NationStates Jolt Archive

Well hello there, you crazy Englishmen, you! I have some questions that I’d like to ask, but before I do I just want to mention that I spent three weeks in London over the summer. As much as I loathe admitting that any city could possibly trump New York, London is certainly in the running for that distinction. Your food is essentially flavorless animal fat wrapped in newspaper, but apart from that I had an awesome time (besides, England is the nation of Winston Churchill, which in and of itself sums up why your country is so kickass). Also, I’d like to add that your response to the recent terrorist attacks you’ve been forced to suffer has been incredibly honorable. I heard reports of an English newspaper printing a headline on the cover of an issue the day after the bombings took place that read simply “Terrorists: F**k Off” (I censored it, the newspaper did not). I heard reports of people sunbathing only feet away from the passage into the subway where it took place. The strength, courage and complete, unapologetic Britishness displayed have been most admirable.

Down to business then. In case you hadn't already gathered, I am an American. Thus, you'll have to pardon me if these questions come off as completely selfish and one-minded. You may not know this about our culture, but Americans are extremely sensitive about the opinions foreigners have of our country (admittedly our government couldn't give a damn, but actual citizens are deeply bothered by Europe's apparent misperceptions about us). So be good little boys and girls and respond to the following:

(a) Set aside our foreign policy for just a second (whatever disagreements you may have with our presence in Iraq, Afghanistan or any of the other places our troops are deployed), and tell me… Do you hate the United States? When you think about us, do you become angry? Why?

(b) This is sheer vanity, but I’ll ask it anyway… Do you think there are any redeeming qualities of Americans and the United States in general? What are your criticisms of us? (please try not to make the criticisms overly knee-jerk and trite).

(c) Tony Blair has been the President’s strongest ally on the international stage when it comes to the war in Iraq, but your populous seems very much opposed to it. I’m not familiar with British politics, but if you’re so against it why doesn’t a Parliamentarian call for a vote of no-confidence in Blair? Or is it that Iraq simply isn’t an important issue in Great Britain?

(d) The French… Just what the hell is wrong with them? We’ve been desperately trying in a thus-far fruitless attempt to answer this for ourselves. Any insights?

Well hello there, you crazy American, you! ;)

(a) I wouldn't say we hate the United States, but we may distrust it slightly, what with it being the "only remaining superpower" and all.

(b) What do I/we like about America? Well, American people tend not to be as introverted and restrained as the British (which can be good or bad!). Those who I've met generally seem pretty friendly. The only thing I dislike is a certain arrogance (and ignorance) some Americans seem to display, especcially when abroad. Overall though, I have no problems with Americans.

(c) hmm... the opposition to Iraq is to a large degree a creation of the media and Tony's political opponents. A lot of Britons are uninterested, and apathetic to a scary degree. Also, we fought a war not unlike the one in Iraq for 15 - 20 years against the IRA, so the losses in 3 - 4 years aren't particularly unusual. The US had Vietnam, of course, but there they had the option to pull out, while in Northern Ireland that would have been a political disaster (rather like the US losing California or Texas to Mexico). Most people see Blair as the best of a bad lot, as the opposition suck. Badly.

(d) The French are as a nation fiercely independent and patriotic (almost like the US :p ), although they have a sort of cultural elitism which is what really puts my back up. All this "purity of ze Language" and "french food, best in ze world" causes unholy annoyance. And they don't like the English (600 years of wars can do that), and as most Americans speak english, you are grouped into "Ze unwashed Engleesh pig - dogs! Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!!" along with the rest of us.

(a) I hate some things about the United States, most of them to do with its government, but a few cultural things too. Firstly, its government doesn't care for or about its poor, which just seems freakish, considering the poor make up the majority by definition and you'd think that'd encourage any elected government to want them on its side. Secondly, much of Middle America seems to have a streak of anti-intellectualism running through it: it's better to be a sportsman than a geeky kid, for example. In parallel, the government is heavily securing as much scientific research as it can; in a notable case a year or so ago, a scientist whose wife had a heart attack one night was questioned by the FBI and had his licence to do research temporarily revoked after the paramedics spotted test tubes, Petri dishes, various flasks and so on (the equipment necessary to do certain research) in a room of his house. Thirdly, the apparent and famous "stupidity" of its citizens. Yes, I know this is a massive overgeneralisation, of course, but then: a fifth of all Americans think they've been abducted by aliens; a 1974 book the author of which revoked his claims as "silly" in 1980 still provoked hysteria in 1984 with ridiculous, unsubstantiated claims that LA was about to be destroyed, and the media stood by and fanned the flames for their own ratings; the widespread beliefs that it is either blessed or damned by God, which if you'd stop and think for a moment are just fucking stupid. Fourthly, the blind partisanism of politics there, where one side generally just condemns the other no matter what is right or wrong. It stops people taking politics seriously, which may be, in relation to the issue of the poor, a good thing. Fifthly, guns. 120,000 children a year are killed or injured by guns in their own homes in the United States. If that number were killed by lawnmowers a year, do you not think the government would have something to say about it? Sixthly, the way that the Constitution and especially certain Amendments are trumped as Scripture by some, denounced by others, but treated both ways by most politicians. Seventh, American chocolate is shite. Eighth, so is most American food in general.

(b) Redeeming qualities, sure, but I think you'd need to split the country into the USC/Jesusland model before they really kicked in. It's called triage. Oh, and Aaron Sorkin. He's a redeeming quality.

Seriously, though, the fierce patriotism of much of America is noble, if misplaced, and I admire it (patriotism should never manifest as loyalty to a government!).

(c) Here, Iraq has become less of an issue than it is in the States. And a vote of no-confidence in Blair would never pass, and it may split the Labour party in horrible ways. Besides, he's done quite a bit of good domestically, even if his policies in certain directions *coughcoughNHSredtapecough* need reversing NOW.

