How Big is Sweden

Saw the Anna Lindh thread some time ago, but read only the initial post. Anna Lindh had died and Sweden had finished its Euro vote when I saw it. Noticed today that the thread was still active, so I decided to read all of it. Then I ran across your post of Wed, 10 September 03 14:29, reproduced following my signoff.

There was no excuse for any levity on that thread from anyone.The first four responders thought they were being funny. They disgusted me. Embarrassing for them to be Americans. I know they do not represent me, and they do not represent the very, very large majority of Americans.

Having now disassociated myself from their ilk I will proceed to our slight bone of contention. You and I had a brief public and good-natured interaction on another thread, and I want to continue in a friendly vein in a private discussion here. (I've just now revisited this paragraph. I've decided to treat this as a work in progress. Think along with me. I may end up putting portions of this email in a forum, but only after collaborating with a sage. He thinks and writes much better than I do. He bases his opinions on extensive knowledge, then proceeds with logic. My opinions are mostly just...my opinions. He's almost as smart as I am, but he knows much more.) I prefer private talk to public speaking.

I want to return briefly to the "ignorance of Americans" half-truth that crops up from time to time. With a bit of luck, maybe I can persuade you not to post that way in the future--maybe you've stopped already, after our previous communication--even though some stupid Americans may continue to post messages insulting people of other nations, religions, creeds, etc. Bear in mind that we have more than a sufficiency of bigots of all stripes posting in these forums. All countries have many more than they need, too--one is too many. I see no reason for you to want to get any sort of reputation for being anti-American. Keep using your broad brush and that's what you'll accomplish, regardless of how many claims to the contrary you make. (Think about your posts. How many times have you written such a generality about another nation?) Resist the urge to strike back with sweeping statements; ad hominem attacks are better in this case. Go for the writer's throat. On the other hand, "Never argue with idiots; people might get you confused."

Any time you think of condemning all Americans as ignorant or anything else--painting us all with that same broad brush and the same color of paint--please keep the following in mind. Ours is a very big and open country--land area, population, economy; all races, colors, and creeds; and in a very special way: thought and freedom of speech. We have a long history of welcoming people from other lands as immigrants, making us a very diverse country, perhaps the most diverse in the world. That diversity increases by some 3,000 immigrants daily. A recent computation showed that the United States accounts for 45.5% of the net immigration growth for the top ten nations with positive net immigration. Germany is second with 15.5%.

Other than a history (with some notable execptions) of welcoming immigration, our people have an insular heritage that has approched isolation on cccasion. George Washington in his Farewell Address (http://earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/farewell/) warned us about forming permanent foreign alliances with other countries. Sages of his time wrote the Constitution of the United States; chief among them was James Madison, who also contributed greatly to the Farewell Address. A few years later James Monroe established the Monroe Doctrine: "...the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers...." Together they have been taken to mean: Europe, stay out of our affairs; we will stay out of yours.

Quite simply, most of us have to travel a great distance to reach the border of another country. I didn't even leave my home state until I was 12 years old, not again until I was 16, and then not again until I was 19--not even across the state border into a neighboring state. I am more than fluent in the native language of every country within a thousand miles of where I was reared. How many Europeans can legitimately make that claim?

Some information about the size of the United States.

I'm not excusing our ignorance of Europe and the rest of the world; I'm just trying to point out that we are so large and cultrually diverse that we quite have our hands full finding out about our own country. If you were ever here and watched The Jay Leno Show, you would find out how appallingly ignorant people can be. Some don't even know the name of the Vice President of the United States, much less that of the Foreign Minister of Sweden. Let me suggest, though, that a lack of knowledge is not necessarily indicative of a lack of native intellect. Admittedly, we may be more likely to be agressive and less likely to have good manners than many Europeans. Millions emigrated to this company to escape the restrictions of Europe. I'm sure more than two were run out of Dodge.

Unfortunately, education is now given short shrift by too many in this country. That dismays me no end. I used to think it might be part of some nationwide communist conspiracy to diminish our abilities and our world standing. Teaching does not pay well and teachers are no longer looked up to. Teaching is no longer the honorable profession it was when I was young. Too many teach because they were unable to do well in other courses of study. Too many no longer teach for the love of helping others learn. We may well have more young people failing to develop their intellect than you have in Sweden. I won't argue that point. (This paragraph is my instance of vagueness.)

By the way, I still don't know why your tagline is "The 'Smart' One" and I don't know why the word "smart" is in quotation marks. Are you not really smart? Did you pick your own tagline, etc.?

Regards,

EWM