My childish view of a nasty America is still popular [Editorial]

The Telegraph ^ | May 29, 2005 | Charles Moore

[Agnes Heep]

The villain was Governor George Wallace of Alabama, who stood as an independent in the same election, and believed in segregation.

It's true that the United States had racial problems and committed great injustices against the black population. But just show me any other nation at any time in history whose people fought against those wrongs and sought to right them with the same assiduity and commitment to moral rectitude as the people of the United States. There are none.

[McGavin999]

Love the sarcasm, it's a great article. Somehow I think that most Brits get it, it's just the "elite" who are having a problem with adding 2 + 2

[NZerFromHK]

Thanks for the ping okie.

One of the ways to tell these British who claim America is bully and naive, is to shove them with names of Rudyard Kipling, Joseph P. Chamberlain, and Benjamin Disraeli.

[okie01]

I cannot imagine growing up without Rudyard Kipling. As all my children and grandchildren can gloriously attest...

[familyop]

Thanks to Charles, thanks to Janet Daley, and many thanks to Conrad. You are all courageous and selfless. I'm very proud of you.

[lainde]

BTTT

[brushcop]

That's true but I'm reminded of Wilburforce who faithfully introduced an anti-slavery bill in Parliament for approximately 20 years. He was slandered, vilified, insulted and yet in the end, his bill passed and slavery was officially abolished in England before we were able to finally decide that same issue at the cost of much blood.

We have to be careful here, the issue started out as state's rights but evolved into slavery.

Your point is well taken however. The PC crowd likes to believe that we are the only evil people on earth, meanwhile, slavery exists in the Sudan and many other places, they just turn a blind eye, I mean after all, they actually think that Iraq was better under Saddam.

RB

[NZerFromHK]

bttt!

Jonah Goldberg has reflections on Britain which pretty much line up with my thoughts:

"...I can't shake the feeling that England is at a crossroads between becoming a post-historical theme park (like Belgium) where people care about shopping, pretty-boy soccer players and, um, shopping and staying true to its traditional role as an engine of historical progress. Reading the papers, watching British news, talking to folks all gave me the sense that the Brits are weary of being special and making people angry and want to be a normal country where the rules of the vast continental college campus across the channel apply. That seems to me to be what's at stake with Britain's choice to join the EU."

http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/04_05_23_corner-archive.asp#032742

[NZerFromHK]

...I can't understand what the rest of the world is going on about.

You can't expect much from a group of people in which the TV series The West Wing is regarded as American government propaganda.

[macrahanish #1]

Thanks for this post!! A well-written and informative contribution.