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Benedict,

I apologize if I made you feel that way. I do love my country, and think it's the best in the world. What I should have said, was best to me . I assume you feel the same about your country, and I assume other people feel the same about their countries.

I think you know I have visited your country a couple of times and absolutely loved it. On the other hand, it isn't home to me any more than the USA would be home to you. Home is where the heart is. My heart is that of an American. Yours is the heart of a Frenchman. Let us both be proud of our countries.

Friends?

in perfect harmony...

Where are the rock group graemlins when you need them?

JB,

That is absolutely beside the point.

I am amazed that the more you people seem to exhibit very religious attitudes, the more you want to be big and important and superpowers and superLeague and superbigmax.

Just remain Christian in the true sense and do not insist so much on being the Romans of our day.

It is normal to love one's country. It is healthy.

And it is OK to choose another one if one does'not like one's country.
That is how the USA came to exist.

To love one's country is one thing.
To think it is perfect is another.
Just like in a family.

But what I think of France is quite off topic.

We can open a new thread on the subject.

But not one on "What is the best country in the world".

About superpower, you have to understand the hate of those who do not necessarily feel being a superpower makes you a better country or a better person.

It seems to make you a bully.

Who likes bullies ?

Bullies like bullies.

BCarey,

No problem.

Just remember that Internet is a transnational thing. It may be difficult for you to get over this impression that we are all USian, but I can assure you that what could make this place (even) more intelligent and friendly is going beyond nationalistic reflexes.

I feel sad to have to say that to someone I agree so often with.

There is no foreigner on the Internet.

That is the true meaning of globalization : the (self)creation of a paradigm that transcends nationalisms.

And where the love of our respective and mutual countries will be stronger, freer and more peaceful.

Amen.

Justme, No, I don't.

But If you hear me say in your face that France is the best country in the world, I will feel I deserve such a list to teach me humility.

And politeness.

Dear Apple,

John Andrew was indeed very unfair as you were expressing your pleasure at seing hmr say what he thought and felt in such a sincere and uninhibited way.

With the whacking he took, he is not going to come back for more.

We have so many effective bullies here.

And you are often their cheerleader.

But there is always a way to find a certain tenderness for the spirit of the frontier.



I have a sudden horrible doubt :
Do you think the bullies have started reading the New Testament.

They are so Old Testament style.

It is wonderful : Samson, Juda Maccabee, even something of Simon cutting a guard's hear.
Maybe when they start reading the Gospels, they might discover a new (more powerful) style : turning your left cheek.

Larry : "Sorry, I did'nt hear really well. Can you say that again ?"
Liberal no-brainer : "I am not sure Bush represents the ultimate of what this country needs"
Larry : "I'm glad you expressed your doubts. I will sincerely think about it and come with a reply that takes what you think into consideration"

on second thoughts :
"Do you mind if I shave your whole family anyway ?"

You're wrong, Benedict.

Mr. Andrews will be back.

Trust me. Two can play the pop psychology game.

Whatever a person says is their opinion, that's obvious. Loving your country does not equal thinking it's the 'best' country. Like loving a person does not equal thinking that they are the 'best' at something.

Oh, and benedict is right. So there.

bcarey:

"One thing that people on this forum should realize, is that it is good and it is right to question one's government, up to and including the President. Doing so does not make those who do it less patriotic. If it did, there are a heck of a lot of Republicans on this board who would rate very high on the unpatriotic scale for their Clinton bashing."

It is not unpatriotic to criticize the government. It is, however, unpatriotic - and hypocritical - to say that the country is so bad that you won't support or defend it, and that you'd prefer to live elsewhere rather than stay here and try to improve the country (however one defines improvement) - but you stay put and enjoy the benefits of your current locale.

benedict:

"One day, some modern Galileo will establish for a fact that the world does not revolve around the USA."

Having a low blood sugar day, benedict? Of course someone who lives in the US sould make the comment that caused you such grief. Just as someone who lives in France should be there because, for them, it is the best country for them to be in. If there is a better place for them, they should go live there. To do otherwise would be stupid.

Mr. Andrew referred to people not responding to the actual point of mhr's original post. I'm not sure which point he meant. If you follow the grammar, the "point" would be to simply take a poll to see if there are any people on the forum who are such idiotic moonbats that they would actually leave the country just because they disagreed with the current administration's politics. In reality, the post was, as mhr later admitted, just a screed to cause an argument that resulted from his rant about Bush and comparing the current administration to the Gestapo. Considering that, I think that mhr is getting all the response that he asked for.