(d) The French... ah, it's nothing, really. We've just been at war with them on and off for most of the Second Millennium, and the rivalry lasts. I think France feels more strongly about us in general than we do about them, but I could be wrong.

On C. Blair is still in power because he is the best option around. That and Labour hold a majority so unless half their backbenchers turned on Blair a vote of no confidence would never get through.

(a) I become sort of confused. Part of me is angry - I mean a nation with the worlds' largest economy also has the highest infant mortality rate in the western world! What sort of government gets away with that? And the gun laws - or lack of - make me angry. And Bush's unilateralism! Other than that, I like America, what with its good films, excellent cities, strong sense of unity and good men.

(b) Yes. You're living proof that multi-ethnic states can work very well.

(c) Some Members of Parliament have called for a vote-of-no-confidence in the government, but its not so simple. A certain number of MP's need to back the vote in order for the Commons (the lower house) to hold the vote. The House of Lords (upper chamber) can hold a vote no problem, but the government can ignore that. Iraq is an important issue, but there are many many others - like our so-called 'miracle economy' which is just a booming public sector.

(d) France suffers from a condition known as 'Gaullism'. France sees herself as the leader of Europe - and is also very patriotic. Basically, the French resent American influence via NATO over the rest of Europe, and so generally dilike the US government.

Any more questions?

A) I don't hate America. I do think it is far too religious, which no matter what the consitution says does affect the way the state is run (E.G: The abortion issue isn't even an issue anywhere in Europe.). I also think the people can be blindly nationalistic, and are constantly asserting how they are the worlds best country and how bad Europe is when only 10% of Americans own a passport and have actually left the country. The flags everywhere are also annoying - do you need to be reminded where you live all the time? I think not enough money is spent on state education, which leads to ignorance in the population, especially in matters to do with outside America. Finally, the obsession with cars. It's almost impossible to not own at least one car in America- when I visited in some places you have to risk your life to cross the street as a pedestrian, and my dad got stopped by a rent a cop because he was walking outside at night instead of driving. This coupled with the low gas prices just encourages laziness and is probably part of your obesity problem. Not to mention the damage to the enviroment it's doing.

B) Yes, America has plenty of redeeming qualities. The food is probably overall nicer over there, British food can be very nice or awful, depending on where you go (Hence the stereotype - most touristy places serve crappy food, and don't even think of eating fish and chips outside Yorkshire), whereas American places all serve food to a certain standard - but it is a bit fatty for my taste. After two weeks of eating American food all I wanted was salads. Some of the comedy, like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Family Guy, and The Simpsons to name a few is really great - although there is also a lot of unfunny shows. Still, that's the same with British comedy. The people as individuals are very nice and friendly.

C) People are very much opposed to the Iraq war in general, but there really isn't much choice other than Tony Blair. The Tories would be just as eager to go into war - they wouldn't even give a shit what it was about, they'd just love the opportunity to "Put the arabs in their place!". The Liberal Democrats are never going to get in power - at least not for a while. So it's either Tony Blair who will thankfully be taken over by Gordon Brown who is more left wing than Blair and also has a history of managing the economy very very well, a bunch of unelectable right wing Tories or help the Tories by voting Liberal. Labour is the lesser of all evils.

D) The French really have that nationalism thing going - they are convinced that France is superiour to everywhere else, much like Americans are convinced that America is superiour to everywhere else. When two overly nationalistic countries disagree...there's going to be trouble. They particuarly hate us because we have constantly beat them in wars despite being outnumbered most of the time, have produced more great people, had a better empire, have spread our language around the world and generally have being a more successful country. That really pisses the French off, and makes them sink to the level of Chirach insulting our food (Blair should have just shrugged and said "Crecy...Agincourt...Trafalgar...Waterloo" in response) and trying to get us to pay outrageous subsidies to their farmers "Because France is beautiful and needs preserving"

Okay, I'm going to respond to one or two of the more... um... well, wrong statements some of you made about the US in about eight hours or so (I have to do, like, four hours of homework right now :headbang: ).

Before I go offline, however, I'll make just one observation: Most of you mentioned something about American arrogance and air of superiority. Now, I'm not going to try and deny this. We can, admittedly, be perhaps a little too prideful... Bare one thing in mind, however. What is one of the most common traits that all world powers have had throughout history? Arrogance and air of superiority.

I seem to recall from World History class that you guys weren't exactly bashful when you were selling opium to the Chinese and economically crushing every single continent in the world ;)

edit: One more thing. I agree, in theory, that there absolutley should be more than one superpower. This is a principle that we apply nationally, and I believe it ought to be applied internationally. One catch... who is the other superpower? You can't tell me that the world was more stable under the shadow of the USSR. If a nation like England, for example, were to regain superpower status, I think that would be very beneficial to global markets and stability... Frankly, I'm not exactly tickled by the idea of China becoming the second superpower...

Frankly, I'm not exactly tickled by the idea of China becoming the second superpower...

Aaaaahahahahaaaa. Conditional on a few things, it's going to happen. You just have to go there to see that. But that, maybe, is for another thread.

Well hello there, you crazy Englishmen, you!


(a) Set aside our foreign policy for just a second (whatever disagreements you may have with our presence in Iraq, Afghanistan or any of the other places our troops are deployed), and tell me… Do you hate the United States? When you think about us, do you become angry? Why?

(b) This is sheer vanity, but I’ll ask it anyway… Do you think there are any redeeming qualities of Americans and the United States in general? What are your criticisms of us? (please try not to make the criticisms overly knee-jerk and trite).

