Yeah, I think that's a basic American trait, we don't feel any shame in not knowing where Latvia or Turkmenia are or who the PM of Germany is. We have plenty of business here to take care of, we're pretty much self-contained.

:doh: Oh Neal...

(did I hear somebody saying "Yes, Major Carter?")

Being the

- (by far) greatest consumer of global resources (roughly 25% of global resources for just 5% of the global population makes for an impressive per-head-calculation second to none in the world),

- and running in over 160 countries around 900 military bases, installations and passive real estates eventually currently not being actively used by the military (short of one third of these in Germany alone),

- and enforcing the independence and recognition of nations like kosovo just so that a military base like Bondsteel with 400 km2 can be maintained and/or established unaffected by not-too-sympathetic nations like Serbia for example,

hardly qualifies for a description of being "self-contained", Neal. ;) Maybe you like to be left alone inside the US and just live your lives (what by the level of desinterest for the "rest" of the world certainly can be judged to be true), but that for acchieveing this the politcal acting of your nation probably is the most penetrative and expansive of all nations there are - you nevertheless accept (and do not like to be remineded of).

Being self-contained is something different. and independence and autarky is a necessary precodntions for that ö- else you cannot afford to be "self-contained".

The govt handles our external stuff, I'm referring to the majority of the people in the US.

Adding my $0.02 to what Neal said,

There's three distinctly different entities in the US.

American Business
American Government
American People

Try to remember that when America has a negative affect on your country, it's not coming from the bottom group. American people don't want to cause problems or hurt anyone. We have very little control over the other two groups who do the damage.

I did not know that the government and the external stuff has so little to do with the people in the US. :)

Now you do.

Ah, so you are excused and should be allowed to just carry on like that?

It is your government that you elect, and it is your business men from your people that influences your countries policies. Usually you americans are the first to point out that the government is for and of the people and that you are all one (as often being said in thios forum). but it seems there are occasions when this statement opportunistically is denied.

One problem remains - i don't believe a single word of it. ;)

Hmm, wonder what we use some of those resources for? Ah, you answered it already.

My memory seems to be failing me at the moment. Can you please remind me why we had so many bases in Germany in the first place?

Do one thing for me. Tell me what Europe would look like today if America never had a base there, anywhere in Europe, ever. (Here's a hint, look east. If you see Palin's front porch, you went to far, back up a little)

Actually that kind of illustrates my point Bewolf. Yes, to outsiders including Americans, the USSR was indeed seen as a single entity. However as soon as it collapsed many of the various republics and ethnic groups, long considered to be one, couldn't break away from each other fast enough, so how accurate was that single entity concept?

There is plenty of education/information available on other cultures and nationalities here in the states as well. Our libraries and access to information are as extensive as anyone's. We just tend to look at things differently than Europeans do because of our differences in size and our history.

For example, a Texan is just as far away from me physically as a Finn is to an Italian but there are far less differences between us. Perhaps that tends to make us less aware of the boundaries that put the "international" in "international politics".

On the other hand the ability of any single political group to exert control over a country like mine is far greater than in your comparatively homogeneous societies. The effort required for a group like say the nazis or the communists to subjugate my country would be comparable to them having to come to power in all of Europe all at once. I'm not saying it couldn't happen here of course, anything is theoretically possible, but it would be far, far more difficult to achieve.

So when you talk about the importance of understanding international politics, what it is about them that is important may be different from your vantage point than it is to mine.

After all if we thought as Europeans do we'd be 50 individual nations all speaking different languages traditions and cultures (and probably constantly at war with each other). On the other hand if you Europeans thought as we Americans do your people would tend to be much less aware of international politics than might be prudent for your continued national survival.

We're not concerned with being excused. To make my meaning clearer, I'm not suggesting the people and govt are not linked, what I'm trying to get across to you is the people do not spend a lot of time and energy on foreign policy details. The people here are involved with their govt, and the govt (in a general sense) deals with foreign govts and trade. There are a lot of exceptions, of course; business people, for one. But the average guy from Texas/Kansas/Utah/Michigan probably doesn't obssess over the kind of world stage stuff the average European does. I know some people love to criticize us for that, ok, that's fine, who cares. Like it or not, we're not going to be shamed into adopting your way of thinking.

All preceding comments are how I perceive it, from the view here.

I understand this point. The world view of America is our federal government and our foreign policies. Amongst the American people, there is much cultural diversity. I have been lucky in that I've traveled to many places in the US and lived in different areas.

I've also been fortunate enough to have traveled the world and met people from many countries. I never made any enemies and still have friends I keep in touch with and visit. Many of them have visited me here as well.

Texas isn't a state, it's an attitude. :) I lived in Houston for 15 years. Even though it's a huge state, and huge city, there's micro-cultures there. It's hard to understand unless you've spent some time there.

California isn't a state, it's a lifestyle. I lived in Southern California longer than anywhere else. Again, same thing. The state is so large there are different lifestyles and cultural differences there as well.

America really is the melting pot where people from all over the world continue to influence and shape our society and culture. It's still a young country, still in Beta, and it is constantly changing and developing. Hopefully for the better. There's been some bumps and bruises, few mistakes here and there, but the same could be said for any country.

What most people don't see, or realize, is that the American people have the best of intentions. We don't want to harm anyone, we don't want to make enemies, we don't want to start wars. When our government starts making bad decisions, we do speak up, with our votes. The current administration, and party, hasn't being doing what the people wanted. This showed up in the election results. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens next.

It may not be the best system in the world, but it works for me.

Damn well said Neal.

I do not doubt a single word of what you said, Mothballs, including the last paragraph. That was pretty much my own impression whenever I've been to the States. As I said before, the ppl I met were friendly, helpful and all in all a great bunch of people. And when it comes to american foreign policy, I do recognnize the willing of the US to spread democracy and freedom. The neoconservative agenda to change the autocratic middle east into democracies is highly respectful seen all by itself.
The problem lies in the "means" and the believe that everything is solveable by wars, combined with the assumption ppl will flock to democracy by principle, all over the world. As it was proven by now, that is not the case. You can't help a people that does not want to be helped.
There is a german proverb, stating "The road to hell is paved with good intentions". America always reminds me of a doc that tries to cure a leg bruise by chopping of the arm, simply because he does not know enough about the patient. With the best intentions, but the patient may have problems recognizing this.

The western world more or less nominated the US for this role during the Cold War, AFAIC.

PD