You can easily argue that Al-Qaeda did Dubya a favor by crashing those planes. By doing so, they've enabled Bush to run roughshod over the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. By doing so, they've enabled a protracted war in Iraq with no foreseeable win-win situation resulting. Another angle to look at it is what the image of America around the world had evolved into. Certainly, for many nations, it has been a school bully since Vietnam, but never so widespread has been the negative view it presents presently. Pretty much everyone hates us now and while some leeway was given due to the events of 9-11, the cronies in the Republican Neo-con hierarchy have taken advantage of that goodwill and run with it.
So, we're hated around the world. And Bush, while not alone in projecting this negative image, has done much to make it far worse. Perhaps being a 'good ole boy' cowboy type that talks straight and 'shoots from the hip', basing decisions on his vision of "God" and 'sticking to his guns', this doesn't translate well outside the southern US right wingers. No, it's more like sand kicked in the face instead. However, by saying America is bad, you're really talking about a vocal Right that happens to be in power now and hopefully will be replaced shortly before it's too late. You're not speaking for the 50% of Americans that abore him and the mess he and his friends have created. It's important to look beyond the idiots in power now and take a step back far enough to look at what benefits America has contributed as well.
The use of assembly lines and the creation of efficiency methods have revolutionized how products are created, assembled, and transported. Intel, Cisco, and Microsoft, and Internet technologies have opened up broad arrays of avenues for the sharing and distribution of information around the globe. While nuclear technology is a two-edged sword, it does provide an alternative energy resource as well as a deterrent to global warfare. It's fashionable to hate McDonalds as America on your doorstep, but it does provide a consistent and predictable product wherever you go. Movies and music made in America is enjoyed by people all around the world. The very money that is thrown around with just reckless abandon can be enjoyed by all. A technology driven entertainment source like Hollywood does push story or character driven content to the fringes, but for what it presents, it is high quality and everyone can exercise the right not to watch. Sales around the world has consistently proven that interest in them is as high abroad as domestically. Innovations by American pharmaceudicals and the development of plastics from Dupont have done much to transform everyone's lives in fundamental ways.
When a person dies, they want to look around them and into their past and hope that they've had some kind of impact. American foreign policy is in a rough spot right now, but it can still look back and say with little contradiction that it has contributed much too over the last hundred years or so. Who has come close to contributing as much? And, while it's present foreign policy decisions and Neo-Con driven, a more forgiving and friendly administration is likely to be voted in shortly. We are wealthy beyond most peoples comprehension, but we have done out bit and more across the world. Yes, we have pursued petty conflicts like Vietnam, Granada, and Iraq, but we've also taken the lead in areas of great need like Bosnia and Somalia. We were not alone in ignoring atrocities by despot regimes around the world, but we've also taken on the lions share of sending aid to many of these same areas. Yes, we are often a bully and that has to stop, but some understanding and forgiveness has to be given in recognition of the good we provide too.
So, we're hated around the world. And Bush, while not alone in projecting this negative image, has done much to make it far worse. Perhaps being a 'good ole boy' cowboy type that talks straight and 'shoots from the hip', basing decisions on his vision of "God" and 'sticking to his guns', this doesn't translate well outside the southern US right wingers. No, it's more like sand kicked in the face instead. However, by saying America is bad, you're really talking about a vocal Right that happens to be in power now and hopefully will be replaced shortly before it's too late. You're not speaking for the 50% of Americans that abore him and the mess he and his friends have created. It's important to look beyond the idiots in power now and take a step back far enough to look at what benefits America has contributed as well.
The use of assembly lines and the creation of efficiency methods have revolutionized how products are created, assembled, and transported. Intel, Cisco, and Microsoft, and Internet technologies have opened up broad arrays of avenues for the sharing and distribution of information around the globe. While nuclear technology is a two-edged sword, it does provide an alternative energy resource as well as a deterrent to global warfare. It's fashionable to hate McDonalds as America on your doorstep, but it does provide a consistent and predictable product wherever you go. Movies and music made in America is enjoyed by people all around the world. The very money that is thrown around with just reckless abandon can be enjoyed by all. A technology driven entertainment source like Hollywood does push story or character driven content to the fringes, but for what it presents, it is high quality and everyone can exercise the right not to watch. Sales around the world has consistently proven that interest in them is as high abroad as domestically. Innovations by American pharmaceudicals and the development of plastics from Dupont have done much to transform everyone's lives in fundamental ways.
When a person dies, they want to look around them and into their past and hope that they've had some kind of impact. American foreign policy is in a rough spot right now, but it can still look back and say with little contradiction that it has contributed much too over the last hundred years or so. Who has come close to contributing as much? And, while it's present foreign policy decisions and Neo-Con driven, a more forgiving and friendly administration is likely to be voted in shortly. We are wealthy beyond most peoples comprehension, but we have done out bit and more across the world. Yes, we have pursued petty conflicts like Vietnam, Granada, and Iraq, but we've also taken the lead in areas of great need like Bosnia and Somalia. We were not alone in ignoring atrocities by despot regimes around the world, but we've also taken on the lions share of sending aid to many of these same areas. Yes, we are often a bully and that has to stop, but some understanding and forgiveness has to be given in recognition of the good we provide too.
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