(c) Tony Blair has been the President’s strongest ally on the international stage when it comes to the war in Iraq, but your populous seems very much opposed to it. I’m not familiar with British politics, but if you’re so against it why doesn’t a Parliamentarian call for a vote of no-confidence in Blair? Or is it that Iraq simply isn’t an important issue in Great Britain?

(d) The French… Just what the hell is wrong with them? We’ve been desperately trying in a thus-far fruitless attempt to answer this for ourselves. Any insights?

First off, not all Brits are English. The Scots and Welsh take a bit of exception to being called Englsih, in much the same way as a Canadian would take offence at being called American. ;)

a)No. The US, given it's power and financial clout has done some terrible things, but I think history has shown that any truly powerful nation makes some pretty gargantuan mistakes. Having said that, my main gripe with America is that it appears to be drifting into a right wing paranoia which has little to do with intelligence and hope and a lot to do with xenophobia and fear.

b)Loads of redeeming qualities. Energy, optimism but most of all enthusiasm. The problem with that is though, that it also manifests itself in the "my country right or wrong " BS that many people (myself included) find pretty unpleasant. However, this is probably as much to do with a) as anything.

c) We don't take it half so seriously as we would like to think we do. The war was an issue at the election, but of much more interest was the economy, public services and education.

d) The French are marvelous. They have a completely different concept of capitalism to the US (and, sadly the UK), they beleive that the schoolyard should be a purely secular environment, and they have fabulous food, wine, culture, countryside that they get a bit miffed at the prospect of losing to agreements that will make money for the rich at the expense of most of what they hold dear. Having said THAT, they also break most of the rules that they themselves set in the EU, and have a pretty unpleasant habit of holding the UK to ransom through strike action to get their own way at home. Over the piece though, I love 'em!

Insert "Why France hates the English speaking world" here
Oh my, that made me smile, and made my day.

People in the States, and Canada too, also act like they're French sometimes, generally if they speak French. I don't like it, and they say all the same things you just listed that the French say. And then I always ask, what did France do that so-and-so didn't do better?

Been to Britain and Scotland, had good food. Didn't find horrible food. Don't like French hotdogs, all the ketchup and mustard goes to the bottom. What's with that?

Ugh...the French. Can't live with them, can't gain independence without them.

Continue the discussion. (I'm 'merican also)

(a) Set aside our foreign policy for just a second (whatever disagreements you may have with our presence in Iraq, Afghanistan or any of the other places our troops are deployed), and tell me… Do you hate the United States? When you think about us, do you become angry? Why?
well foreign policy and Bush administration aside, i'd say i like your country and i've always liked its people (most of them). that said, i do find a few things odd (and/or disturbing) - such as the relentless consumerism, the pervasiveness of celebrity culture, the position of the average citizen on the political spectrum (more right than most europeans), the apparent fear many have of 'big government' (whats that all about?), the (what i would call) overpatriotic nature of the average american, the rise of the religious right, and especially pervasiveness of the church and religion in ordinary people's lives (40% of americans regularly attend church, right? compare that to 10% in britain who would even consider themselves religious at all, nevermind going to church). also, i find - and of course i am and have been generalising a tad here - the average american's obsession over their rights, especially when only mildly challenged, very odd - here in the UK we don't 'take our rights for granted', but then we don't get obsessive over them - we'll fight for them when we need to but other than that we'll leave the issue alone. oh and then there's the gun culture... and the electoral college system seems stupid (any 'democratic' system that can elect someone who actually lost the popular vote is flawed by my standards) but i'll stop ranting now :P
so, apart from all those things which i just find really weird for the most part, i like your country and its people :)
i don't like your current administration (bring back clinton woo)



(b) This is sheer vanity, but I’ll ask it anyway… Do you think there are any redeeming qualities of Americans and the United States in general? What are your criticisms of us? (please try not to make the criticisms overly knee-jerk and trite).
for criticisms, see above :p
redeeming qualities: you work hard, you make good music (apart from pop), your country is beautiful, your people friendly, warm and loud, you know how to make tasty food though your supermarkets stock an abysmal variety of cheese, you have a great climate (re: california), you have new york and san francisco, i have never had such a great holiday as that which i had in 2002 travelling round california for 2 weeks :)


(c) Tony Blair has been the President’s strongest ally on the international stage when it comes to the war in Iraq, but your populous seems very much opposed to it. I’m not familiar with British politics, but if you’re so against it why doesn’t a Parliamentarian call for a vote of no-confidence in Blair? Or is it that Iraq simply isn’t an important issue in Great Britain?
its not that simple. most people recognise that blair was not the main protagonist - he was stepping in as an intermediary between the US and Europe, doing his diplomatic job trying to stop relations getting worse than they did. if he were the aggressor (coughBushcough) then perhaps this would be warranted. however, the level of support for the Iraq war is not overwhelmingly one-sided - many people don't like being lied to over WMD, but appreciate both the role Blair had to play (as above) and that Saddam deserved to be removed
and also Blair (and Brown) has done a relatively good job since 1997, so this gives him some leeway as the war being simply a 'mistake'. and before anyone flames me saying "blair has done a shit job blah blah blah" bear in mind everything is relative - remember how bad things got under the tories?
plus Labour still hold a majority in Parliament, and inter-party politics, as well as the media fallout from something like that happening would be disastrous not only for the Labour party, but for parliament as a whole


(d) The French… Just what the hell is wrong with them? We’ve been desperately trying in a thus-far fruitless attempt to answer this for ourselves. Any insights?
there's nothing wrong with them - your administrations diplomatic problems with them coupled with, i'm sure, unfavourable press coverage, is skewing your view. the french are good people... perhaps a little arrogant and traditionally politically selfish (coughtheemptychaircrisiscough) but good :)

