[wylde1]

As a Canadian I read through this whole thing and found it all very interesting. I should say first off, I have visited many places in the US and enjoyed myself thoroughly every time, and plan to visit more in the future. I've met nothing but great people every time as well.

I have to say that as an outsider looking in, there are some American sterotypes being perpetuated here, but I guess all sterotypes have some root of truth. Lord knows I love hockey, and say "eh" more often than I care to admit. I echo alot of the sentiments shared here about my own country.

The "center of the universe" attitude is what most people think of when they think of the USA these days. I can't say I see it reflected in the people I've met, but you do see it in places like this from time to time. Statements like "the USA used to be THE worlds cultural melting pot" reflect it. It's more accurate to say "the USA used to be (and still is) ONE OF the worlds cultural melting pots". Canada has HUGE immigration numbers, as well as the UK, Australia, France, Spain, and others. I've met many people who have described to me growing up dreaming of coming to Canada and starting a new life, just as people do it for the USA.

I'm not trying to start an argument, you believe what you believe, I'm just stating a perception from another angle.

Can I just offer this for food for thought? No Empire in the history of the world has survived completely. It's just the natural ebb and flow of the world.

Persians, Romans, Greeks, France, England, Germany, Spain, USSR, and the USA. All projected power accross the world at one point in history. (the persians controlled more than half of the globe at one point.) But everybody must come down. China and India are on the rise now, but in time, they'll come down as well. All we can do is try to prevent the fall all the way to the bottom. Investing in young minds is the best way to do that. Educate kids, teach them to shoot for the highest goal they can imagine, and give them the tools to get there.

“Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all others because you were born in it.” William Shakespeare
"Nationalisim is an infantile disease. It is the Measles of mankind" Albert Einstein