Which party for you?

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BartVB
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Re: Which party for you?

Post by BartVB »

The main problem (IMO) is that a LOT of americans just don't understand that the world is larger than just their 'great nation' and that there are people in the world with other norms/values that are just as 'right' as theirs.

I find it amazing that a _very_ large majority of the world would vote for Kerry (well, would not vote on Bush would be a better description) but that more than half of the americans would vote for Bush. Just plain weird.

But I can understand it a little bit. 99% of the media focusses on internal affairs, the average american has no clue what happens outside their own country except when it directly affects the US. It's also pretty typical to see that most Kerry voters are located along the coasts where more people daily have to deal with international (businness) relationships/trade and where most educated people live. If I would live in the middle of the US then it wouldn't be that weird that I would think that the US was the center of the universe :) Add in some religion (well, quite a bit of it) and patriotism and there you go; Bush for president :D

For me there is just too big a difference between my world and 'yours' to fully understand you. I would break out in hilariouw laughter if our president would say someting like "There are no limits to the greatness of our nation". If he would say that I would really start questioning his mental health or I would start looking around to figure out if I was just teleported to some china or something where the leaders try to motivate the 'minions' to work harder and to feel proud that they are allowed to work their asses of for 'their great nation'.

Oh well. Bush has been re-elected. The one positive thing in that is that it might create some more unity in the EU (because of 'us vs them' sentiment) but I don't know if that's the right direction to take :\ Oh, and Bush gets to clean up his own mess, that will be interesting :D It would be pretty spectacular to see the US deficit when he has to leave office and to see how he's going to fix the mess that he has made (and is still making) in Iraq.
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Martin Blank
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Re: Which party for you?

Post by Martin Blank »

BartVB wrote:The main problem (IMO) is that a LOT of americans just don't understand that the world is larger than just their 'great nation' and that there are people in the world with other norms/values that are just as 'right' as theirs.
The viewpoints are very different. After talking with many people around the globe over the years, I've come to believe that the older a country is, the more jaded and less willing to quickly react are its people. I find Australians to be about as upbeat and willing to react as Americans, for example, while Europeans tend to adopt a more patient attitude, letting things settle out before taking action. This can be both good and bad.

Imagine if the EC had tried to expand much earlier, even without Warsaw Pact nations. It would have annoyed the US to be sure, but the Soviets might have taken it as a major threat. Integration of cultures and money was also a potential stumbling block, so they took things slowly, one step at a time, with only a little bit added at a time. After 40-ish years, things were going pretty well, and so the decision was made to expand it -- at a rather uncharacteristically European pace, I might add. But when something is seen as very good, even hesitant people will often take advantage of it.

This has a downside, too, as we've seen in a number of places. Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia showed warning signs for a while before things started to fall apart, and when they did, chaos ensued. The world's initial response (including that of the US) was to shake a finger at them and say, "Shame, shame, no more weapons for you." Unfortunately, by that time, the people of those areas had broken into their divided camps, and weren't going to change just because some trade from outside the country was stopped.
BartVB wrote:It's also pretty typical to see that most Kerry voters are located along the coasts where more people daily have to deal with international (businness) relationships/trade and where most educated people live.
That's not as strong as you might think. International trade goes on from the entire country, and the only thing that really boosts things on the coasts are the ports. Every state from Virginia on down to Florida, and then west to Texas, has international ports, some of them very large. Whatever happens, the US economy is too deeply intertwined with the rest of the world for the world to stop trading with the US, so work will continue. International business just isn't really as reliant on politics as many people think.
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