(a) You're really bad at geography. That and most of your country believes in the literal interpretation of the bible.
(b) You're very good at business. You have nice modern architecture, and shopping districts.
(c) Most people support him for his domestic policies (which cannot also be said for Mr. Bush). I think that's why he's still in power.
(d) I like the French.

many people don't like being lied to over WMD, but appreciate both the role Blair had to play (as above) and that Saddam deserved to be removed

I am an American and I believe our president is a moron. That being said, I also think he's an honest moron. Anybody who would lie about Iraq having a nuclear weapon would also have had a few planted when there were none to be found. He is incompetent, but he tries to do the right thing. For that, he deserves some measure of respect. Not a lot, but some.

a) I think most of the major gripes have been covered already (although I don't remember anyone mentioning enviromental policy), but one less major thing that irks me personally about the USA is cheerleaders... not precisely the cheerleaders themselves, but the whole concept of cheerleading... why do you need them? if you're watching a game can't you decide when to cheer for yourself? I don't like the idea of being told what to feel.

b) Jack Daniels Whisky and Ben & Jerry's icecream... also some of the people are really sweet, but you can say that about any nation.

c) Don't really have anything to add.

d) The British (and most especially English) dislike of the French is basically the result of a long standing grudge that history classes re-inforce... British kids get told about the wars we beat the French in and visa versa, plus it's the same kind of rivallry you get between geographically close nations all over the world.

a) The assumption that we're obliged to provide troops to fight your silly little invasions for you, mostly.
b) No, not really. Certainly nothing that justifies the amount of bullshit the rest of the world has to tolerate from your country.
c) Blair is more interested in being the chimp's fucktoy than he is in being the leader of an EEC country. Unfortunately, most of the rest of Parliament is rabidly anti Europe at the moment, and prefer to have the country run from Washington than from Brussels. The bunch of twats.
d) There's nothing wrong with the French: one has to admire any nation that tells Bush to fuck off and fight his own wars.

You should try to bear in mind that English and British are not synonymns.

A) Hate... No. But it makes me a bit sad. Bearing in mind much of my criticism of the US can be applied equally well to the UK. Here's a list of my impressions and opinions on you, please refute them if they're wrong:

You don't seem to hold intelligence or knowledge in very high regard. You seem incredibly ignorant of the outside world.
You're the richest country in the world, your public education system's not very impressive, and your (public) health service is next to nonexistent.
Your excessive religion, and doing silly things like treating creationism as science. Also your continuous bickering over abortion (it's not even an issue over here!). Why?
You let people sue over silly things (the infamous cup of coffee for example; yes, I know a little about the case as I've discussed it with a proto-lawyer friend of mine. We disagreed). What happened to personal responsibility? It's always somebody else's fault...
You have only two political parties (in real terms), and they both only represent the interests of corporations.
The only thing that seems important to many people is money, and damn anything standing in the way of its acquisition.
Your working hours regulations, things like that; you don't seem to have any... You guys work too many hours and don't get enough holidays.
Your paranoia about terrorism, arabs invading and conquering your country, things like that. Terrorism happens. It kills fewer people than cars. Stop worrying and get over it.
The 'u' and 'z' things ;)

b) Yes, of course you have redeeming features. You seem to do more than your fair share of inventing stuff. You still have the best space programme in the world. Most of your people seem very friendly. I've been on holiday in Florida twice, and they're probably the two best holidays I've ever had. Your food's generally pretty good.

c) It mostly really annoys us that Blair seems to be the little puppy that follows Bush around, and sits, begs or rolls over whenever commanded. It almost seems, sometimes, that we're just another bit of the US.
If I could get rid of him I would, but he has a huge majority in parliament so it just won't work (people knocking the US electoral system, bear in mind only 22% of the eligible voters in the UK voted labour!). I keep voting against him, doing my bit... Frankly we don't have very many better options. They're all bad.

d) Hey, we've been at war with them for a thousand years, on and off, and won more than we lost. They're quite proud of themselves, and we don't have much else to be proud of nowadays so like to rub their noses in it. They don't thank us for it.

(a) Set aside our foreign policy for just a second (whatever disagreements you may have with our presence in Iraq, Afghanistan or any of the other places our troops are deployed), and tell me… Do you hate the United States? When you think about us, do you become angry? Why?

Do I hate the United States? No.

What do I think of you? Like every country, you have a lot of decent people and a lot of arseholes. However, American tourists give the rest of you a bad name, they are commonly seen as being loud, obnoxious and rude. Of course, these are the ones that get all the attention, the well behaved American tourists don't draw as much attention to themselves.

And no, I don't become angry. The various administrations you have had have annoyed me a bit though. But the same goes for this country.

(b) This is sheer vanity, but I’ll ask it anyway… Do you think there are any redeeming qualities of Americans and the United States in general? What are your criticisms of us? (please try not to make the criticisms overly knee-jerk and trite).

Redeeming features? Yes.

I like some aspects of your culture, especially literature. Real stuff like Twain, not pulp fiction like Dan Brown. Though Ludlum is good for mindless palp. Also whilst I am not too keen on Hollywood and the absolute rubbish it churns out year after year, the US does make some very fine films. Usually independent, because more risks seem to be taken in that departement. Music, similar to movies, the popular stuf is rubbish, but some of my favourite bands are American.

(c) Tony Blair has been the President’s strongest ally on the international stage when it comes to the war in Iraq, but your populous seems very much opposed to it. I’m not familiar with British politics, but if you’re so against it why doesn’t a Parliamentarian call for a vote of no-confidence in Blair? Or is it that Iraq simply isn’t an important issue in Great Britain?

tbh, I am not sure what mechanism the Labour party has to get rid of a leader, I don't know if they can force a leader to resign via a vote of no confidence like the Conservatives can.

Also only one constituency in the whole of Britain has the say on whether Blair is Prime Minister or not.

