Obama. A View From Scotland

Hi,

Im from The Uk and we have to keep an eye on your country because the economics are closely tied, when your policies cock up it effects us over here, unfortunatly. Plus I peronally think Obama is good for you, even if it calms down the race issue. I think we have better press over here.. I laugh my tits off when i watch American News channels I cannot believe how bias it is, propaganda throu and throu. thats why i think you Americans should listen to some outside influence instead of waving your flag and being all' god bless america' all the time. If their is a God he would need to bless America for all the #e they cause. Dont get me wrong I like your country, but some of you need wake up from the crap youve been pounded with since birth- its boarding on Nazi youth.

Shauny thanks for the insight, you are right on the money. Please forgive the arrogance of a few, we aren't all like this.

As Americans, we have the right to vote for our leaders, but once elected, we cross our fingers and hope for the best. When our country goes to war, the leaders don't ask us (we the people) if we think its a good idea, they do what they want. So who is to blame when things go badly? The people for voting them into office, or the closed circle of advisers who make the decisions? Maybe a little of both.

America is a truly great and unique country, where hope and possibility flourish. It's easy to love this country and swell with pride, we need to make sure we don't veer into arrogance.

The biggest, strongest, richest kid in the schoolyard needn't go around pushing down the weak and boasting of his strength. Its a sure way to make enemies, and an incredible waste of potential.

An American

reply to post by Truther


True, the word freedom is used loosley, but it could be a hell of a lot worse. At least here I can speak my mind without having to worry about getting shot or imprisoned. While I am well aware of the close watch Big Brother has on us, I try not to let it bother me. After all I am not secretly doing anything that would bring attention to myself or my family and have no reason as of yet to hide away from my government. I pay my taxes, obey the laws(although sometimes silly) and am not a trouble maker. Some people in this country are just plain paranoid for no good reason whatsoever. Not me. Until the day where they start rounding everyone up and shipping them away, and fitting them with RFID's, I will act no different.



And on the post about guns earlier(not by you Truther)...

What is wrong with owning firearms when they are used properly? I live in the middle of nowhere and am quite fond of the fact that I can step out my backdoor and kill supper for a month. (within season of course)

You know why there has never been a foreign war fought on American soil? I believe the thought of several million armed civilians scares the living crap out of any idiot that would try.

reply to post by Frank Black


Dear Scotty, from an American:

To state that something is great or greatest, one must check their premiss. It is a matter of opinion. If you like a relative democracy, where we have (mind you I say "relative") free-market and the ability to make oneself with our own work and our own ethic, then I think America is indeed a great country.

Sadly, we have become tainted by those in our government who wish to abuse our liberties as they have become stripped away more and more over the course of this last century. These people ARE NOT AMERICAN, they are twisted and destructive leeches who take from the people who actually WORK. I find it doubtful that Mr. Obama could pull us out of that. We may be beyond repair. But I have hope that more and more Americans will wake up and see things in a much more simple mindset. Our work and sense of self should allow us an equal amount of wealth. You reap what you sow.

We are never given whole truths in America. You must forgive us for our reactions, when we don't see the true picture. We may never now, because of such secrecy, what really happened on 9/11 and how that tied into Iraq. It has been obscured.

I don't blame the world for viewing us with distaste. Perhaps their vision is clearer because they are on the outside looking in. I rely heavily on that wisdom. I believe Obama will change things, but ultimately the irony is that we cannot rely on any one person to do something for us. We must stand on our own two feet.

We must rely on ourselves. Our willingness, individually, to respond and repair and work and build. That will define us. Not our words, nor false promises. When we realize that, we will indeed be a great nation. We will be a force of human achievement.

I work in thought and action toward that day.

I'm not sure if some of the people on this thread realise quite how much impact global opinion has on The US. It's all very well to say you don't care what other countries think of you, but you do care about your gas prices, the price of imports, house prices, the fragility of your current economy, Global opinion effects the stock market and that directly effects the cost of living.

If I were you I'd be very concerned about how the rest of the world perceives you.

Obama is perceived as someone who can change the course of the US after a disastrous 8 years of Bush. If he does some of what he says he will do, it could be a new start for the US and a chance to be viewed by the rest of the world in a much better light.

You may not care about that.
But you will feel it's effect at the pump so to speak.


[edit on 5-6-2008 by Spuggy]

I love to be criticized by Europeans. Guess what? If we go down the tubes we're takin' all you pasty passive-aggressives with us.
I read Dutch, German and Italian newspapers regularly. They never hesitate to criticize. The English are almost as bad as North America with their self-congratulatory spin. Think of this as Anglomerica. Fates are bound. If we don't succeed in putting down radical Islam and thinning the herd over there, you'll be overrun in 15 years. And ya'll know it! Goodbye glorious old, stuffy, arrogant spineless Europe.
Hello Muhammed!!

And no. We're not concerned with global opinion becasue the fact is 99.9% of the globe doesn't have the brains or info to form a valid opinion.
Case in point. This thread. Do you really think the English and the EU would allow a renegade rogue nation to run around policing the world against their best interests? No, fool. People with any brains see the case. We're the heavy. We don't mind being the perceived jerks. Your governments thanks their lucky stars every night that they have a US to do the dirty work.