He's a hypocrite.
He's a coward.
He's a loser.
He's lazy.
He's a troll.
He's boring.

And John Andrew, you can count all of the above as a personal attack on mhr, since - as you conveniently left off your "conservatives bad/liberals good" list - mhr lobbed the first personal insults, at me.

Jolly

I meant hmr. After the beating he took, it will take a few months to get his self-respect to a level of 3 (on a scale of 10).

John Andrew is a very worthy opponent for you.
He enjoys the fight as much as you do.

And he seems to be the revenger of LP.

About a good fight. Did you know that the Marquis of Queensbury who wrote the rules of the noble art was the father of the gay and very unpleasant person that caused Oscar Wilde's downfall and death ?

Benedict

You are right.

Unfortunately, many people view the United States as "better" because it is militarily the strongest country and its economy is the largest in the world. I do not consider either of these as criteria to judge the US is better in any way that any other country. They simply show the US has a larger military and a larger economy.

IMHO, the things which make a country great are a far different list of criteria.

The things which makes one country "better" than another are all in the eyes of the beholder. As such, any determination of "better than" can only be a subjective determination by the indivudal doing the beholding. Therefore no one can say anything other than "My country is better for ME than your country."

I think the US is better for me than France would be if only because I do not speak French. I would get lost very quickly and probably starve since I would not know how to ordfer any food.

Dwain Lee,

Sometimes, I do not understand you.

You seem to be halfway between JBryan and Larry.

I like Larry as a person. As an Indian, I worship him. As a bully, I love him.
He is the bulliest bully I ever met.
Reminds me of my favourites : Ernst Borgnine, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan. The guy who really makes you feel welcome in a new city if you don't join up with his gang.

Hmr is not a troll. Maybe he was provocative. Or maybe he just meant that he does not feel happy with his country's attitudes and actions.
And it is a good thing he feels free to choose another country where he would feel more in resonance with.

The fact that he writes Amerika is not something that should send him to heck. At least not straight away.
It is something that anybody with a brain (like the conservatives) can correct and show that it is both a bit exaggerated (though billions of people in the world are beginning to wonder if the days of napalm are not back with a revenge).

And it is more effective to refutate what he says that offends you, say that you feel offended than do an escalation that goes right to the jugular.

I think it is wrong. And it weakens your case.

About the sugar count, i don't know. I have had a bad toothache all week and the antibiotics have probably made me more touchy than I am.

I'll take your word for it, bendict.

I've never fought by his rules, anyway.

You are shallow. The reason is because we have a freedom that others can only dream about and envy.

Benedict,

I only speak for myself when I say I'm trying to understand. There is really only one thing I disagree with that you said. I have no problem getting over the fact that the Internet, or people on this forum are not all "USian". I think I am probably more sensitive to this than many.

I also remember at one time saying you were my favorite "foreigner" which now I see probably offended you. I said that lovingly, and jokingly, just as I would have said that jokingly about someone from a different region of the US. We Southerners frequently refer to Northerners as "foreigners", with no real malice.

I cannot disagree that we all need to transcend our own nationalism and think globally and the world would be a better place for it. It would be good if we could transcend the my country is bigger, better, more powerful than yours, and realize that none is better than the other, just different. Those good differences make each country unique and are to be celebrated.

At least, I'm not shaving any women other than myself!

John Andrew,

It's nice to feel understood and respected.

This discussion of my country is bigger than yours. Let me show you is ridiculous.

With a good guidebook with translations, you can go to many places in France. You will need the dollars or euros though.

There are a lot of right wingers in France too.

The history of the Nazi occupation and the collaboration of the French authorities in the arrestations of jews give it a very different light.

Rightwingers tend to stay between themselves or if they are in public debates, on television for instance, they will seem much more liberal than almost anybody on this forum.

In the end, when democracy stops working as an homeostatic system, we know what happens (withhunts, crystal nights).

That is why we can enjoy these friendly and virile exchanges.

jazzyd,
You always make me smile!

Meant to post it in the "best country" thread, but glad you liked it.

David

John Andrews

I did not attack mrh, I expressed my opinion just like he did. I do not attack people.

By the way you stupid dipstick it is lb not LB.

Posted from the U.S.A. the best and most superior country in the world.

lb

Benedict,
Please, try not to use the term USian anymore. I find it spiteful and insulting.
Thank you,