Happy America Day

[stevel]

Ok, so we've got a little work to do to be as good as Canada, but we should still get snaps on our birthday :-)

Happy July 4th.

Steve

[Ron Ofir]

Happy birthday USA. Ours was quite some time ago...

[Ballaw de Quincewold]

wee...

Ron Ofir: What country are you from?

[chckn8r]

Happy belated b-day USA.

I've got three little ones who are Americans (at least they're half-American they were all born there, but have their Canadian citizenship too), so there's always going to be that connection to the folks south o' the border!

[Ron Ofir]

Ron Ofir: What country are you from?

I'm from Jerusalem, Israel.

[sawscape]

Yes, happy birthday to the USA! I am one american who is not ashamed of our country. The world is a much better place with the US than it would have been without.

[chckn8r]

Originally Posted by sawscape

The world is a much better place with the US than it would have been without.

sigh... please no chest-thumping rhetoric...

[SeriouslyRetro]

The world is a much better place with the US than it would have been without.

Well if the US wasn't there, Canada would be huge and Canadians would be a lot warmer. That sounds pretty nice to me.

Just kidding. Happy Independence Day. (...or "Anniversary of Colonist Insurrection" as the Brits might say )

[sawscape]

sigh... please no chest-thumping rhetoric...

Well... Why not? This thread is a celebration of the birth of the US. At that time, there was no assurance that the US would be established or survive. A large segment of the population was against the Revolutionary War. The war itself went badly for a long time (imagine a 24hr news cycle then, especially with our current media, which is mainly anti-war). It was a very shaky proposition.
It's easy to imagine what things would be like if the Revolutionary War had failed. The results of WWI, WWII or the cold war, for example, would be quite different. Democracy had its roots in Europe, but without the US advancing it, would it have taken off enough to combat Fascism or Communism (or now Islamism)? While there is no perferction on Earth, I think its appropriate to be proud of the accomplishments of the US.

[chckn8r]

Originally Posted by sawscape

It's easy to imagine what things would be like if the Revolutionary War had failed. The results of WWI, WWII or the cold war, for example, would be quite different. Democracy had its roots in Europe, but without the US advancing it, would it have taken off enough to combat Fascism or Communism (or now Islamism)? While there is no perferction on Earth, I think its appropriate to be proud of the accomplishments of the US.

Sincere apologies, as I probably interpreted your comment as stereotypical conservative American close-minded rhetoric. You are right - it is appropriate to celebrate and be proud of the accomplishments of the US.

Having lived in the 'States for 10 years I can and do appreciate the generosity of Americans and the opportunities available to everyone there. True, there are a lot of great American accomplishments and activities that the country participated in for which the world is better off. That being said, every country can most likely attest to that as well.

There is a lot more good coming from the USA than bad, but unfortunately, it's the bad that gets the attention. One being what you pointed out - the US "advancing" democracy. I'm whole-heartedly behind a democratically elected representation (with all the flaws in each flavour of democracy out there in the world), but the truth of the matter is ... the world is full of different cultures, beliefs wants and needs. In this light, I see US foreign policy is quite narrow-minded, self-serving and bullish looking at some of the actions taken by the country in the last half-century.

Just two cents...

D