[edit on 5-6-2008 by djerwulfe]

reply to post by leapoffaith

the Europeans are lucky that we have saved them as many times as we have . you should be kissing the ground that we walk on because if it weren't for us you would all living in a fascist or even a communist world right now . next time you look a gift horse in the mouth remember wwII . we dont need your approval for the simple fact that you dont live here and have no reason to worry what the world thinks of us.
as for acura_el2000 what have the canadians ever done to deserve to have an opinion in anything done here in the usa ?

reply to post by West Coast


I truly hope not. America is not perfect but it's still a fine country and I'm proud to be an American. I just wish we, the American people, were not judged by the rest of the world based on what the current admin. happens to be doing or not doing. And, I find it somewhat comical that the rest of the world thinks one man is going to change how we are viewed as a nation.

reply to post by Spuggy

we are much better off with these higher fuel prices for the simple fact that it will force us to not depend on foreign oil and in turn your opinion would mean even less .

"If we don't succeed in putting down radical Islam and thinning the herd over there, you'll be overrun in 15 years."

Radical Islam really doesn't get treated as the same sort of threat over here that the US views it as. I don't think many people in Eurpoe percieve it as a real threat of our society now or in the future, that's more a US perpetrated view point. In many ways the war on terror has been far more damaging to our every day lives than radical islam ever was, as you point out, our economys are tied and that means that yours going down the drain pulls ours with it.
If you just let the funde's kill each other off like we've done for a good thousand years or so and stop spending cash trying to blow up camels it would make all our lives much easier.

"The Muslims" aren't going to hop in boats and take over either of our countries, they'd far rather fight land wars between different sects and blow each other up.

reply to post by JesterMan


Me too. The Feds check up on you every time you step out of line. Good. I am some lists somewhere. So what? if you're not, then you're not really a good American. It's our job to push and prod.

This whole ME conflict is history repeating itself. Oh, here comes the barbarian horde out of the East. If we don't beat it down we'll slip into another Dark Ages scenario. Yes, it's almost that simple, only this time around we have some foreknowledge of the potential costs to our society.
Sure, the Germans sued for Roman citizenship. They attacked Rome to be included as Roman citizens. When they finally got their way, they didn't have the brains or sophistication to maintain the organization. Enter a great Dark Age of ignorance. It took hundreds of years for Europe to "recover" from that. Do you want this again?

It's not a perfect fit. The EU ain't no Rome. Rome didn't have the U.S. to do their dirty work for them.

OK, we'll just pull out of the Middle East. We're so mean and imperial! We'll jsut let the Israelis do it their way. Look, if the Israelis had it their way they would totally decimate the region. You wanna see genocide? How about EVERY Arab and Muslim in the region dead?

reply to post by Spuggy


Oh yeah? Not a threat? Really? Just US propaganda? Hmmmm. I take you're not French. Or German. Interesting. I wish we would pull out, so I could see you do a 360 and come begging. Did it ever occur to you that it isn't more of a problem becasue we've been trying to head it off for the last 30 years? Huh?
They don't need to hop boats. There's only so much real estate to go around. So what? Screw the EU? Let em hang? Glad you're on our side.

[edit on 5-6-2008 by djerwulfe]

Originally posted by Truther
reply to post by JesterMan

 

The freedoms you have you say! Dont make me laugh, you cant walk ten foot without feeling the red dot of survielance equipment burning the back of your heads, you really believe you are free in your great country, your not as clever and free as you think you are pal....

I think you're confusing America with London. I live in an area where there are nothing but beautiful forests, clean streams and lakes, nice people of many ethnic and religious backgrounds, and efficient local government.

I'm very grateful to be living in America, and to have the choice between a honorable patriot like John McCain, and an idealist visionary like Barack Obama. Anybody can sit on the sidelines and complain about how bad things are. I would suggest that it wouldn't hurt to stop and take a minute to think about everything we have to be grateful for.

Not just US propaganda, our government ( UK ) would love to perpetrate it too, however we seem to be less willing to listen. Maybe it's because we've had to deal with terrorists before and we know that trying to bomb it into submission doesn't work.

Look, it's simple logic and economics.

It's no harder to put a nuke in times square now than it was 10 years ago.

You can't stop someone wanting to do it, and you can't uninvent the bomb. A nuclear attack or some other massive terrorist attack on american soil is inevitable. The choice is whether to continue ploughiung vast sums of cash into trying to stop the inevitable. I personally don't see the point.

Many Brits don't. Obama is preaching the dialogue route. Even if you don't agree with the philosophy you have to agree that it makes economic sense. It's cheaper to talk than to wage war. As the end result is said terrorist attack anyway ( from Muslims, or americans or christians take your pick ) then why not take the cheapest path ?

No ones bashing America here, we're just saying that the war is expensive and pointless, the US is viewed poorly by the global community and Obama could the solution to all of that.

IMO, being a patriot does not necessarily mean you have to be egocentric. A patriot is one who loves and defends his or her country. This doesn't mean going around saying you're better than everyone else. But hey, that's one of the great things about this country: Each to her/his own, right?

edit to say: Thanks to the OP. I agree wholeheartedly.

[edit on 5-6-2008 by rivos]

I'm actually interested in seeing how Obama follows up on the "no lobbyists in my White House" providing he goes all the way. Regardless of who gets in, they definitely don't have their work cut out for them. The American banking system carries a lot blame when it comes to the average american's ills. The whole foreclosure crisis is astounding to me as it almost appears to be methodical in its ability to displace people. Tell you what, it isn't the bank that's gonna take a couple billion dollar hit... never in a billion years. Even with strong policies from McCain or Obama I'm not sure how long it will take to recuperate from the beating we've taken handing all of our money over to Cheney/Bush and friends whether they own the "security" or "defense" companies. We are swiftly approaching November so I guess we shall see.

I also believe that its important to any country that they are held in high regard in the global community as we all must hold an oar in the water in order to stop from sinking.

I think i made a post...but im making another one...im from Scotland...And Obama will be just as bad as Bush in every sense of the word foreign policy wise...dont believe me? I will be bumping this thread in two years time to bathe in my own prophet like qualities