 |
|
AFP
Wimbledon-Finalist Roddick: "I like competition"
|
Posted on 07/06/2004 4:12:26 AM PDT by longjack
As I was glancing through the sport's section at the German site "Spiegel-Online", this article, with the title "As an American, naturally I support my country", caught my eye.
I'm not a big tennis fan. I don't know of Roddick, and only found out by reading the interview that he's just 21.
The interviewer asked tennis questions, then dropped this political bomb in from out of the blue, as can be determined by Roddick's first response.
I thought Roddick kept his cool really well, and apparently put the interviewer in his place, as there were no more Iraq questions.
INTERVIEW MIT ANDY RODDICK
Start excerpt....
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What about the war?
Roddick: What's that supposed to mean?
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What do you think about the Iraq war? A mistake?
Roddick: One of my best childhood buddies is fighting down there, and of course I hope he comes out of it OK. Listen, it's not my job to make comments about that. As an American, naturally, I support my country. Some things I agree with, others I don't. Thank God I'm not the one who has to make the decisions there. I don't know enough about the whole situation to pass judgment on it.
....
Questions asked by Matthias Matussek, London
....
.... End excerpt
"Spiegel-Online"...."Als Amerikaner unterstütze ich natürlich mein Land"
|
|
AFP
Wimbledon-Finalist Roddick: "I like competition"
|
Translated by longjack
longjack
German ping.
He sounds like an intelligent young man.
This guy is fantastic. He is a tennis champion, not a political commentator. His opinion was appropriate, he is an American and supports his country. If only there were more famous personalities like him.
The 154 mile/hour kid
Roddick: Yeah, we really kicked your German butts sixty years ago, didn't we? I hope your country learned from that not to mess with America.
I did once but I think I got away with it...
(from one Fawlty Towers fan to another)
LOL! He could have said "Yeah you little goosesteppers thought you were something until we taught you a lesson"
Why do the Germans care? Do they really believe that having a murdering thug like Hussein running a terrorist country is a good thing? Just because Schroeder had a deal going with Hussein is no reason to oppose his removal. Or maybe it was.
"I don't know enough about the whole situation to pass judgment on it."
What kind of a weasel answer is that? Gimme a freaking break.
Doesn't he know the difference between evil and good? Roddick is just another punk wo/ an opinion.
"Yes you did! You invaded Poland!"
I sat down with my kids and watched "Saving Private Ryan" this weekend. My 10 year old boy made a couple of very astute observations: 1) Americans *never* give up, and 2) never *ever* take off your helmet! ;)
Wrong-o, old ammo-breath. He said he supports his country, and the 'don't know' allows him to avoid more harrassment from the euroweenie press. Quite smart on his part.
You speak English verry Good!
I think he was caught off guard as well, and it just goes to show that many Germans feel morally superior (why? because they've adopted the pose of the socialist/pacifist snob) and thus able to be rude at the time of their choosing.
Having lived in Germany for almost 12 years now...your use of the phrase "morally superior" is absolute fitting. Hitler's crowd is back...except this time they believe a moral highroad is their safety net. I see this constantly in Sunday evening press conversations with politicans. Its used as frequently as possible to bash Bush or the US position on anything in the free world (from the environment to relations with Taiwan).
But lets take some things into consideration...they had to pass a law in order to force people to stop on highways in Germany to render first aid to accident victums (Americans wouldn't think twice about stopping)...they had to mandate a church tax because people just weren't going to church and providing a contribution (Americans don't need a church tax because we actually attend and pop some bills into the basket)...if you had a car problem in most of rural Germany, you'd have to call a professional mechanic to get help (in rural America, we'd have 20 people stop and offer assistance and insist on driving you home if your car was completely broke)...they have to have enforced national healthcare across the board because no neighbor or friend will come to help them (unlike in America where if someone had a $20k bill handed to them for cancer-treatment, we'd have car washes and local bakes to help make up the money for our neighbor).
For any German to play the morally superior card...go for it. When it comes down to my preference for the greatest place on earth, its America. As long as I breathe...it'll be America. And the reason? When it comes down to the bottom line of morals...its an individual effort that makes us the best. The German angle is to force it across the board...and forcing people to do something they don't want to naturally do....has a bad smell to it....like trucks pulling up to your neighborhood to load jews onboard...and not one neighbor stands up and halts something totally wrong...not one. Thats the true difference. We don't require a mandate...and pretty much make up our moral situation by individual cause.
Write that down...its my best writing of the year!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.