Frankly, European politicians should have seen something like this coming. It’s never been a secret that the U.S. doesn’t share the same values as the EU. Storing sensitive data in America? Buying weapons from America? Who the fuck thought outsourcing national security was a good idea?
It will take generations for the U.S. to earn credibility again, and I don’t expect that we’ll ever earn the same level of trust. We don’t deserve it.
Tourists are usually only rich people who can afford traveling around the world.
That’s an excellent point. A lot of people are getting their impression of Americans from those of us who are likely conservatives, and therefore the least likely to show any humility or empathy.
I think a lot of it comes from being the military and economic superpower of the world. We Americans must be an exceptional people, since we are so powerful in so many ways! (Please, feel free to add as much sarcasm as you feel is necessary to the previous statement, but remember that a lot of people say that with almost religious seriousness.)
Not enough people take geography into account, either. It has had a major effect on American society and our attitude towards other countries. We Americans have rarely needed to share. Our country is almost as big as, and quite isolated from, all of Europe. Our neighbor to the north largely speaks English, and is culturally quite similar to us. Our neighbor to the south has a culture worthy of admiration, but they are not seriously respected by most Americans.
That’s it. Two neighbors sharing borders with mainland USA. On the east and west, we have huge coastlines on two of the world’s largest oceans.
The most serious military threats to America were caused by countries an ocean away, and they were ultimately unsuccessful. Don’t forget our civil war… but even through all that, the government survived (and I’m glad it did, because we were basically fighting against people who wanted to uphold the right to keep slaves. Sure, you can argue that I’m oversimplifying things, but I’m not wrong). Add to that the concept of Manifest Destiny. People sincerely believed that it was GODS WILL that we conquer the land all the way to the Pacific, natives be damned.
Americans have believed in American Exceptionalism for about as long as America has existed. I can’t blame people for having a view that was drilled into their subconscious, but I can (and do) blame us when we’re insensitive dicks about it.
In the sense that the issue isn’t being addressed as quickly or as seriously as it should be. Cancelling a contract and awarding it to a company with zero experience is not the answer.
Sorry, hate to be like this, but I have a small correction for you. “Notta” isn’t a word. The word you’re looking for is “nada”, which is “nothing” in Spanish.
At this point, I no longer care. It doesn’t matter how legitimate his excuses may be. He’s spread and popularized enough hatred that I don’t think he deserves sympathy anymore.
I don’t see how typing style is much different from things like slang or making references. If you can be understood by the people you’re communicating with, great!
Goddammit. I miss it when we were merely an obnoxious pain in the ass, but still mostly reliable. This sucks. Can’t find fault with the author’s reasoning, though.
Whenever someone talks about practical, real-life flying cars, regulation is the first thing I think about, too. How will they be sure that some dipshit isn’t texting while flying over a school?
A government that will invade on the flimsiest of pretexts, kidnap your citizens, and lie constantly is anything but a “friend”.