> At the same time as that, I feel that probably
> a large part of why you feel that way may be to
> do with the fact that you were brought up to
> feel that way and the US government takes every
> opportunity to tell people how good the US is
> and a lifetime of that is bound to sink in a
> little?

I would have to disagree with that. In my history classes (in public schools with funding provided by and curriculum dictated by the U.S. Government in general and the state of California in particular) since fifth grade I've been hearing pretty much nothing but how much the United States sucks: how we've oppressed American Indians, stole their land, beat slaves, -kept- slaves, discriminated against blacks after we gave them freedom, how we sucked for the Westward Expansion, how we sucked for building up colonies, how we're horrible for foreign policies of Presidential administrations five generations ago, etc. This is all part of history, yes, and it would be wrong to gloss it over or to not teach it (the facts, anyway), but I don't think it's really necessary to harp on the fact --- no, the opinion --- that the United States is terrible and horrible and should be shot. Other than elementary school, when we didn't really have much history until about fourth or fifth grade, and early high school, when we had European history instead of American history (European history consisted of telling us why Europe sucks, too), it's all pretty much been teaching about why America is the worst country to have ever hit the planet.


> "We must keep immigrants out unless they're the
> Right Sort for us (white, good professions,
> etc)

Oh, yeah, 'cause our laws all say "Only white rich people for immigrants, please".


> I can't think that there'd be much good to say
> about monsieur Bush, and it saddens me when I
> hear people believing in such a stupid
> dangerous man

Why do you call him dangerous?

-Eric Sleator
Mon 8 Jul A.D. 2002