Hearing criticism abroad....

[Fountain79]

I was talking to some friends of mine who are also Democrats about hearing criticism of the United States in other countries. I often find that I am quick to defend the U.S. when I am in other countries and hearing criticism. When the Iraq War started I was living in Mexico and while I disagreed with it I often found myself arguing with my uncle in Mexico over his viewpoints of the United States. Has anyone else found this to be true for them as well?

[Solly Mack]

1. Anything said that's fair, I can't argue with

I don't feel any obligation to defend America against criticism - especially when I think the exact same thing...and the majority of times I do.

I live abroad.

[SharonAnn]

2. Not any more. Now, I apologize for what the U.S. is doing.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

3. I don't defend the indefensible

Years ago, I almost made it into the U.S. Foreign Service, but I withdrew my application after being asked to take the last step in the hiring process (a physical). The reason: I talked to some friends whose parents were USFS officers, and they emphasized that you had to promote U.S. foreign policy abroad, whether you agreed with it or not.

I was in Japan just before the 2004 election, and I spent a lot of time explaining American politics to puzzled Japanese people. I said exactly what I thought, especially after people relaxed and smiled when I told them that I supported Kerry.

[sweetheart]

4. i've disowned them

Heck, i don't wait for people to talk about the US around me. Usually brits are very
uncomfortable if they hear a yankee accent that they think might be a bush supporter.
Then a silent "sigh" fills the room until i either clear things by saying i have never,
and will never support that bunch of criminal felons. After the election fraud in 2004,
there is little point in pretending anymore.

The funny thing i found is that foreign persons who want to believe america would
never put a criminal at the helm are still making apologies for him, or they presume
that thinkgs will return to clinton-times...not realizing that empire-crash is upon us,
that there is no going back. If a foreign person wants to talk to moi about the US,
i'll give them as much detailed referencable material on the bush criminal adgenda as
i can... but seldomly to foreign poeples realize HOW corrupt the republicans are, just
so long as they can avoid getting stepped on by a drunken elephant.

[XOKCowboy]

5. I was in London right after we invaded Iraq

I have a bit of an accent and I had a couple of people infer that since I'm an American and sometimes wear a pair of cowboy boots that I was a Bush supporter. I was happy to quash their preconceptions and had some very enlightening conversations from that point on.

Americans forget that we're a very young country. People around the world have a much broader and more knowledgable sense of history than we do. I personally find it very hard or impossible to defend my country to people of other countries. I wish it wasn't so.