(d) The French… Just what the hell is wrong with them? We’ve been desperately trying in a thus-far fruitless attempt to answer this for ourselves. Any insights?

It most probably isn't the French you have a problem with, it is the Parisians. Even the French cannot stand the Parisians. There is a quotation I remember written by the French Foreign Affairs writer. He was sitting at home in the French countryside and a neighbour told him "You are English, that is unfortunate. But you will always be welcome in these parts because you are not Parisian." Not the exact quote, but close enough I think.

I should also admit that I am a bit of a Francophile and am going there in a couple of weeks (keeping a wide berth of Paris, of course ;))


I'm being concise. I you really want I could expand. But I want a nap because I was up most of the night finishing two essays for a lecturer who likes to think of himself as a bit of a slave driver, and who is also funnily enough, an American :)

(a) Hate it? Gods, no. I'm an unapologetic supporter of western hegemony, so America is kind of like a political and cultural orgasm for me. World domination the easy way! Criticisms? Well, not many. Its amazing how incredibly different your cultural viewpoint is from the average European - few people realise how great our differences in perspective are. The view of the UN is a great example. Most British tend to regard the UN as a great idea that has lost its path along the way. However, I have enountered Americans in this forum that regard the UN as a positive invasion of US sovereignty. Which is weird. The mistrust of government is another thing. We may dislike Tony Blair as an individual, but sentiments as expressed by some Americans I've encountered make it sound as if the whole system is a massive conspiracy. I put it down to an unfortunate lack of monarchy. ;) Its really little differences in outlook that grate on my nerves.

For instance - WE'RE BRITISH! NOT ENGLISH! I'm London welsh. Others will be English, or Scottish - but don't simply refer to us as English, its like fingernails down an ancestral chalkboard.

Edit: A couple of other criticisms I forgot, but I'll really summarise them down to Paris Hilton. Everything she symbolises. In fact, she's the Anti-American, the ultimate dark element of the American psyche. Annihilate her and all she stands for and you're damn close to the perfect state.

(b) Redeeming features? Too many to list individually. Mainly its an impression I get when I visit. I feel genuinely welcomed. People are nice, open and friendly (although humorous banter between strangers is rarer than in Britain, simple conversation isn't). The whole place feels dynamic. I love travelling in the US. I love the southern states. Some of the best times of my life have been spent just travelling from Arkansas to Texas. The whole religious thing as well - to be honest, when people aren't actually shoving it in your face, I find the quiet personal morality to add a level of dignity to the average American that I feel my peers misconstrue as arrogance. Also, compared to the British, Americans are gloriously unsubtle, upfront and honest. It means they often don't get the joke, but are so funny to wind up and gracious when the penny drops. :D

(c) Tony Blair has pulled some clever stunts in his time. To be frank, he ain't that bad a premier and certainly better than any of the alternatives. The voters will balance his Iraq war actions against the comparably steady economy and no real major upsets. In the meantime, we let him get on with it.

(d) Insights? On the French? Any country whose capital requires a truly enormous phallic symbol in it's centre doesn't really need any more insight than the spectacle it provides.

(d) Insights? On the French? Any country whose capital requires a truly enormous phallic symbol in it's centre doesn't really need any more insight than the spectacle it provides.

Sorry, are you talking about Washington (http://www.bestdealsontheweb.net/washington_dc.jpg) or Paris (http://www.sbac.edu/~tpl/clipart/Photos/Eiffel%20Tower.jpg)? ;)

:)

Sorry, are you talking about Washington (http://www.bestdealsontheweb.net/washington_dc.jpg) or Paris (http://www.sbac.edu/~tpl/clipart/Photos/Eiffel%20Tower.jpg)? ;)

:)

Or London (http://www.lightstraw.co.uk/ate/main/postofficetower/)? ;)

(a) I don't really have a problem with the US. Certainly I prefer America to many European countries. I was certainly most amused by the amount of media over here explaining how much the average American hate's Bush, only to see him voted in again. (Though it was more amusing when we did the exact same thing to Tony, the media vilifying him in the run up to elections, only for him to win again.)

(b) Well, you speak the right language for one.

(c) I'd like to think, certainly over Iraq, that the British are prepared to finish what we started. Perhaps, with hindsight, it wasn't actually the best move that we could have made, but now we're in, I fully believe we have no choice but to sit it out. Certainly puling out in the wake of terrorist attacks etc would be completely unacceptable, the message then being that 'we will do whatever you want terrorists, as long as you blow us up first.'

(d) I think that the French are just bitter. Ok, so in 1066 they gave us quite a beating, but since then its not been so great for them. Besides, didn't they help you Americans out in the war of independence? Bet they're kicking themselves for that now.

One mildly educated Brit.

if you're watching a game can't you decide when to cheer for yourself? I don't like the idea of being told what to feel.

but you gotta like the idea of fit chicks in skimpy clothes :D

(a) Well to begin with your chocolate is bad... really bad, i dont know why you put up with it it's just not worth the paper its made of.

Politically the country appears to rely on the general ignorance of its populace to get away with the most horrendous things, politicains publically say the most stupid or racist things and get away with it, the other day some southern politician got away with saying that you could reduce crime in the US by aborting ever black baby conceived... wish i hadnt thrown away the newspaper and id be able to tell you who.

Advertising and the commercial world. Over in the UK we get a lot of what passes for effective advertising in the US, over here its just annoying plain and simple, lots of adverts are annoying but the ones badly dubbed into english accents are the worst. For a comercial powerhouse the US is remarkably poor at marketting. Having spent some time in the US i have to say that one of the first impressions is the massive, truly massive surfit of adverts everywhere stuffed onto every vertical surface and lining all the roads and in particular moterways, (as adverts are banned on UK motorways). You as a people put up with such over advertising and your companies dont seem to realise that if they all advertised less their individual adverts would be more effective.

