Oh, thank you, protest1! It's so nice to hear from you - I know that there are so many good citizens of Great Britain and it's wonderful to talk to you! You are the reason I love England and keep returning there.
This whole argument is facile. I spend about 8-10 weeks a year in USA - 2-3 in Australia (a painful few elsewhere) and the majority in the UK. All three great freedom loving nations have for more in common in terms of core values when push comes to shove than differences in detail about how they go about stuff. Whenever one is abroad it is easy to note the difference and dissent. I could easily bitch about the day to day grinding down of the WOT by the Washington Post or NYT or CNN or point at GWBs 30 something approval rating (that makes 70% of the US commies right!??!?) or I could look at ACTIONS not MEDIA SPIN and spot the good guys from the bad guys and accept that there is a mix of both in all great nations, but - when the hard times come - we know who is on our side. And I hope vice versa. Get a grip!