dboyd001

..... I give the raging grannies the same due now I gave them 30-40 years ago when they were young stupid chicks protesting Viet Nam. Now they've had all this time to refine their stupidity. Back then they did all they could to undermine me and the rest that were in Viet Nam. They were responsible for the US Congress pulling the rug out from under the S Viet Nam government after the Treaty of Paris and after US troops had all left. The North Vietnamese broke the treaty and invaded to conquer the South. That was OK with the then young raging grannies. They are trying to do the same with the troops over there now. Worked once, didn't it?
..... As for friends of the U.S. around the world, the governments may scorn us, but I do know many peoples in those "neutral", "unfriendly" or "hostile" countries love Americans and want to come here to live. My wife is from Indonesia and believe me she is the envy of everyone in her family and old friends. A number of them have managed to get visas to come to the US or Canada to live. Many of my own Canadian relatives and family are on the South side of the border for a lot of reasons too. Don't get me wrong, I love Canada (the Maritimes mostly since that's where I'm from), but I can afford to live here (including getting health care).
..... A lot of Americans diss France, but I do know some of the U.S.' best friends are in Northern France. They still remember men who came ashore on 6 June 1944 to begin the liberation of they country. They see the cemeteries and graves of the thousands of soldiers who died on that day and the weeks to come.
..... I heard a story the other day that people in other countries have a more favorable image of the U.S. than people in the U.S.! I think all too often Americans are being told on TV news how bad the U.S. is and how the rest of the world hate it. Just isn't true. A small sampling here on DAC shows me there are no hate-filled grudges among non-U.S. members. Sure, a little kidding, but good natured. Other people I know in many other countries also are the same.
..... And when in other countries over the years I made special efforts to be courteous and respectful. Even though much of it I was carrying a Canadian passport, I was often mistaken for an American (though in PRC & Hong Kong the locals somehow thought I was a Kiwi for some reason?). Being respectful I was given it in return. I made friends at the railway station in Sigonella, Sicily and they let met go on a e636 locomotive one day to do shunting in the yard for a couple hours. I wish all Americans comported themselves properly and I always grimaced that the US sailors passed out drunk or walking around spouting profanity was going to be the lasting impression those people would have. Just unpleasant.
..... I don't and never will think that people around the world hate the U.S. Some do of course and some governments are unfriendly or hostile. I do see on a daily basis American who seem to hate their own country and wonder what people elsewhere in the world think when they see that. The raging grannies (I have a different, let polite name for them) and Code Pink (ditto) are just two loud, visible hate-America groups.
..... And in the words of Forrest Gump, that's all I have to say about that.
Dave