Newpapers... now heres an odd one, i get US newspapers and they look like they were printed in the 1870's excepting the poor quality ones like USA Today (sorry USA Today you're lovable really) they often contain fairly balanced and comprehensive news, though can just as frequent contain neatly censored ommisions in the governments favour... but either way they seem to make no attempt to push important stories other than putting them on the front page. I'm not sure but it may be that newspapers rely more on habitual corporate loyalty rather than direct competition with other newspapers ?

And finally, your chocolates rubbish... ITS TRUE !!!

(b) OK Positives... i know i mangled the questions a bit but hey, live with it.

The US acts as a media buffer. What do i mean ? Literally that every season your networks put out what appears to be half a million new shows and we in the UK get the best of them, and for that we should be thankful, though the standard of the majority of US TV output is not honestly high, and the quality of the broadcasting can be lax sometimes with people getting cut off mid sentence or whole stations dying two or three times a day, we get the better end of what you watch, as a nation you have to suffer through endless crappy re-hashes of the same ideas and we get the funniest ones. Not the perfect system but it works for us.

The People, sure some of you are doggadly and very vocally ignorant, but its the same all over the world, you've just got more people able to be vocal, hence more national embarrassments. Over all theres nothing wrong with the American people, you put up with a lot of stuff you should make a stand on but so does everyone else to a greater or lesser extent, it doesnt make you terrible people just lazy and who isnt ?

(c) Vote of no confidence... the Tory party couldnt get together a small pile of stones let alone an important vote, and too many labour people are scared of what could happen to their careers if tony finds out they might vote against him. Tony Blair has a fairly iron grip over the Labour party, whilst many back benchers dissent, they're never allowed to rock the boat too hard and are only fighting because they hjavnt got very much farther to fall. As for the public we couldnt get rid of Tony if we wanted to, and too many of us just don't care, we've got bette rthings to do, like watch Celebrity Love Island (see we can be depressingly ignorant and produce god aweful TV too, we're catching up).

(d) The French… Just what the hell is wrong with them ? Well that about sums it up. Theyre staunchly patriotic and their affairs largely dont concern us, or at least dont concern our newspaper editors, we only here about when they complain and offend the national pride of someone with the power to tell us about it. You should really be asking, Rupert Murdoch, what's his problem ? And how can a news channel (Fox News) make fun of anti-conservative politicains ? Theyre a news channel not Tonight with Jay Leno, so making Joke videos can be left to the comedy shows and reporting the news accurately can be left their job.

PS. RIP the BBC, once the greatest broadcasting service in the world it is fast becoming just another contender for the adequate mediocraty of the year award. Thanks Mr Grade you do your nation proud.

(a) Set aside our foreign policy for just a second (whatever disagreements you may have with our presence in Iraq, Afghanistan or any of the other places our troops are deployed), and tell me… Do you hate the United States? When you think about us, do you become angry? Why?

Hate? No. Dislike at times? Yes. Reasons:

1/ It's too big. This is my major problem with the US. You've got half a continent under a single government, and unlike some - Canada, Russia - the population density doesn't fade away outside a couple of built-up areas. Split the country down the middle, please, either north-south or east-west.

2/ I think your political system is screwed up so badly. It's a two-party system, even more so than the UK's. At least we have a medium-large third party, even if they haven't won in decades. Additional point to this: Two-party systems have a tendancy for the parties to get too similar to each other. It's happened on both sides of the Atlantic, and they shift along with public opinion. Eventually, there really isn't much choice at all. I believe the US has reached that point.

3/ I'm sorry, I can't get over the size thing...

4/ The arrogance thing. Everyone says it. The US seems to think it has a God-given duty to fix the entire world. Look, guys, really, we already tried that. It doesn't work. It hasn't worked since Imperial Rome. Give up before you find that out.

5/ Probably linked to the above, extreme patriotism. It really gets on my nerves. There is no 'best country in the world', any more than there is any 'best colour'.

6/ Speaking of colours, I dislike your (and when I say 'you', I'm speaking of the nation as a whole, or of the view we see of it, not of any specific people) tendancy to see things in black-and-white. You know what I mean. Example: Iraq had a Bad government. When you went in there, you needed to give them a new one. The only option you gave them, as far as I know, was a copy of yours. This applies to every aspect of everything, but I've really been noticing it when it comes to governments. Believe it or not, other systems than the US one can work.

7/ You can't spell. Please either learn english, or stop pretending and call your language American, not American English.

8/ Still too darn big.

(b) This is sheer vanity, but I’ll ask it anyway… Do you think there are any redeeming qualities of Americans and the United States in general? What are your criticisms of us? (please try not to make the criticisms overly knee-jerk and trite).

I'd say the criticisms are mostly summed up above. As for redeeming features, yes, of course. With one exception, everyone from the US I've spoken to extensively has been a nice person. You've got a lot of landscape, and hence a lot of scenery. But generally, most of everything doesn't affect me either way. It's a country, it's a big country, and it's got a lot of diversity. You can't put it in little boxes. Unfortunately, what we see tends to be very homogenous.

(c) Tony Blair has been the President’s strongest ally on the international stage when it comes to the war in Iraq, but your populous seems very much opposed to it. I’m not familiar with British politics, but if you’re so against it why doesn’t a Parliamentarian call for a vote of no-confidence in Blair? Or is it that Iraq simply isn’t an important issue in Great Britain?

Yes, I was and am against it. However, if we got rid of Blair, we'd either have another Labour PM, who'd probably follow the same policies, or a Tory one. I don't like the Tories all that much. Anyway, kicking out Blair wouldn't do very much - parliament would be split exactly the same way, and I think parliament has a lot more power than the PM.

