How the USA is regarded from the rest of the world

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That "self sustaining system" promoted slavery until 1865. And it was not inevitable that the Union would win the Civil War. The South had the best officers. If Lee had been in his proper form in July of 1863 the outcome might have been quite different. If the Union sustained a defeat a Gettysburg (which it barely avoided) there would have been a big push to settle with the Confederacy. By 1863 the folks up North were becoming quite disgusted with the war.

As it worked out, the end of slavery did not benefit the black folks all that much. Even when "free" they suffered from the racism built into our society and they still do to some extent.

ruveyn

The officers of the Confederacy were pretty good, but in truth the North was fighting with one hand tied behind its back. Had the Confederates continued getting victories, the Union would have poured more money into the war. Money was not in short supply for them, or soldiers; both were limited for the Confederacy. Additionally, the only way the CSA could have won, realistically, is to invade the North and loot as much as they could for their own war effort. They probably would have launched sabotage missions as well. If rebels were consistently fighting on US soil, looting, burning and sabotaging, you can bet it would be easy to convince the Union's citizenry the war has to go on until the CSA surrenders

The Shelby Foote theory.

A national fights as well as its fighting spirit determines.

France had more and better tanks than the Germans and they still lost.

That is because the basic urge of every Frenchman is to surrender to the nearest German.

ruveyn

The reason so many roads in France are lined with trees is so German soldiers can march in the shade.

Find a quote by "Jesus' in the Bible and show me, Where Jesus' created a system for Slavery.

That's true, our roads are generally more well-maintained I've noticed, but yes, in terms of trans-national highways we are lacking. We never had an Eisenhower. You were very lucky that you did.



Before the Trans-Canada was built, when I was really young (back in the 70s), we would go through the States to go on holiday in Prince Edward Island.

One thing though - it is more expensive for us by far. Longer distances, and a much smaller population base to pay for it, plus the climate, particularly in the Prairies. The extremes of cold and heat we get crack the roads, through expansion and contraction. It is amazing that the roads in Windsor are so much better than those in Detroit. But the Trans-Canada is not the equal of the Interstates. It never will be, no matter how much better we are doing, unless you really let those routes go to ruin.

Funny story - the Rhinoceros Party (a joke party, but they did participate in elections for real) once campaigned on a job creation platform. They said they were going to make the Trans-Canada one-way; it would alternate between going east and west, and people would be employed turning the signs around.

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During WW2 Ike took one look at the German Autobahns and he said: "I just got to get me one of those!"

ruveun

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Ungrateful French! Twice in the 20th centuries we saved their sorry arses.

ruveyn

Ungrateful French! Twice in the 20th centuries we saved their sorry arses.

ruveyn[/quote]

ungratefull america, they owe much of their culture and ideas to the rest of the world.

we''ll call it interest!!

/idocracy mode off.

any nationalistic sentiment is a one too many.

That is true of every nation. The best part of France is inherited from the North Men (Normandy).

Also the French got a good part of their language from the Romans.

ruveyn

the point was that such an utterance is idiotic

any nationalistic sentiment is.

Most other countries dislike how "Americans" are so prideful of are country'. And most of them hate American Nationalism.

When he created his pretty religion, he based it upon the slavery-endorsing Jewish religion. So, duh?

Not really. Under Jewish law, fter seven years the slave was to be let go and fully provisioned by his former master. Unless the slave declared he wanted to serve his master's house for life. Under Jewish law slavery was more like indentured servitude and not chattel slavery. The slave (or servant, if you will) was never considered his master's property.

ruveyn

Hi, I'm French.
As you may know, French and Americans (in the meaning of US citizens) have a somewhat complicated and multi-faceted relationship, with highs and lows. There are several profound cultural differences between us. For example, the right of US citizen to bear arms - the constitutional right to have lethal firearms and weapons ! - is the kind of things that can astound us. Also, the whole debate about health care, given what we have in France.
It seems to me that the US are more lovable today that they were a few years ago, which is not really hard to understand, since there was Bush, and there is now Obama... Which doesn't mean there are no problems any longer. For there are problems, and many. For example, the US, with a part of its "cultural industry" (linked to capitalism), and the process of standardization of the world it produces - linguistic, cultural -, are problematic. But it's a global error, not an American one. (In France, imitation of the not-so-good (or clearly bad) aspects of the USA and the adoption of globish - a kind of debased American English - are problematic.)
Someone has said in this topic Europeans have a tendency to say Americans are ignorant. I'd rather say that the common opinion is that the usual American guy is not as knowledgeable as the usual European (at least, in our Union and more specifically in our more developed countries). Which is neither true nor wrong in my opinion, at least from the viewpoint of a Frenchman. Our systems of (primary and secondary) education have their respective flaws and advantages, but it seems to me that the French one is academically more demanding, and at least more opened to the world. In a very broad generalization, of course.
The US is an interesting country. Living in some regions - urbanized California, the East Coast etc. - seems fine to me, but the rest... It's kind of difficult for me to understand how you can live in many parts of the US, in towns of a few hundreds inhabitants far away from everything else, where the most ancient thing is a not-so-beautiful church from the beginning of the XXth century. Of course, there is the natural beauty in some of this places, but... In the most remote part of metropolitan France, you've a marvelous countryside, ancient churches, villages that, when they're old, have or seem to all have their individuality, you can spend a lifetime to understand the evolution of toponymy in the region... Of course, the contrast applies much more to the Western US than to the eastern part of the country, but even there...
The distinction between Old World and New World is now gone (actually, it must not have lasted very long), and there has been an Americanization of Europe, which I hope will stop, because it doesn't imply the best aspects of what is American (America could gain to europeanize itself, by the way).

By the way, I think I read in this topic that someone said that the fact the USA participated to the First World War was a mistake ?! Oh no, no, it wasn't a mistake at all, of course, I can't see how one could say that (having the history of the World, and not of the only US, in mind).

The problem is that some Americans seem too much proud, indeed, and that Europeans conversely have kind of lost their attachment to their own countries and to Europe... In France, French (the language) is clearly attacked by an English-or rather Globish- frenzy in advertising and TV. This is ridiculous and not a good thing for French and English alike. We're by excellence the country of Literature, but somehow French and French literature are seen as "ringards", musty, old-fashioned, by a part of French themselves... (happily enough, there are American scholars who know that it is not true...)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OldToIF5ZGs[/youtube]