pics of you?

[hankhavelock]

Originally Posted by mykel73

You have a very good point, and maybe it's the way I way brought up but I have always told my friends that they need to remember that we (other Americans and I) are not the only nation out there. We where never meant to be the peace keepers of the world. That is why we have the UN, and we have no right to tell another nation how to govern them selves when we are so divided at home. I love my Country but sometimes we can be full of our selves and I'm ashamed of that fact.

I still think we should move this debate to another thread, but so be it.

Mykel, by my view there's always two sides to a coin. And if these two sides represent the extremes then the true solution is probably some where in the middle. In America you have the right wing currently of the impression that anybody against your current president is, indeed, against America - on the other extreme you have the isolationists that believe that America should withdraw from any international interaction. In Europe we have the people readily accepting ANY THING coming from America as gospel - and on the other side the anti-Americans that only see the CocaColas, the hand guns and the Bushes...

They all represent simplified views of a complex world.

We all need each other in this world - now more than ever - and to succesfully face the giant challenges ahead of us we need to work together and to take equal part. American and European history are united - well, American culture is primarily based on Europe and to imagine a world where these two parts do not interact is ridiculous.

But now other parts of the world are coming along as equal partners - and then it is our duty to welcome these new players in a positive spirit. South East Asia for example is on the move and can contribute tremendously to the development of this world in the right direction.

So, it's looking promising if we can just accept each other and learn the good and the bad from different societies.

I have to disagree a little bit with you, though. You said that it is not America's job to be a peace-keeper. I believe you are wrong in that opinion. Obviously, going to war in sinister Middle Eastern countries is not an example of peace keeping. How ever, history shows that if America does not actively participate then we might all be in serious trouble.

H