(d) The French… Just what the hell is wrong with them? We’ve been desperately trying in a thus-far fruitless attempt to answer this for ourselves. Any insights?

I have no problem with the French. However, we have spent a lot of time over the last few centuries fighting them, so that may have something to do with it.

Let me stress that none of the comments on the US are intended as insults. They're subjective observations from a single person. And yes, I'm aware that Britain was very similar during our Imperial era. So was everywhere. The thing is, the rest of the world has grown out of it. You're a young country, I'm sure you'll get the hang of things in a century or two.

Yes, that was meant to be humour.

Yes, I was and am against it. However, if we got rid of Blair, we'd either have another Labour PM, who'd probably follow the same policies, or a Tory one. I don't like the Tories all that much. Anyway, kicking out Blair wouldn't do very much - parliament would be split exactly the same way, and I think parliament has a lot more power than the PM.


Didn't parliament vote in favour of the war anyway?

First off, not all British people are English :) I'm from Northern Ireland and I hold a British passport (even though I narrowly support a unified Ireland).

(a) I don't hate the US. As you seem to have already established, many here don't like its foreign policy, and that's my main gripe. I also don't like the religious ethos that seems to permeate American policies in general, though coming from NI I suppose I can hardly talk! (I am opposed to our obsession with that too, for the record). The only other problems I have with the US are minor gripes - one is that I am often irritated by Americans obsessing over this country. So what if your ancestors were from Ireland? I was at a wedding in Pittsburgh a few years back and was told I spoke very good English (!). When I responded that my native language was English and not Irish, the guy couldn't understand. He also asked me if I knew John from Cork. Cork is at least five hours away from here! All in all, though, I've had very few problems with your standard, everyday American.

(b) Certainly. The vast majority of Americans I have personally met have been friendly and welcoming. I love some of the sites and landscapes in the States too. Oh, and your fast food chains actually provide edible food, not to mention gargantuan, refillable soft drinks :p

(c) Iraq was a big issue (I, like millions of others, was certainly opposed to it), but I think the general consensus was that the alternative PM to Blair would be as bad, if not worse, on that and many other issues. Better the devil you know and all that. Whether people liked Blair's decisions on Iraq or not, many felt that in other policies he was/is the least bad out of the current pool we can choose from. I don't hold to that thinking, but I alone don't form a democratic majority (sadly ;)). It's not really that simple to get a vote of no confidence in the Westminster Parliament; as far as I know, any MP can introduce it, but you'd have to have a weighted majority of the Commons in order to get it past. Much as many, if not the majority, of MPs are fed up with Blair, like the public I suspect that (for now at least) he is seen as the best of a bad bunch.

(d) I really know very little about the French. The stereotype of course is that they're arrogant and snobbish, but I've never been there nor met any other French people, so I have no idea.

Hope that was of some assistance!

I don't have an opinion of any any country as a whole really. And I don't really have an opinion of any group of people from a country. The stereotypes yes, but telling you why I dislike something unreal is kinda pointless. There are Americans I like and Americans I dislike. The fact they're American has no real impact on that judgement of them. Same thing with French people.

I do dislike the American government though. Because of, well, a hell of a lot of things. I'm opposed to most things it supports.

(a) I don't hate America, my only gripe is that they control 90% of the worlds money (though that could just boil down to Jealousy)

(b) I like the way America is a free country with respect to all types of people.

(c) I have nothing major against Blair, the majority of people consider him a better leader than Michael Howard (evil) and Charles Kennedy (wuss). The majority of people are ok with him but the people who aren't are a lot louder (please don't flame me)

(d) Our problem with France is their problem with us, go ask them.

Hey thanks for the completment, yoou should come up to real England one day-Yorkshire, you get real food there.

Okay, on to da questions old chap!

a)I hate your goverment, I admit it, and I hate the arrogance and ignorance of certain Americans, especially the right wingers and christian fundlementalists. I see you govermental style as beign foolish and that your president has way to much power. I don't hate you all cause I balive that eryone is pritty much the same, I just dislike the right winger christians that try to impose there views on everyone else, as I do in England.

Oh and if you could get the hell out of Menwuth Hill (A spy station up on the malls near Greenhow) it would be much appresiated, seriously the greenpeace guys are getting on my nerves and soem of the Americans you get in the pubs are just as bad.

b) The Americans I actually know, (Yes all 2 of them) not just the oens I've hada conversation with, are really nice, fine and good people. i like them, I'm freinds with them and I hope they feel the same way about us. My hypothosis, Americans often come across as ignoriant, arrogant, selfish, stupid and overwaight, and some of them are just that but inside there really greta guys.

c) Because Parliment passed the decision to go to war, Blair has a huge majority and therefore isn't going to lose anything. As for the thing about the anti-war, up here there was a hell of a lot of anti-war feeling, poartly because of the American base nearby (Where going to get nuked!!!!) and because thats just seemed to be the mood. how many where really opposed and wern't just going witht he flow I don't know.

And I'd love to get rid of Blair and impose a real Left wing leader like kenndy, but it won't happen, the Trator will just ahve to stay.

d)No idea, there a bit arrogant but I don't knwo any of them so i can't comment.

A.) Not really a hatred. Sure, there are some Americans who I think we could all do better off without, such as megacorporate leaders and fundamentalist televangelists, but their flaws are not America-specific by any means.
B.) Nancy Griffiths, Andy Sorkin, 'Friends' and the separation of powers. Yes, that's right, I actually like your political system (except the electoral college). Shame about most of the politicians.
C.) This question reveals an assumption on the part of the questioner- that the populus really possesses power over the executive. Sure, we get to choose between two marginally different executives every 4 or 5 years, but otherwise pluralism is limited. The Labour executive is eager to quash party dissent, as evidenced by the recent fiasco at the Labour party conference, and whilst he is still being promised party leadership, Gordon Brown wont make a fuss.
D.) The french rock. I have little taste for the current governing party, but the general political scene is (I think) better than ours. Maybe other Britons are jealous; the French have a better national health service, better trains, and they know how to make out.

