, since when do rich,
well-governed nations such as America have an obligation to rescue
countries for spending money -- money they borrowed from America -- on
poorly managed social programs. And, by the time I reached Europe
people were paraphrasing that Benedict Arnold, Noam Chomsky, 'It's not
a matter of 'Why they did it?' but 'What took so long?'' And, I have
even met people who claimed, 'I praised Allah.' Or, 'The destruction of
the two towers has been predicted in the Koran.' And, 'When the news of
9/11 broke on the West Bank, those freedom-loving Palestinians were
dancing in the street.' (IBID)
'These days you don't have to be some dust-encrusted nut job in Kabul
or Karachi or Finsbury Park to see America as the Great Satan. The
anti-American alliance is made up of self-loathing liberals who blame
the Americans for every ill in the Third World, and conservatives
suffering from power-envy, bitter that the world's only superpower can
do what it likes without having to ask permission.' (IBID) Europeans
are just as brainwashed by their media as Americans, maybe even more so
because you take yourselves so seriously. As for Muslims, I have yet to
penetrate their psyche to even form an opinion but I suspect they are
even more biased because their information is strictly controlled.¾ I'm
led to conclude that the average European or Muslim Joe is partly
responsible for the hatred of America and Capitalism and the
consequences. I think there is book in this thesis: Hate crimes. The
liberal's self-fulfilling prophecy.
Of course, I could be wrong. Capitalism and democracy could be the
Great Satan because everyone knows the only reason socialism hasn't
worked anywhere it's been tried, is because the right people haven't
been in charge.
Certainly, there are libraries of books and reels of film dedicated to
the sins of America. But, I'm not interested in propaganda and dogma.
What evidence have I seen with my own eyes to propagate the hatred of
America? Well, not much. If anything, I would say it is our infectious
culture. Admittedly, I am as discouraged as anyone by seeing McDonald's
and Coca-Cola everywhere. But, no one is jamming Big Macs and Coke down
anyone's throat. And, these companies provide good jobs. I encountered
one Coca-Cola factory going out of business because of the economic
bust in Argentina. Hundreds of people lost their job, and hundreds more
would lose their jobs because of the domino effect and ultimately, the
children starve. Does it go without saying, the locals felt this was a
tragedy.
Funnily enough, many Europeans still say we have no history or culture.
If you don't think that America has any culture or history kindly
return the following items, and cease and desist use of any proprietary
ideas: electricity (both AC and DC), light bulbs, radios, telephones,
televisions, computers, the Internet, pizza, tomatoes, pumpkins,
turkeys, squash, ice cream cones, hotdogs, peanuts, hamburgers,
McDonald's (on second thought, we will leave all the fast food
restaurants), yo-yos, Frisbees, hula hoops, mountain bikes, airplanes,
spaceships, rock and roll, blues, jazz, rap, pop culture, bras, paper
clips, disposable pens, fire, the wheel.
In summary, I ask again: Sprechen sie Deutsch? Do you know why?
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