Sad to say I haven't read the American writers work, but proud to say that I've read all of the European ones several times (specially Kafka.. That was work!)
Sorry, but I disagree. "Runs in the family" can be applied to nations as well. Same as stereotypes are based on truth(hence the name). I'm proud to be Hungarian and yes I myself have nothing to do with -for example- the discovery of vitamine C but still feel it as "our" achievment, and i mean "our" as "we Hungarians". To be more clearer, dear reader, replace Hungary with your country and vitamine C with a discovery your country made. Cheers
If Europe would be one country that would be true. But we aren't and we also don't feel that way. Like Hitler was not an European leader, many European countries were against him and I love both Queen as Led Zeppelin but I don't feel the 'proud' because I'm just not from their country.
But I do think the intention of the post is good.
I'm American, and Pokey needs to sit down. Metallica and Elvis don't even BEGIN to come close to Led Zepplin, or the Beatles, or the Rolling Stones, ACDC, Queen, or any of the other greats
The difference is, Europe was getting their asses handed to them by Germany and saved the whole world. Twice. But we couldn't have done it without you! Infant we wouldn't have because there wouldn't have been WW1 without all the overlapping treaties Europeans made, and no Hitler without the power gap in Germany after WW1, thus, no WW2
The United States is similar in that the original intent was seversl autonomous States (read countries) with their own laws and open shared borders. The federal govt was to defend against outside threats and monitor interstate trade. However we lost our way and the federal government was not kept in check and grew into the juggernaut it is now.
The famous photo of the naked Viet Namese girl running from the buring village (I think her name is Phuc Tran) is maent to show the US's involvement in the Viet Nam war. That photo, however, is a porr example. She's fleeing her village because the South Viet Namese army burned the village to root out Viet Cong...no US involvement ion this. There are several opther iconic photos that attempt to show how the US somehow made the idyllic Viet Nam into a hellhole, but the backstory tells a different tale.
The revisionists like to spin the US's attempt to help South Viet Nam resist communist aggression as something else, and it's easy to swallow because, sure, war is terrible. But sometimes it's the least terrible of several bad alternatives.
But I do think the intention of the post is good.
The revisionists like to spin the US's attempt to help South Viet Nam resist communist aggression as something else, and it's easy to swallow because, sure, war is terrible. But sometimes it's the least terrible of several bad alternatives.