Well hello there, you crazy Englishmen, you! I have some questions that I’d like to ask, but before I do I just want to mention that I spent three weeks in London over the summer. As much as I loathe admitting that any city could possibly trump New York, London is certainly in the running for that distinction. Your food is essentially flavorless animal fat wrapped in newspaper, but apart from that I had an awesome time (besides, England is the nation of Winston Churchill, which in and of itself sums up why your country is so kickass). Also, I’d like to add that your response to the recent terrorist attacks you’ve been forced to suffer has been incredibly honorable. I heard reports of an English newspaper printing a headline on the cover of an issue the day after the bombings took place that read simply “Terrorists: F**k Off” (I censored it, the newspaper did not). I heard reports of people sunbathing only feet away from the passage into the subway where it took place. The strength, courage and complete, unapologetic Britishness displayed have been most admirable.

Down to business then. In case you hadn't already gathered, I am an American. Thus, you'll have to pardon me if these questions come off as completely selfish and one-minded. You may not know this about our culture, but Americans are extremely sensitive about the opinions foreigners have of our country (admittedly our government couldn't give a damn, but actual citizens are deeply bothered by Europe's apparent misperceptions about us). So be good little boys and girls and respond to the following:

(a) Set aside our foreign policy for just a second (whatever disagreements you may have with our presence in Iraq, Afghanistan or any of the other places our troops are deployed), and tell me… Do you hate the United States? When you think about us, do you become angry? Why?

All I can say is that I'm sure there are good Americans and bad Americans, just as there are good British people and bad British people. A lot of people slate the American South unfairly forgetting that is where R.E.M. are from. The typical complaint about "hillbillies" is that the majority of them are seen to be poorly educated, misogynistic and homophobic. The same is probably true for most blacks in America, but that to taint them all with the same brush would be racist. The truth is that anti-Americanism and snobbery towards Southerners is part of the same racist mentality.

(b) This is sheer vanity, but I’ll ask it anyway… Do you think there are any redeeming qualities of Americans and the United States in general? What are your criticisms of us? (please try not to make the criticisms overly knee-jerk and trite).

Erm, well I suppose they coined the term "anglophile" if I'm not mistaken, which is nothing less than flattering. I know that despite the predomantly right-wing culture in American politics, that there are still labour unions fighting for workers' rights. I admire America for more or less being the birthplace of the gay rights movement (as it's known today) and of AIDS activism and for a written codified constitution to last so long is amazing. I also like a country that was founded on the principle of keeping the government out of people's lives. I might hate free trade but I hate the government even more.

(c) Tony Blair has been the President’s strongest ally on the international stage when it comes to the war in Iraq, but your populous seems very much opposed to it. I’m not familiar with British politics, but if you’re so against it why doesn’t a Parliamentarian call for a vote of no-confidence in Blair? Or is it that Iraq simply isn’t an important issue in Great Britain?

One thing you have to understand about the British is that we're a nation of pragmatists. I am opposed to the war for a number of reasons but for the majority of the British public as far they're concerned, they don't want to be wasting tax money on a war that they don't think will benefit national security or bring any forseeable benefit to the Iraqis. Britain is also one of the most muslim-friendly nations in the Western world. The mayor of London last year warmly greeted the extremist cleric Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi.

(d) The French… Just what the hell is wrong with them? We’ve been desperately trying in a thus-far fruitless attempt to answer this for ourselves. Any insights?

I don't mind the French.

"(a) Set aside our foreign policy for just a second (whatever disagreements you may have with our presence in Iraq, Afghanistan or any of the other places our troops are deployed), and tell me… Do you hate the United States? When you think about us, do you become angry? Why?"

I dont like the United States becuase it seems utterly incompetent in its position as superpower. We did it much better, wot! *ahem* Anyway, yes. You just piss off everyone, and then "solve it" by invading something... it doesnt work and it just makes you look silly. But overall, the US is ok. It's better than 75% of the other nations in the world.

"(b) This is sheer vanity, but I’ll ask it anyway… Do you think there are any redeeming qualities of Americans and the United States in general? What are your criticisms of us? (please try not to make the criticisms overly knee-jerk and trite)."

I have no problem with Americans per se, but you have your fair chare of idiots like the rest of us, so meh. As for the country... well you're democratic, and you speak English. You dont play cricket though, but you do play some kind of bizarre version of rounders, so you get 1/2 a point.

"(c) Tony Blair has been the President’s strongest ally on the international stage when it comes to the war in Iraq, but your populous seems very much opposed to it. I’m not familiar with British politics, but if you’re so against it why doesn’t a Parliamentarian call for a vote of no-confidence in Blair? Or is it that Iraq simply isn’t an important issue in Great Britain?"

I personally think that the anger about Iraq is much overblown. I certainly dont think that half of the electorate see it as an election losing issue for the Labour Party. It might be if there was a better party, but there isnt, so it isnt. As for calling a vote of no confidence... well officially the Queen appoints the PM, so they cant do that. In practice, Blair is PM because he is head of the largest parliamentary party, and they support him.

"(d) The French… Just what the hell is wrong with them? We’ve been desperately trying in a thus-far fruitless attempt to answer this for ourselves. Any insights?"

Read up on Agincourt, the 100 Years War, the 7 Years War, the Napoleonic Wars... etc etc... we've been fighting them for most of the period of our existance, which is about 3 times longer than America's, and they try to frustrate everything we try to do in the EU.