Dave, your point is a very valid one and is very well-stated. I am very sorry to hear about the death of your cousins. It is easy to forget that this is a multinational site. Cara, I think you were far too hard on Pieter--my opinion. If you want to defend the United States, by all means go ahead, but don't be surprised that people around the world are still angry with the American government, even after the horrible events of Sept. 11. To many, many people around the world, the U.S. is finally experiencing what they themselves have had to live with for dozens, if not hundreds of years. They empathize, they feel the sorrow of the famillies who lost loved ones in the Trade Center bombing, but that doesn't mean they are going to like all the actions of the U.S. government (no more than we might like the actions of their government 100 percent of the time). Dave's right--America has some dark chapters in its past. To deny that is to ignore facts. It also has some glorious ones, where it has helped the people of many nations. Pieter's post was pretty strident, I'll grant you that. It angered me in many ways too. But he is not a "raving loon" just because he doesn't speak English well.
I don't know. I love my country too, but I refuse to fall into that "love it or leave it" trap. I can love it and try to change the parts I don't like, which is what volunteering is all about, which is what voting is all about, and I exercise those rights. And I sure don't expect everyone around the world to love America like I do--they can't, nor should they.
Just my opinion.
Brad
