The view from other parts of the world

KMaurer

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Not directly gun related, but ...

We constantly get bombarded with the crap about what the French or Spanish or some other euroTrash think about the US, usually as expressed by some far left politician or newpaper editor in that country. In contrast I always enjoy hearing what the average citizen thinks without the media filter. The daughter of some good friends of ours works in the US Embasy in Minsk. She sent an EMail to her parents which they forwarded to us. OK, maybe it's been censored by this US government employee, but I personally guarantee she's never let anybody tell her what to think or say, at least since she was about 6.

I had my most touching moment in Belarus tonight. As my colleague and I followed a protest march, a little old man asked me where the protesters were going. I answered that I didn't know and asked if he understood what was happening. He said he did. Then he looked at me and said, "Where are you from? Germany? Poland?" I answered that I was from America. He grasped my elbow and said, "Thank you, America, for your help. Thank you."

Ken
 
Thanks for sharing Ken. It's amazing what the media filters out. They can make the world look like what ever they want. And for some reason people still believe everything they see in the papers and in the news.

It is refreshing to hear and read unbiased comments from the average citizen in other parts of the world.
 
There was an article in a recent The Atlantic magazine where they invited a French journalist to come over and retrace the journey of Alexis de Tocqueville and comment on America as seen from a foreigner's eyes. Despite the reputation of The Atlantic and the general anti-French sentiment in the US lately, the article was a great read. The journalist, for one, does not subscribe to anti-America sentiment and was excited to follow in the steps of de Tocqueville. There are some great anecdotes about the differences in attitudes towards law and patriotism between European countries and the US, among other things.

It's always interesting to see how a foreign person views the country we live in, especially when the foreigner is being as objective as possible in what is generally an opinion piece.

I guess it's just like anything: it's only newsworthy if it arouses emotion, so if someone likes us it's not a big deal but if someone hates us, it's 6:00 news time!
 
Sounds like that would have been a good read. You don't hear too often of an objective journalist.

Although he was probably being nice because he had already surrendered to the editor of Atantic Magazine.

Sorry I couldn't help it. :D
 
Thanks for posting that Ken. I've heard from other friends who are either in or are former military folks that are still in touch with actives that that is the general concensus among the folks were trying to help out. The media will NEVER print things like that. It doesn't do anything but make you damn proud of our young men and women in service to this country, and that's not what they want.
 
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