[Qion]

Rubaiyat... maybe I took your posting a bit too personally, but I have the feeling you think I'm ignorant of what I'm talking about. I do not, as you describe, leave China out of my "perspective". If anything, I was giving three countries a compliment. China isn't exactly the role model of progressivism, you know what I mean?

We do have publications here in America, and every once in a while between pandering to what Bush tells me to think, I'll read one. Bokay? I've never been hugely intrigued by politics, and I've never pursued a degree in political science, but I keep myself as informed and up to date as any world-knowing Brit might.

I'll agree that it seems like a lot of Americans are ignorant of what's happening in the world, but honestly man do you believe what you're saying? We have millions upon millions of forward-thinking individuals in America. We're not our government. The established system is the issue here, not the sheer ignorance of our population. I believe the same negative ideas you have about the American people could quite easily be related back to most other countries as well. It's a tad pomp, honestly, for you to generalize so boldly that "most" of us think we're the greatest country in the world! That's an idea for centenarians! The century old self-righteous patriotic bullshit is all but left to the deep south and bits of the quickly shrinking blue collar middle class. If you notice, Bush isn't hugely adored by his people; there are a lot of reasons he's still in office, but public opinion isn't one of them.