[Winston]

Originally Posted by waste gate

Perhaps a better word was envy. Britain, Germany, France, et al, were powers in the past and are not now. Perhaps their populations are less than happy with their political place in the world. I didn't mean to cast aspersions on anyone's socio-economic position, nor how the see themselves.

For myself I don't envy the United States for it's position on the world stage. It seems to attract to much attention to it's self, to much jealousy maybe. (That's a joke there by the way). I'd like to think there's more to having pride in ones nation than it's military power or industrial muscle. One can look to it's history or take pride in sporting events. One can also take pride from ones fellow citizens who make an impact on the world stage. Scientists who discover something that changes the way we all live or a writer who changes the way people think. I think many of the smaller nations can take a lot of pride in there achievements in this regard. Perhaps taking to much pride in ones military can blind a nation to the things that really matter?


Also I don't think many normal people today envy the military force of another nation, or military force in general. However, let me say that there are many things that I admire about the United States. Cultural achievements like the moon landings for example or amazing feats or engineering like the Hover Dam. I've got to admit I plan on visiting the United States someday when I'm not so busy just to see places like the grand canyon. One could go on and on about such things I think, as you could with many Nations.