I think the real elephant in the room is that we, as a nation, just don't scare people the way we used to. We are no longer the golden child of the international political scene, our big stick isn't as large as it used to be, we aren't the leaders in technology anymore, our kids aren't the smartest, our culture not the most efficient,and we're ****-poor bad at not being first.
There's got to be a paradigm shift in the way this country thinks about itself and its place in the world, but we're not getting the message. It sucks, because although I remember my home country fondly, there's a reason I immigrated, and it's because I firmly believe that this nation is good at heart, and the best place to be at this point in time. I don't know if future events will cause me to reconsider this stance or not, but I certainly hope not. I hope that, as a people, we can see our global role needs to change, and we can do so with some grace and innovation.
Edited, Oct 9th 2006 at 7:05am PDT by Atomicflea